Disney fires James Gunn from 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3' after offensive tweets are unearthed
Walt Disney Co announced Friday that it was removing director James Gunn from the Marvel Studios sequel “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” after old tweets surfaced in which Gunn joked about such topics as rape, pedophilia, 9/11 and the Holocaust.
“The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James’ Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studio’s values, and we have severed our business relationship with him,” Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn said in a statement, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Gunn co-wrote and directed the first two installments of the wildly successful outer-space superhero franchise, which together grossed more than $1.5 billion worldwide. He was expected to begin shooting the third film later this year.
Gunn’s offensive tweets, which dated from several years ago and have since been deleted, were unearthed by conservative commentators after Gunn, an outspoken opponent of President Trump, came to the defense of actor and filmmaker Mark Duplass, who became ensnared in his own Twitter imbroglio after encouraging liberals to consider following right-wing pundit Ben Shapiro.
In one of the unearthed tweets, Gunn wrote, “I like when little boys touch me in my silly place.” In another, he wrote, “The best thing about being raped is when you’re done being raped and it’s like ‘whew this feels great, not being raped!’”
On Thursday, Gunn, who has long been a prolific user of social media, took to Twitter to explain that he had evolved as a person in the years since writing those tweets.
“Many people who have followed my career know when I started, I viewed myself as a provocateur, making movies and telling jokes that were outrageous and taboo,” Gunn wrote, in part. “As I have discussed publicly many times, as I’ve developed as a person, so has my work and my humor…. I used to make a lot of offensive jokes. I don’t anymore.”
In a statement Friday after his firing, Gunn wrote, “I understand and accept the business decisions taken today…. I take full responsibility for the way I conducted myself then. All I can do now, beyond offering my sincere and heartfelt regret, is to be the best human being I can be.”
In some ways, the episode highlights the risks that studios like Disney may assume when they bring outside-the-mainstream filmmakers with provocative sensibilities onto high-stakes tentpole projects, although whether Disney had been aware of Gunn’s tweets before they surfaced this week is unclear at this point.
Indeed, before being hired to take the reins of the “Guardians” franchise, Gunn was best known for his work on edgy, small-scale fare such as the 2006 horror-comedy “Slither” and 2010’s dark superhero satire “Super.” When he was brought into the Marvel fold, it was hoped that Gunn would inject some of his skewed aesthetic into the big-budget comic-book realm.
Disney’s decision to cut ties with Gunn was announced in the midst of the Comic-Con gathering in San Diego, where Gunn had been expected to appear at a Sony Pictures panel Friday to tease an upcoming project. But after the news broke, Gunn bowed out of that appearance.
Gunn’s firing offers just the latest illustration of the speed and ferocity with which social media postings — particularly against the backdrop of today’s intense political polarization and heightened sensitivity in the wake of the #MeToo movement — can come back to haunt public figures.
In late May, executives at Disney and ABC cancelled the sitcom “Roseanne” after its star, Roseanne Barr, compared Valerie Jarrett, a former aide to President Obama, to an ape on Twitter.
In an earlier case of a filmmaker’s social media post dramatically colliding with the interests of a studio, in 2015, on the eve of the release of the ill-fated 20th Century Fox superhero film “The Fantastic Four,” director Josh Trank publicly disavowed the movie in a tweet that he quickly deleted, though not before it went viral.
While some conservatives cheered Gunn’s firing on social media, Shapiro himself criticized Disney’s decision, even as he got in his own jab at the director.
“I think @JamesGunn is an ..., as my exchange with him earlier this week made clear,” Shapiro tweeted, using an expletive. “I also think that firing him for vile old joke tweets is bad precedent and a mistake. There is no limiting principle to the outrage mob.”
