‘Arrow’ Actor Stephen Amell Says He Does Not Support the SAG-AFTRA Strike: “It Is a Reductive Negotiating Tactic”

Arrow actor Stephen Amell admitted during a recent public appearance that he does not support the WGA/SAG-AFTRA strikes, going so far as to call them “myopic” and “incredibly frustrating.”

“I support my union, I do. And I stand with them. I do not support striking. I don’t. I think that it is a reductive negotiating tactic,” he said during a Q&A at Galaxycon, per The New York Post. “And I find the entire thing incredibly frustrating.”

The dual strikes happening now mark the first time since 1960 that both the writers union and the screen actors guild have gone on strike at the same time. Both unions unanimously voted to strike after the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) — which includes major studios and streaming services such as Amazon, NBCUniversal, Disney, Apple, Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery and Sony — failed to reach an agreement with either union.

“I think the thinking as it pertains to shows — like the show that I’m on that premiered last night — I think it’s myopic,” he added, referring to Heels, the Starz drama that recently premiered its second season.

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UPDATE: Amell issued a statement on social media on Tuesday (Aug 1) afternoon, walking back his previous claims that he does “not supporting striking.” In this new statement, Amell maintains that he can understand why SAG-AFTRA is on strike from “an intellectual perspective,” but “that doesn’t mean it isn’t emotionally frustrating on many levels for all involved.”

“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,” he wrote in a post shared on Instagram after a clip of him at Galaxycon went viral. “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.”

“Of course I don’t like striking. Nobody does. But we have to do what we have to do,” he later wrote, adding, “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.”

Amell also stated he has “no clue” what he was trying to say by calling the strike “myopic.”

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Others online were quick to point out that Amell has continued promoting his new show, which expressly goes against the rules SAG-AFTRA set against promoting “struck work or struck companies.” This includes attending press junkets, interviews and posting on social media.

‘Arrow’ actor Stephen Amell says he doesn’t support the WGA/SAG-AFTRA strikes:

“I do not support striking. I don't. I think that it's a reductive negotiating tactic, and I find the entire thing incredibly frustrating.” pic.twitter.com/rMTjxYXD8n

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) July 31, 2023

The Flash actor Matt Letscher fired back on social media, tweeting, “Still waiting on that comprehensive list of totally non-reductive negotiating tactics we get to employ now. Thank god for superheroes! Any second now…. #SAGAFTRAstrike #SAGAFTRAstrong”

The union, which represents approximately 160,000 actors, announced the walkout on July 13, after which they joined the nearly 11,000 writers who had been picketing since May 2.

Another video circulated showing Amell during a Q&A at the Montreal Comic Con July 15, two days after the SAG-AFTRA strike was called.

“We can talk about David [Ramsey], we can talk about me… but we can’t talk about Arrow,” he told the audience.

When the audience began to groan in response, he said, “You know what? Fuck this, let’s go,” seemingly prompting the audience to ask questions about the CW show, which also goes against SAG-AFTRA strike rules. Ramsey, who is seated next to him, appeared to agree with Amell’s point.

Amell is one of the first actors to speak out against the SAG-AFTRA strike after almost 98 percent of the union voted to strike if negotiations failed. Dozens of actors have also shown their support at the picket line, including Susan Sarandon, Jessica Chastain, Dermot Mulroney and many more.

Productions in Hollywood have largely halted, but previous reports have claimed that the strike could continue into October as the AMPTP is planning to “dig in hard” before returning to the negotiation table.