Zachary Levi clarifies feelings after calling certain SAG-AFTRA strike rules “so dumb”
As has been reported, some of the rules of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike don’t expressly forbid stars from attending certain fan conventions, but they aren’t allowed to promote even their past work.
Zachary Levi is now clarifying his feelings about those rules, after comments he made at last week’s Manchester Comic Con in New Hampshire.
As he addressed fans at a Q&A, he called the rules “so dumb.”
“I’m not allowed to talk about movies that I may be a superhero in,” he teased.
“I’m not allowed to talk about TV shows that I may have been a nerd who worked at a Best Buy amalgam,” he noted of NBC’s action-comedy Chuck, before alluding to Disney’s Tangled with, “I’m not allowed to talk about any animated princess movies that I was fantastic in as the best prince ever…”
In a statement given to ABC Audio Friday, August 4, Levi said his “offhand remark…made in jest” has been “taken out of context.”
He states, “So let me be very clear. I fully support my union, the WGA, and the strike. I remain an outspoken critic of the exploitative system that us artists are subject to work in since I started…in this business 25 years ago.”
Levi expresses, “This strike is necessary to protect ourselves, our writers, and all those working in production who make the industry move.”
However, he adds, “we also cannot forget our fans during this strike…[who] 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.”
Levi closed by saying, “Our business exists and succeeds because of the fans, and I think it’s imperative we appreciate them for their support of our careers.”
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