Stephen Amell may be best known to TV viewers as Oliver Queen aka the Green Arrow, the father of the Arrowverse, The CW’s very own answer to Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man who always had the back of the DC franchise’s other heroes. And yet it seems that the Arrow actor arguably doesn’t have the backs of his fellow actors in real-life, after his dismissive comments about the SAG-AFTRA strike have caused his reputation to take an instant hit.
During an appearance at North Carolina’s Galaxycon, Amell offered his two cents on the ongoing strikes affecting Hollywood, coming out as perhaps the first high-profile star to stand in opposition to the movement in the process. “I support my union, I do. And I stand with them,” Amell qualified, before explaining: “I do not support striking. I don’t. I think that it is a reductive negotiating tactic.”
At a time when the entire acting industry is pretty much uniting in solidarity, Amell’s alternative take is certainly garnering a lot of attention. In fact, based on literally the reams of reactions claiming exactly this out there, the 42-year-old actor and wrestler may have just “ended his career” in a few short sentences.
Never has this iconic Arrowverse meme been used so accurately before.
The irony is that Amell probably could’ve sailed through this whole strike situation unharmed if he hadn’t elected to voluntarily voice his controversial opinion.
Others are predicting some kind of “damage control apology” very soon.
A tweet of Amell’s from back in 2018, which self-deprecatingly comments on his own dumbness, is coming back to haunt him.
Obviously, these are just the thoughts on folks on Twitter, and what happens next for Amell’s career will really depend on what his colleagues in the industry think about his stance on the strikes. If you believe the social media legions, though, then it looks like the Green Arrow actor may have to become someone else. Something else…