Arrow Star Stephen Amell Under Fire After Anti-Strike Comments
As the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes continue to wear on (with new reports suggesting that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has stopped bargaining with either guild), some actors have started to voice their frustration at the whole situation. One particularly vocal critic of the strike is actor Stephen Amell, best known for playing Oliver Queen/Green Arrow on The CW's "Arrow."
During a recent appearance at Galaxycon in Raleigh, North Carolina, Amell called the strike "frustrating" and "myopic" and voiced his disapproval of strikes in general. "I support my union. I do, and I stand with them. I do not support striking. I don't," Amell said. "I think that it is a reductive negotiating tactic, and I find the entire thing incredibly frustrating."
Amell's comments were met with immense backlash across social media as fans online blasted the actor for his lack of support in this time of crisis. "His actions and words prove he is not an ally to this strike and fight against the studios," tweeted @BenDaves3.
"Stephen amell is not my green arrow," echoed @birthofsyre.
Others pointed out the irony of Amell's opposition to the strike since his most famous character (Green Arrow) is decidedly anti-establishment. "The f***ing irony of this," wrote @thatsimonpeter. "Imagine playing an anarchist socialist for like 10 years and not understanding the character?"
Several Arrow stars have condemned Amell's comments
As if the fan backlash to his comments weren't bad enough, Stephen Amell is also facing some heavy criticism from several of his "Arrowverse" co-stars. Reverse-Flash actor Matt Letscher was particularly critical, saying, "Still waiting on that comprehensive list of totally non-reductive negotiating tactics ... Thank god for superheroes!"
"Arrow" star Kirk Acevedo (who played Ricardo Diaz/The Dragon) was much more straightforward, simply tweeting, "This f***ing guy."
To top it all off, Twitter users like @dweebleton have also accused Amell of scabbing by promoting his show "Heels" across social media. According to the official strike guidelines from SAG-AFTRA, union members are prohibited from "promotion of/publicity services for work under the TV/Theatrical Contracts," which includes social media. Amell has since deleted his social media posts promoting "Heels," though most of them have been reuploaded online via users like @kfortrends on Twitter — with many citing them as proof that Amell has engaged in scabbing against his own union.
Although Stephen Amell has yet to face any consequences from SAG-AFTRA for his social media posts, Amell's comments have certainly caused plenty of outrage and criticism across social media.