Stephen Amell has frequently spoken candidly about how he feels the Arrowverse wasn't given the respect it deserved by Warner Bros. The CW's lineup of DC TV shows was never incorporated into the DCEU and ultimately reached an unceremonious end with the cancellations of Batwoman and Legends of Tomorrow.
In Peacemaker season 1, John Cena's Christopher Smith took cheap shots at several DC superheroes, including Green Arrow. Confirming he was no fan of the Emerald Archer, the former Task Force X member said, "That dude goes to brony conventions dressed as the back half of Twilight sparkling with a four-inch wide butthole drilled into the costume."
Amell made it clear he didn't appreciate the jab when the episode aired and reiterated his frustrations during a recent interview with Chris Van Vliet.
"That was a little unnecessary. I didn’t f***ing appreciate that at all," the actor started. "Okay. I am just going to come right out and say this. There was just such...between the movies and Peacemaker a little bit...our show was kind of treated like shit. I get it, we’re on the CW, I get it, it’s TV."
"But I also get the fact that when people think about the most recent iteration of DC, they don’t think about the Snyder Cut - they think about the Arrowverse," Amell continued. "We got crapped on for years, and years, and years, and this just seemed excessive. I’m not actually mad, but I just remember hearing that and just being like, 'F*** those guys,' like seriously."
"I’m up here. I’m working just as hard as anyone else. Do you know how hard it is to play a superhero with no superpowers for 23 episodes a year? It’s really, really, really hard, and I’m not looking for a prize but, like, maybe don’t shit on our show," he concluded.
Despite these very obvious frustrations, Amell was quick to point out that he has no problem with Cena. James Gunn on the other hand? "If I should be mad at anyone, it should be James Gunn for writing that in the first place. But [Cena] could not be a nicer guy. It’s not a personal vendetta against [Cena]."
It does feel a little like the Arrow star may have taken the whole thing a little too seriously, especially when Aquaman was another frequent target of Peacemaker's insults. The difference there, of course, is that Jason Momoa got to make a cameo appearance in the finale while Amell was left to languish on The CW.
You can check out the full interview with Amell in the player below.