Zachary Levi Awkwardly Calls Rules of Actors Strike “So Dumb”

Zachary Levi, the Shazam! star who is no stranger to a controversial remark, has apparently awkwardly questioned the parameters of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.

On Thursday, a video of Levi onstage at Manchester Comic-Con, which took place in the U.K. last month, began circulating. In the viral clip, Levi expresses joking frustration over the fact that he can’t discuss his past work on Chuck, Tangled and the Shazam! films without outright naming those titles. “I’m not allowed to talk about…. This is so dumb,” he says to the crowd. “I’m not allowed to talk about any of my previous work. 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.”

Levi’s remarks surfaced shortly after Arrow star Stephen Amell called the strike “myopic” and “a reductive negotiating tactic” while attending GalaxyCon in Raleigh, North Carolina. After receiving backlash, the actor later clarified his comments on Instagram, writing, “From an intellectual perspective, I understand why we are striking, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t emotionally frustrating on many levels for all involved” and requesting that “when you see me on a picket line please don’t whip any hard fruit.”

Although Levi bemoaned the guidelines in what appears to be an attempt at humor, the actor has publicly stated his support for the actors strike. Earlier this month, he shared an Instagram video with his thoughts on the negotiation for a fair contract with studios. “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,” Levi said. “We need to be striking, we should have done this years ago.”

Vanity Fair has reached out to Levi’s reps for comment.