- The “Guardians of the Galaxy” director James Gunn came under fire this week for old tweets he described as offensive.
- Conservative personalities uncovered years-old tweets from Gunn.
- Gunn addressed the controversy on Thursday night, tweeting, “I am very, very different than I was a few years ago.”
UPDATE: Disney fired James Gunn from “Guardians of the Galaxy 3” following his tweets resurfacing.
James Gunn, who directed Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” and its sequel, came under fire this week after several offensive, since-deleted tweets were uncovered.
Gunn is a vocal critic of President Donald Trump and frequently calls out Trump and the Republican Party on Twitter. That drew the ire of some conservative personalities, who dug up jokes Gunn tweeted several years ago.
#WalkAway pic.twitter.com/cI8BdWxedu
— Jack Posobiec🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) July 20, 2018
Hi @Disney!
Why did your employee @JamesGunn delete this tweet about a pedophile tree? pic.twitter.com/5TnoCoVmU6
— Jack Posobiec🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) July 20, 2018
What does this mean? https://t.co/vxJTvaWznfhttps://t.co/tq8eMSaI4Z pic.twitter.com/FeUrvZu0nW
— Mike Cernovich 🇺🇸 (@Cernovich) July 20, 2018
Pedophile book titles by James Gunnhttps://t.co/z9ddDqR1Pthttps://t.co/jhuQ7ZuTBF pic.twitter.com/uyEvPbVF3Z
— Mike Cernovich 🇺🇸 (@Cernovich) July 20, 2018
Gunn's personal website also seems to have been taken down amid the controversy.
Gunn's tweets are mostly from 2010 and 2011. In one, Gunn said: "The Expendables was so manly I f---ed the s--- out of the little p---- boy next to me! The boys ARE back in town!"
On Thursday night, Gunn addressed the controversy in a series of tweets, saying, "As I've developed as a person, so has my work and my humor."
He added: "I am very, very different than I was a few years ago; today I try to root my work in love and connection and less in anger. My days saying something just because it's shocking and trying to get a reaction are over."
1. 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. As I have discussed publicly many times, as I’ve developed as a person, so has my work and my humor.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 20, 2018
3. In the past, I have apologized for humor of mine that hurt people. I truly felt sorry and meant every word of my apologies.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 20, 2018
5. Anyway, that’s the completely honest truth: I used to make a lot of offensive jokes. I don’t anymore. I don’t blame my past self for this, but I like myself more and feel like a more full human being and creator today. Love you to you all.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 20, 2018