“Arrow” actor Stephen Amell, responding to harsh backlash to his weekend “I do not support striking” comment, on Tuesday sought to soften his controversial remarks about the SAG-AFTRA strike, which he suggested were “taken out of context.”
“Understandably, there has been a lot of reaction to the comments I made this weekend about our strike,” Amell wrote on Instagram. “To ensure there is no misunderstanding about my thoughts and intentions I’m providing what I actually said and clarity/context.”
Amell suggested “soundbites can be taken out of context” in his lengthy point-by-point explanation of what he said at a Galaxycon panel in Raleigh, North Carolina. During a Q&A session at the comic book convention, Amell said he supports his union, adding: “And I stand with them. I do not support striking. I don’t. I think that it is a reductive negotiating tactic. I find the entire thing incredibly frustrating.”
In his Instagram explanation, he began with his first claim: “I support my union.” “This doesn’t need much clarity,” he wrote.
He went on to address his comment about striking: “Of course I don’t like striking. Nobody does. But we have to do what we have to do.”
Amell later acknowledged that calling the strike a “reductive negotiating tactic” was a mistake.
He also addressed the fierce backlash he’s received.
“This situation reminds me 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,” he wrote.
“However, at least for the foreseeable future, I choose to stand with my union,” he continued. “When you see me on a picket line please don’t whip any hard fruit.”
Amell was ripped for his weekend comments by his colleagues and fans.
“Dude don’t care about others, he just wants to get paid,” wrote one Twitter user, with another tweeting: “If you’re worth $8M it’s easier to think like this.”
Kirk Acevedo, who starred opposite Amell in “Arrow,” tweeted: “This fucking guy.”
Amell’s “Legends of Tomorrow” and “The Flash” co-star Matt Letscher, meanwhile, was a little more verbose: “Still waiting on that comprehensive list of totally non-reductive negotiating tactics we get to employ now. Thank god for superheroes! Any second now…”
Writers Guild of America members have been on strike for pay and artificial intelligence guidelines since May. (HuffPost’s unionized employees are represented by the Writers Guild of America, East, which is not involved.) The Screen Actors Guild joined the strike in July after negotiations with film and TV studios crumbled.
Numerous A-listers have been on the picket lines.
Richard Shotwell/Invision/Associated Press