Disney said his old tweets were “indefensible.”
As previously reported, Disney have sacked James Gunn as director of the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3 after old, offensive tweets were unearthed.
Alan Horn, Walt Disney Company Chairman, clarified the situation by saying: “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.”
It’s believed that the offending tweets were in relation to jokes that Gunn made previously about rape and paedophelia.
Since this news was announced, a representative for Gunn has released the following statement to EW.
“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.”
It adds: “Regardless of how much time has passed, I understand and accept the business decisions taken today. Even these many years later, 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: accepting, understanding, committed to equality, and far more thoughtful about my public statements and my obligations to our public discourse. To everyone inside my industry and beyond, I again offer my deepest apologies. Love to all.”
Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3 is set to be released in 2020.
Gunn also appeared to address the old remarks in a series of tweets that were posted on Thursday night.
https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/1020154777525575682
https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/1020154779169783808
https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/1020154780012834816
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