Stephen Amell walks SAG-AFTRA picket line after controversial strike comments (original) (raw)
Amell had previously called the actors' strike "myopic" and "a reductive negotiating tactic," and then walked those comments back.
For some supporters of the SAG-AFTRA strike, Arrow star Stephen Amell went from hero to villain when he publicly criticized the work stoppage last month. But on Friday, a week and a half after walking back his anti-strike remarks, Amell joined a picket line in solidarity with his union.
The actor was photographed in front of the Warner Bros. Discovery offices in New York carrying a strike sign and sporting a T-shirt emblazoned with the message "SAG-AFTRA Strong."
The moment came about two weeks after Amell caught heat for saying at a fan convention in North Carolina that he supported his union but did "not support striking." He added, "I think that it is a reductive negotiating tactic, and I find the entire thing incredibly frustrating."
Stephen Amell on a SAG-AFTRA picket line in New York. John Nacion/Getty Images
Amell attempted to clarify his comments a few days later, writing on social media, "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."
The actor explained that he was disappointed by his inability to promote his Starz series Heels, but ultimately concluded, "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."
Meanwhile, many of Amell's Arrow colleagues reunited outside the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, Calif., on Friday. Among the group were costars Caity Lotz, Willa Holland, Katrina Law, Juliana Harkavy, Kirk Acevedo, and Katie Cassidy, who shared a photo on Instagram, as well as writers and producers Marc Guggenheim, Beth Schwartz, and Wendy Mericle.
Guggenheim, a former Arrow showrunner, told The Hollywood Reporter, "What [Amell] was saying really got misconstrued." He added, "Stephen is as supportive of SAG as he is of WGA. I'm glad he's out, you know, in New York, I'm glad he was picketing, I'm bummed that he wasn't here to join us today, but he sent me and Beth and Wendy a lovely text encouraging us. He has our back and we have his."
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