Videos
Interview with Francis Malige, EBRD Managing Director
Armenians Commemorating 106th Anniversary of Genocide
Biden Under Pressure to Recognize Armenian Genocide - KTLA 5 News
Governance and Oversight Capacities Account for Our Bank's Robust Management System - Philip Lynch, Independent Board Member at Ameriabank
'Mr. President, It Is Now in Your Power to Right Decades of Denial' - US Congressman Adam Schiff Urges Joe Biden to Recognize Armenian Genocide
Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh in Despair After Trauma of Military Defeat - France 24
Interview with Kakhaber Kiknavelidze, an Independent Member of Ameriabank Board of Directors
Only Terrorists Keep Hostages, Putting Forward Preconditions for Their Release - Edmon Marukyan
Rep Adam Schiff Says Congress Should Recognize Artsakh
UN's Guterres Issues Global Appeal to Make 2021 'Year of Healing'
NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Landing Animations
Azerbaijan Uses Prohibited Phosphorus Chemical Munitions - Defense Army Video
Artsakh Defense Army Units Neutralizing Azerbaijani Arms Supplies
Artsakh Defense Army Units Neutralizing Azerbaijani Drone
Nagorno-Karabakh's Status Has Been At the Heart of Our Approach - Zohrab Mnatsakanyan
Artsakh Defense Army Releases Video Featuring Damaged Azerbaijani Military Equipment
Artsakh Defense Army Units Inflicting Manpower Losses on Azerbaijan
Gas Pipeline Damaged in Azerbaijani Fire Targeting Nagorno-Karabakh's Capital
President Armen Sarkissian Meets Emmanuel Macron at Élysée Palace
Artsakh Defense Army Neutralizes Azerbaijani Military Hardware
Artsakh Defense Army Units Neutralizing Azerbaijani Military Infrastructures
President Armen Sarkissian Meets with NATO Secretary-General in Brussels
Buildings and Homes Lying in Ruins in Nagorno-Karabakh's Capital After Azerbaijani Shelling
Artsakh Defense Army's Precision Fire Gives Deadly Blow to Enemy
Artsakh Defense Army Units Destroying Azerbaijani Tank
Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: Ceasefire Does not Mandate Azerbaijan to Kill Civilians and Hit Civilian Settlements
Armenians Protest Outside Turkrish Embassy in Los Angeles
Losses in Azerbaijan's Military Featured in Defense Army Footage
Artsakh Defense Army Neutralizing Adversary's Transport Column
Turkey openly backs Azerbaijan 'far more aggressively than in the past' - ABC News on Syrian mercenaries fighting in Karabakh
Iconic Armenian Church Hit in Azerbaijani Attacks in Nagorno-Karabakh City (photos)
Artsakh Defense Army Continues High-Precision Strikes
War Situation in Karabakh on European Parliament's Agenda
Call for Urgent Action: Armenian Journalist Brings Intn'l Colleagues' Attention to Situation iin Artsakh After Azerbaijani Attacks
Turkey's Support to Syrian Mercenaries Fighting Against Artsakh: Facts About Azerbaijani Aggression
Nagorno-Karabakh's Capital Under Azerbaijani Strikes
Armenian Armed Forces Neutralize Azerbaijani Defense Positions
ArmenianTroops Destroy Azerbaijani Armored Fighting Vehicle on Frontline
There is a solid evidence that Azerbaijan has launched a thoroughly planned attack on the NKR
EU calls for Immediate End to Hostilities over Nagorno-Karabakh
- 15:20 • 24.05.21 Interview with Francis Malige, EBRD Managing Director
- 11:39 • 24.04.21 Armenians Commemorating 106th Anniversary of Genocide
- 09:40 • 23.04.21 Biden Under Pressure to Recognize Armenian Genocide - KTLA 5 News
- 15:34 • 22.04.21 Governance and Oversight Capacities Account for Our Bank's Robust Management System - Philip Lynch, Independent Board Member at Ameriabank
- 14:09 • 21.04.21 'Mr. President, It Is Now in Your Power to Right Decades of Denial' - US Congressman Adam Schiff Urges Joe Biden to Recognize Armenian Genocide
- 12:37 • 03.04.21 Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh in Despair After Trauma of Military Defeat - France 24
- 17:33 • 11.03.21 Interview with Kakhaber Kiknavelidze, an Independent Member of Ameriabank Board of Directors
- 17:57 • 26.01.21 Only Terrorists Keep Hostages, Putting Forward Preconditions for Their Release - Edmon Marukyan
