• TGN's Newsletter
  • Posts
  • Stephen Amell Clarifies “Inarticulate” Strike Remarks, Expresses Support For SAG-AFTRA After Backlash-TGN

Stephen Amell Clarifies “Inarticulate” Strike Remarks, Expresses Support For SAG-AFTRA After Backlash-TGN

Summary

  • Stephen Amell clarifies his support for SAG-AFTRA, emphasizing that he stands with the union and has unconditional support for them.

  • Despite not liking striking, Amell acknowledges the necessity of it and understands why it must be done.

  • Amell admits that his comments about the strike were inarticulate and expresses frustration while acknowledging the complexity of the issues involved.

Arrow actor Stephen Amell has apologized for his recent comments criticizing the SAG-AFTRA strike after initially stating that he does not support the act of striking. As the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes have been ongoing, Amell caused quite a stir after a video where he discussed the strike began circulating online. It didn’t take long before his comments made the rounds on social media, with fans, writers, and actors slamming The CW star for speaking against the notion of strikes.

Less than 24 hours after Amell’s comment surfaced online, the Arrowverse alum has now spoken out against the outrage. Amell took to Instagram to share an official statement, to clarify what he meant by his SAG-AFTRA anti-strike comments. Check out Amell’s full response below:

Understandably, there has been a lot of reaction to the comments I made this weekend about our strike. To ensure there is no misunderstanding about my thoughts and intentions I’m providing what I actually said and clarity/context to ensure my feelings aren’t unintentionally misinterpreted. We all know soundbites can be taken out of context and I have too much respect for my fellow union members to not clarify the record.

What I actually said:

1 “I support my union, I do, and I stand with them.”This doesn’t need much clarity: My support is unconditional and I stand with them.

What I actually said:

2 “I do not support striking, I don’t.”

What this means in full context: I understand fundamentally why we’re here. My off the cuff use of the word “support” is clearly contradictory to my true feelings and my emphatic statement that I stand with my union. Of course I don’t like striking. Nobody does. But we have to do what we have to do.

What I said

3 “I think that it is a reductive negotiating tactic and I find the entire thing incredibly frustrating.”

In full context: I’m an actor and I was speaking extemporaneously for over an hour. I emote, but I certainly don’t think these issues are simple. Our leadership has an incredibly complicated job and I am grateful for all that they do. Despite some of my terrible early acting work, I assure you, I’m not a robot. From an intellectual perspective, I understand why we are striking, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t emotionally frustrating on many levels for all involved.

What I said

4 “I think that thinking as it pertains to shows like the show that I am on that that premiered last night, I think it is myopic”

What I meant: Nothing about the strike is funny but if I may self deprecate for a moment. I have no clue what I was trying to say here and who says, “I think that thinking…?” Perhaps it was an inarticulate shoutout to our crew and cast, who mean the world to me. I’m simply sad that we don’t have a chance to celebrate a show that all of us figuratively and I literally, broke my back for.

As I said from the jump, I want to ensure that my thoughts and intentions are not misconstrued. This situation reminds of the proverb, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions,” which apparently, after reading a limited amount of the commentary, is a place many of you would like me to visit. However, at least for the foreseeable future, I choose to stand with my union. When you see me on a picket line please don’t whip any hard fruit.

RELATED: Why Some Actors Are Still Working During The SAG-AFTRA Strike

Why The WGA & SAG-AFTRA Strike Is A Pivotal Moment In Hollywood

The WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes mark one of the biggest battles in Hollywood ever, an existential fight over the industry’s future. The industry is still recovering from the global COVID-19 pandemic which led to industry-wide financial struggles, to the current era of streaming where creative teams and actors are not being compensated fairly while CEOs take home record profits, the fight for fair contracts needs solidarity across the board. With actors and writers on the picket lines daily, Amell’s comments undermine the tremendous fight they are taking on right now.

With studio heads like Disney’s Bob Iger declaring the strikes “disruptive” and stating that the expectations of the actors and writers are not “realistic”, SAG and the WGA are facing an uphill battle against the AMPTP. Wanting to be fairly paid should not be a controversial stance, but to many in the upper echelons of the industry, it seemingly is. At the time of this writing, the AMPTP is refusing to return to the negotiation table to even begin contract talks again.

Whether Amell’s explanation will be enough to satisfy those who immediately called him out is unclear, but he could certainly make steps toward helping by joining actors and writers on the picket lines across the country. This controversy, though, is certainly a reminder that members of SAG and WGA are united in their fight, something that is pivotal to a labor movement of this size. While it’s unclear what the future holds and how long the strikes will go on, the actors and writers deserve full support even as studios consider delaying movies and canceling projects.

Source: Stephen Amell/Instagram