Yahoo News Hugh Jackman on whether Bryan Singer allegations have tainted X-Men : 'It's complicated'
Hugh Jackman, who appeared as Wolverine in four of the Bryan Singer-directed X-Men movies over the years, is weighing in on whether the sexual misconduct allegations against the filmmaker have tainted the legacy of the superhero franchise. So, you know, not exactly a light topic of conversation for an actor promoting a movie.
"You know, that's a really, really complicated question," the actor said in response to the question posed by The Guardian in an interview. "There's a lot of things at stake there. X-Men was the turning point, I believe, in terms of comic-book movies, and I think there's a lot to be proud of. And there's certainly questions to be asked, and I think they should be asked."
"But I guess I don't know how to elegantly answer that," Jackman continued. "I think it's complex, and ultimately I look back with pride at what we've achieved and what momentum that started."
Since Jackman worked with Singer, the director has been accused by several men of sexual misconduct, including multiple claims of sexual assault of minors. Singer has been sued multiple times since 1997, though all lawsuits have either been dropped or settled out of court. Singer has not been arrested or charged with any crimes and the filmmaker has denied the allegations.
In 2020, The Hollywood Reporter published an exposé detailing an alleged toxic work environment for the first X-Men. The main cast reportedly threatened to walk away from the movie over Singer's behavior.
Everett Collection Hugh Jackman makes his Wolverine debut in 2000 with the first 'X-Men' movie.
When asked by The Guardian whether those accounts matched Jackman's own experience, the actor replied, "This was my first movie in America, you gotta understand; it was all so new to me. I think it's fair to say that… There are some stories, you know… I think there are some ways of being on set that would not happen now. And I think that things have changed for the better."
Speaking more generally, Jackman added, "There's way less tolerance for disrespectful, marginalizing, bullying, any oppressive behavior. There's zero tolerance for it now and people will speak out, and I think that's great."
Jackman's comments come shortly after another star of the X-Men franchise, Jennifer Lawrence, made mention of Singer. During a roundtable discussion with multiple actresses in the awards season conversation for THR, Lawrence, who played Mystique in Singer's X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse, commented on the assertion that women are too emotional to handle work demands.
"It was incredible to not be around toxic masculinity. To get a little break from it," she said of working with a woman, director Lila Neugebauer, on her latest film Causeway. "And it did always just make us laugh about how we ended up with, 'Women shouldn't be in roles like this because we're so emotional.' I mean, I've worked with Bryan Singer. I've seen emotional men. I've seen the biggest hissy fits thrown on set."
The other women, which included Michelle Yeoh, Michelle Williams, Danielle Deadwyler, Emma Corrin, and Claire Foy, immediately broke into laughter when Singer was mentioned.
Jackman is now plotting a surprise return to X-Men after he supposedly retired the role of Wolverine with 2017's Logan. He's set to reprise the part opposite Ryan Reynolds' Wade Wilson in the still-untitled Deadpool 3, set for theaters Nov. 8, 2024.
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