Zachary Levi has bemoaned Sag-Aftra rules which are currently preventing him from talking publicly about his work in TV and film, and many are not aren’t impressed.
The Shazam actor, 42, was speaking on stage at the Comic-Con when he began blasting the rules of the strike, which he referred to as ‘dumb.’
Sag-Aftra, a union that describes themselves as ‘the faces and voices that entertain and inform and the world’, represents over 100,000 Hollywood workers.
The also took a strike of their own, following a breakdown in negotiations with major film and TV studios.
Matters were at the centre of the talks, which have caused the first joint WGA and Sag-Aftra strike since 1960.
A clip of Levi talking about the strike at the event that celebrates all things comic books, sci-fi, and fantasy went viral on and has been criticised online.
The American actor, who is also known for his work on US spy comedy series Chuck, spoke to a large crowd at the event, where he took aim at the strikes.
‘This is so dumb,’ he opened up. ‘I’m not allowed to talk about any of my previous work. I’m not allowed to talk about movies that I may [play] a superhero in.’
He continued: ‘I’m not allowed to talk about TV shows that I may have been a nerd who worked at a Best Buy, or any animated princess movies.’
‘I was fantastic in [the princess movies] as the best prince ever, but I’m not allowed to talk about them!’ he shouted as the audience cheered him on.
The unions have barred actors from attending premieres or from promoting any any work projects – both of these actions are considered picket-crossing actions.
On social media, many fans were keen to remind Levi of this after his on-stage comments, criticising his decision to complain about the nature of strikes.
‘These wealthy and successful actors complaining about how inconvenienced they are by the strike is so annoying,’ one user commented on X, formerly Twitter.
However, another person defended his actions: ‘I understand his frustrations. I’m hoping he took the opportunity to expand on why there’s a strike in the first place.’
Levi’s comments come after he said last week that he was who negatively reviewed the sequel to the Shazam movie.
Zachary Levi’s representatives have been contacted for comment.