- 13:33 • 22.01.21 Rep Adam Schiff Says Congress Should Recognize Artsakh
- 09:42 • 29.12.20 UN's Guterres Issues Global Appeal to Make 2021 'Year of Healing'
- 18:41 • 24.12.20 NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Landing Animations
- 13:33 • 31.10.20 Azerbaijan Uses Prohibited Phosphorus Chemical Munitions - Defense Army Video
- 16:37 • 30.10.20 Artsakh Defense Army Units Neutralizing Azerbaijani Arms Supplies
- 11:25 • 28.10.20 Artsakh Defense Army Units Neutralizing Azerbaijani Drone
- 13:45 • 24.10.20 Nagorno-Karabakh's Status Has Been At the Heart of Our Approach - Zohrab Mnatsakanyan
- 11:51 • 24.10.20 Artsakh Defense Army Releases Video Featuring Damaged Azerbaijani Military Equipment
- 11:40 • 24.10.20 Artsakh Defense Army Units Inflicting Manpower Losses on Azerbaijan
- 10:39 • 24.10.20 Gas Pipeline Damaged in Azerbaijani Fire Targeting Nagorno-Karabakh's Capital
- 12:41 • 23.10.20 President Armen Sarkissian Meets Emmanuel Macron at Élysée Palace
- 12:16 • 23.10.20 Artsakh Defense Army Neutralizes Azerbaijani Military Hardware
- 12:02 • 22.10.20 Artsakh Defense Army Units Neutralizing Azerbaijani Military Infrastructures
- 10:35 • 22.10.20 President Armen Sarkissian Meets with NATO Secretary-General in Brussels
- 10:51 • 17.10.20 Buildings and Homes Lying in Ruins in Nagorno-Karabakh's Capital After Azerbaijani Shelling
- 15:09 • 15.10.20 Artsakh Defense Army's Precision Fire Gives Deadly Blow to Enemy
- 13:13 • 13.10.20 Artsakh Defense Army Units Destroying Azerbaijani Tank
- 12:56 • 12.10.20 Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: Ceasefire Does not Mandate Azerbaijan to Kill Civilians and Hit Civilian Settlements
- 12:23 • 12.10.20 Armenians Protest Outside Turkrish Embassy in Los Angeles
- 17:23 • 09.10.20 Losses in Azerbaijan's Military Featured in Defense Army Footage
- 15:53 • 09.10.20 Artsakh Defense Army Neutralizing Adversary's Transport Column
- 14:11 • 09.10.20 Turkey openly backs Azerbaijan 'far more aggressively than in the past' - ABC News on Syrian mercenaries fighting in Karabakh
- 15:52 • 08.10.20 Iconic Armenian Church Hit in Azerbaijani Attacks in Nagorno-Karabakh City (photos)
- 10:57 • 08.10.20 Artsakh Defense Army Continues High-Precision Strikes
- 14:24 • 07.10.20 War Situation in Karabakh on European Parliament's Agenda
- 19:31 • 05.10.20 Call for Urgent Action: Armenian Journalist Brings Intn'l Colleagues' Attention to Situation iin Artsakh After Azerbaijani Attacks
- 16:17 • 04.10.20 Turkey's Support to Syrian Mercenaries Fighting Against Artsakh: Facts About Azerbaijani Aggression
- 12:39 • 04.10.20 Nagorno-Karabakh's Capital Under Azerbaijani Strikes
- 13:49 • 03.10.20 Armenian Armed Forces Neutralize Azerbaijani Defense Positions
- 10:12 • 29.09.20 ArmenianTroops Destroy Azerbaijani Armored Fighting Vehicle on Frontline
- 23:42 • 28.09.20 There is a solid evidence that Azerbaijan has launched a thoroughly planned attack on the NKR
- 18:45 • 28.09.20 EU calls for Immediate End to Hostilities over Nagorno-Karabakh
Most popular articles Today Yesterday For a week
-
Science/tech 16:55 • 18/11 The Results of the 19th Annual International Microelectronics Olympiad Summarized in Yerevan This year's Olympiad was conducted in two stages, with 332 participants from 16 countries, including the UAE, USA, Brazil, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Armenia, Jordan, Sri Lanka, Chile, Peru, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Vietnam, and France.
-
Event 11:07 • 19/11 “New Career Opportunities and Perspectives”: a career fair will be organized for people of Artsakh The main goal of the event is to support the socio-economic integration of Artsakh residents displaced by the conflict into Armenian society. It aims to enhance their competitiveness in the labor market and address employment challenges.
Economy
-
16:51 • 11.11.24 New features for Armeconombank’s Premium cardholders
-
12:16 • 08.11.24 Ucom and Sunchild NGO install another solar plant in Areni
Event
-
14:40 • 19.11.24 Ucom’s 5G network launched in 11 new cities
Science/tech
-
14:18 • 08.05.24 AstraZeneca withdrawing Covid vaccine worldwide