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Arrow’s Stephen Amell Joins SAG-AFTRA Picket Line

‘Arrow’ star Stephen Amell, who has been critical of the SAG-AFTRA strike, joined the picket line in New York City today, at the same time ‘Arrow’ co-creator Marc Guggenheim was holding a cast and crew “reunion” picket in Los Angeles.

By Russ Burlingame

August 11, 2023, 4:59pm

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 11: Stephen Amell joins SAG-AFTRA members as they maintain picket lines across New York City on August 11, 2023 in New York City. Members of SAG-AFTRA and WGA (Writers Guild of America) have both walked out in their first joint strike against the studios since 1960. The strike has shut down a majority of Hollywood productions with writers in the third month of their strike against the Hollywood studios.

Arrow star Stephen Amell has joined more than 10 former writers, producers, and actors from the long-running CW series on the picket line to support The Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), after comments he made disparaging the actors’ strike went viral earlier this month. Amell, who currently appears on Starz’s Heels, was upset that the rules of the strike prohibited him from promoting that series, and expressed concerns about the concept of striking as a worthwhile means of protest. After the comments were met with derision from other actors and members of the audience, Amell repeatedly tried to reframe and rephrase his arguments.

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Last week, Arrow co-creator Marc Guggenheim announced that there would be a reunion for actors and writers from the show on picket lines today. The latest round of protests come as the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and Writers Guild of America (WGA) are meeting to discuss a new proposal today. As of last week, only 7% of Americans polled sided with management in the strikes.

Amell is not with the organized Arrow reunion, which is in Los Angeles this week while he pickets in New York. Amell lives in Los Angeles, but is a native of Toronto, a city in eastern Canada, and spends a good deal of his time on the East Coast.

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“I’m going to take a little bit of a quiet time and try to unplug all little bit,” Amell eventually told TMZ, effectively backing away from any further attempts to get people on his side of the issue. “But, I’ll tell you what… I will do anything in my power and if that’s being the first one across the line, no pun intended, if that is going to help this process, then I am more than happy to take those slings and arrows. I don’t consider myself to be a martyr, and frankly, I would have preferred that these comments never been made public, but they did. And here we are and hopefully it can just lead to a broader discussion and we can get people back to work.”

Amell is currently starring in Heels, which airs on Starz. All eight seasons of Arrow are streaming on Netflix.