Guardians of the Galaxy actor Dave Bautista and other Hollywood stars react to James Gunn firing
Hollywood has been shocked by Disney's decision to fire director James Gunn over offensive Tweets posted almost a decade ago, many famous actors and writers posting reactions on Twitter.
Between 2008 and 2012, the filmmaker posted multiple messages on social media containing jokes about subjects such as paedophilia and rape. The posts were recently unearthed by a conservative news website leading to Disney ”severing” their business relationship with Gunn.
The 51-year-old previously directed two Guardians of the Galaxy movies for the studio and was set to helm the third instalment, writing a treatment for the movie earlier this year.
One of Gunn’s actors, Dave Bautista – who played the character Drax in both Guardians instalments – defended the director’s “mistakes” on Twitter: “James Gunn is one of the most loving, caring, good natured people I have ever met. He’s gentle and kind and cares deeply for people and animals. He’s made mistakes. We all have. I’m NOT ok with what’s happening to him.”
I will have more to say but for right now all I will say is this..@JamesGunn is one of the most loving,caring,good natured people I have ever met. He’s gentle and kind and cares deeply for people and animals. He’s made mistakes. We all have. Im NOT ok with what’s happening to him
— Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) 21 July 2018
Other Hollywood personnel also reacted to the news on social media, Jimmy Fallon writer Chase Mitchell writing: “Hey Disney, you know who said worse things than James Gunn? Walt Disney.”
Hey Disney, you know who said worse things than James Gunn? Walt Disney.
— Chase Mitchell (@ChaseMit) 20 July 2018
Actor Patton Oswalt posted a message concerning one of the commentators who brought down Gunn, while Rick and Morty creator Justin Roiland joked about quitting the unannounced Jar Jar Binx movie because of the move.
This is one of the LESS disgusting tweets from Mike Cernovich, the dude who, after running a Gamergate-style smear campaign, just got James Gunn fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. Okay have a good weekend. https://t.co/7DYlin1zgO
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) 20 July 2018
This is insane to me. Is this real?! Jesus. Well there goes that R rated jar jar binks movie I’ve been working on. I QUIT, DISNEY! https://t.co/G9hu4mw3Iq
— Justin Roiland (@JustinRoiland) 20 July 2018
I’ve known James Gunn for over a decade. James is an advocate of human rights, animal rights, and general positivity. In recent years his platform to speak about these things has grown tremendously and he’s used it for a lot of good. He’s an amazing human being with a huge heart
— Mikaela Hoover (@mikaelahoover) 21 July 2018
I’ve known @jamesgunn for a long time and I guarantee that these old tweets were JUST JOKES. You can argue they were bad jokes, or pointless or tasteless or whatever, but they were JUST JOKES. His firing is 100% about his outspoken political beliefs. This is a scary time, y’all.
— Rhett Miller (@rhettmiller) 21 July 2018
The director has released an official statement taking “full responsibility” for his actions: “My words of nearly a decade ago were, at the time, totally failed and unfortunate efforts to be provocative. I have regretted them for many years since – not just because they were stupid, not at all funny, wildly insensitive, and certainly not provocative like I had hoped, but also because they don’t reflect the person I am today or have been for some time.”
Gunn began his Hollywood career as screenwriter on Scooby-Doo and the remake of Dawn of the Dead in the early 2000s. He also acted as an executive producer on Avengers: Infinity War, which has grossed $2bn worldwide at the box office. A replacement director on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has not been announced.