Stephen Amell is not shy about speaking his mind, and he doesn’t care if it gets him in trouble.
The Arrow actor ruffled feathers while speaking at the GalaxyCon in North Carolina in late July, calling the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike “myopic,” “incredibly frustrating,” and a “reductive negotiating tactic.” Since 98% of the SAG-AFTRA union, of which Amell is a member, approve of the movement, he makes up a part of the just 2% of those who don’t — a minority of which Disney CEO Bob Iger would likely approve. Nevertheless, being a member of such a small minority — especially one opposed to overwhelming approval from not just its own fellow SAG-AFTRA members but onlookers around the world — must be a lonely island to live on.
This isn’t the first time Amell kicked up a controversy with his divisive behavior. Back in 2021, he shared on Twitter that he was asked to leave an airplane after instigating a drunken argument with his wife, although he later confessed in an interview on the Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast that it was a one-way conversation; being escorted off the plane by security had nothing to do with his wife, Cassandra Jean Amell, just his poor behavior.
The two incidents are brought into greater perspective when looking back on Amell’s even more unsettling comments from 2015, in which he allegedly insulted pop superstar Miley Cyrus in a Facebook post.
What did Stephen Amell say?
Who knows what prompts some people to air their dirty laundry, and others to keep it behind closed doors? All we know is that on Feb. 2, 2015, Stephen Amell felt compelled to drag another celebrity through the mud in a public post on Facebook. This celebrity is believed to be Miley Cyrus.
While sharing a story about a time when he, his wife, and his young daughter were at a breakfast spot in Los Angeles, Amell mentioned that an “incredibly famous young woman came in with her sort of (not really) famous boyfriend.” That comment alone reeks of pettiness, but let’s continue.
Amell says he tensed at the sight of the woman because he considered her “to be nothing short of an emotional terrorist.” When asked by his wife what was wrong, he said they needed to leave immediately lest “my kid and this overly sexualized velociraptor make eye contact.” He ended his rant by saying “This is what it’s like to have a daughter.”
Maybe for him that’s what it’s like to have a daughter; let’s not throw out blanket statements on behalf of every father, come on now, Stephen. His full post is as follows:
“Had breakfast on Tuesday in Los Angeles with my wife and daughter. In the midst of marveling at how she’s able to eat pancakes intended for fully grown humans while weighing less than 25 pounds… An incredibly famous young woman came in with her sort of (not really) famous boyfriend. I immediately tensed because I consider this person – as the father of a young girl – to be nothing short of an emotional terrorist. My wife senses this and asks me what’s wrong. I respond that we need to leave immediately for fear my kid and this overly sexualized velociraptor make eye contact even for the briefest of instances. I was dead serious. This is what it’s like to have a daughter.”
Why do people think Amell’s comments were about Miley Cyrus?
It’s important to note that Amell never mentioned Miley Cyrus by name in his Facebook post about the “overly sexualized velociraptor.” The idea that he was talking about the pop star spread because an overwhelming number of people brought up her name in the comments section. The reason they thought he was talking about her was because Amell has mentioned Cyrus’ by name several times in various other social media posts.
In April 2014, he simply tweeted, “Miley Cyrus…” This was just a few months after the singer released her “Wrecking Ball” music video which infamously depicted her riding a wrecking ball naked. In Feb. 2015, just a few days before his “velociraptor” Facebook post, he tweeted “I like them. They’re subtle. – Miley Cyrus checking out Kim Kardashian’s new photo spread.”
Clearly, Amell had (or has) a fixation with Miley Cyrus, so it wasn’t unreasonable to assume his comments were about her. In 2015, Cyrus was still in her “Bangerz” era, the title of her fourth studio album. During this time, the singer was known for sticking her tongue out, sporting her tiny ponytail buns, and wearing as few articles of clothing as possible. In 2015, she also infamously hosted the VMA Awards and made headlines for, well, wearing barely any clothes, and for her public beef with Nicki Minaj, who angrily shouted at Miley during her acceptance speech (“What’s good, Miley”). Miley also wore the most revealing red carpet outfit in VMA history at that time, so her name was permanently part of the pop culture conversation.
Again, because Amell never mentioned Cyrus by name, the truth lies with him and him alone. Miley Cyrus has never spoken out about the issue herself.
