Shazam! star Zachary Levi laments that he can't talk about his past film and TV projects in a viral clip from Manchester Comic-Con over the weekend amid the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes
Hot on the heels of Stephen Amell backtracking his own criticism of the Hollywood strikes, Zachary Levi is falling into a bit of hot water over a viral clip from his apparent appearance at Manchester Comic-Con.
The Shazam! star could be seen on stage in the TikTok clip, which picks up midway through what appears to be a rant about the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, complaining about the rules and restrictions he is supposed to follow.
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“I’m not allowed to talk about — this is so dumb — I’m not allowed to talk about any of my previous work,” he tells the crowd in the video.
The actor then goes on to clearly describe his roles in Shazam!, Chuck, and Tangled, lamenting that he can’t talk about those roles. Out of context, it might seem he’s complaining about the strike, but the fact is, the clip is out of context.
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Levi is chuckling through his comments, with jokes sprinkled here and there. But there is no indication of what was said just before the clip began or what he said after. And there is zero indication in this clip that he is not in support of the strikes themselves.
It could be that he’s just acknowledging the awkwardness of him appearing at a convention as a celebrity during a panel discussion in which he is not allowed to talk about his most famous roles — which is surely what most of the attendees came to see and hear him do.
It’s worth noting that just last month, Levi shared a clip to his Instagram in which he expressed his support for the SAG-AFTRA strike, lambasting studio executives. “They do not care about human life, they don’t care about, really, life in general,” he said in the video. “They care about profits.”
“It’s always profit over people and not the other way around. 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,” he added. “We need to be striking. We should have done this years ago.”
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In other words, Levi appears to be fully in support of the strike. It’s certainly possible for him to support the necessity of the work stoppage while at the same time being frustrated about the restrictions while at a fan event.
Fan reaction, though, has been a little rough since the out-of-context clip’s release. This apparent controversy comes on the heels of similar fan frustration with fellow DC superhero Stephen Amell, who helped birth the Arrowverse on The CW as the titular Arrow.
At the same time Levi was in Manchester, Amell was telling fans at Raleigh’s GalaxyCon over the weekend that while he supports the union, he does not support the strike. “I think that it is a reductive negotiating tactic, and I find the entire thing incredibly frustrating,” he lamented.
“I think that the thinking as it pertains to shows — like this show that I’m on that premiered last night — I think it is myopic, and I stand with my union,” he added.
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In an attempt to mitigate some of the backlash, the actor expressed the duality of his thoughts on Instagram, noting, “I understand why we are striking, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t emotionally frustrating.”
He went on to break down his comments line by line to explain the intentions behind his words and his unequivocal support of a strike, even as he can also say that he doesn’t like that they have to do it.
Levi has yet to backtrack or attempt to further clarify his own words about the strike, but he has expressed his frustration at the media’s take on his comments about his latest superhero film, Shazam! Fury of the Gods underperforming at the box office and with critics.
“You know it’s a slow news cycle in Hollywood when ‘journalists’ at various ‘news’ outlets feel the need to turn what was a kind and thoughtful exchange of ideas in a podcast into their own click-bait nonsense,” he wrote on July 30. “I’d say I was disappointed, but that would be naïve of me.”
During an appearance on The Film Up Podcast, Levi described the negative critical response to the film as “insanely unkind,” calling the critics’ 49% score on Rotten Tomatoes “oddly and perplexingly low,” compared to the 86% audience score.
He went on to lament the rise of “online hate and haters and trolls, and factions and all that” who’ve “just gotten more galvanized in its toxicity.” Just a few days later, fans are again reacting to Levi’s comments, with many comparing his latest to Amell’s words.
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