Shazam Actor Zachary Levi Slammed for Poking Fun at Actors Strike

The current actors' strike in Hollywood has affected all major projects across film and TV as productions were shut down until the studios finally agree on a fair deal with the guilds.

In addition, actors are also not allowed to do any promotional work for any projects that they starred in which has been an issue for upcoming releases since they won't be able to do their usual marketing campaign that relies on their stars doing a global press tour.

For the most part, the actors have been supportive of their guild's action and a lot of them have participated on the picket line. Several A-listers have also donated to help the guild members that need financial assistance.

However, we've also heard from a couple of actors who have expressed their frustration over the strike due to the restrictions that it entailed. Now, another actor from a major franchise is under fire for their recent comments on the strike.

Zachary Levi Calls the Actors Strike's Strict Rule "Dumb"

Credit: Warner Bros.

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, a video is currently surfacing online where Shazam! actor Zachary Levi is seen poking fun at the strike's rule surrounding not being allowed to publicly discuss their past and present work which he described as "dumb."

The video was believed to be taken from his appearance at Manchester Comic-Con in the UK late last month. Levi is now being slammed on social media as a result.

"I’m not allowed to talk about.... This is so dumb. I’m not allowed to talk about any of my previous work," he said.

"I’m not allowed to talk about movies that I may be a superhero in. I’m not allowed to talk about TV shows that I may have been a nerd who worked at a Best Buy. I’m not allowed to talk about any animated princess movies that I was fantastic in — as the best prince ever! I’m not allowed to talk about those things."

He is the second DC actor that is currently under fire for a comment related to the actors' strike. Recently, Arrow star Stephen Amell was criticized for slamming the strike although he walked down his comments days after.

What makes this more jarring for Levi is that he previously posted a video on Instagram where he made a passionate speech about the importance of the strike and the issue surrounding AI.

"[The studio executives] do not care about human life, they don’t care about, really, life in general. They care about profits. It’s always profit over people and not the other way around," he said in the video.

"So mark my words, if we don’t do something drastic right now…we’re doing something very drastic, and we need to be doing this very drastic thing. We need to be striking, we should have done this years ago."

Levi Issues a Clarification on His Comments

Credit: Warner Bros.

Today, Levi issued a statement to The Hollywood Reporter where he explained that his comments were taken out of context and iterated that he is supportive of his guild's initiative on the strike.

"It’s come to my attention that an offhand remark I made in jest last weekend is being taken out of context. So let me be very clear. I fully support my union, the WGA, and the strike," he said.

"I remain an outspoken critic of the exploitative system that us artists are subject to work in since I started my journey in this business 25 years ago. This strike is necessary to protect ourselves, our writers, and all those working in production who make the industry move."

Levi added, "But we also cannot forget our fans during this strike. Fans that spend their money and energy traveling far distances to talk with us about our work that means so much to them, we should be able to engage. Our business exists and succeeds because of the fans, and I think it’s imperative we appreciate them for their support of our careers.

Also Read: Zack Snyder Surprisingly Shows Support for Blue Beetle

While this new statement may have given us more clarity about his comment, it is still not a good look nonetheless since the strike is a sensitive situation and adhering to the rules is important for the guild. He could also be perceived as a hypocrite since he was initially supportive of the strike.

At the end of the day, the strike is an important issue for all actors across the industry and they need to come together in their most crucial fight to date.