Disney fires James Gunn from "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3"

[Gaith]

This is a tough one. The tweets are awful, and though he wrote them years ago, not deleting them until just now does imply that he stood by them to some degree after all this time. That implication may well be incorrect - laziness and negligence may account for this oversight - but the implication is there regardless. Had he deleted the tweets the minute he was hired by Disney years ago, I think I'd vote to let him get away with an apology (assuming it was a good one). Since that's not the case, however, it's hard to disagree with Disney's decision, as painful for the fans and as big a win for right-wing trolls as it may be.

 

[Jinn]

Yeah, considering that these tweets are years old and he has since apologised (did he apologise right away or just now?) I think this is a bit of an overreaction, even though the things he said were extremely tasteless.

 

[Garak]

Didn't take long for the outrage machine to go into spin mode

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Wow, this is really disappointing to read. Not that he was fired (I'll get to that in a moment), but because of those are horrific tweets. Yes, a person can change after six plus years (look no further than people who left Westboro Church after being raised to be bigots and are now turning over a new leaf), but these tweets are disgusting and I don't blame Disney for firing him, if for no other reason from a PR perspective.

Besides, I agree that it would be a double standard for him to not get fired after Roseanne was justifiably fired and had her show canceled, even if his tweets are six plus years old.

I'm a big fan of both films and I loved what Gunn did for the films, but I still think this is the right call.

Yeah, considering that these tweets are years old and he has since apologised (did he apologise right away or just now?)

I haven't read any news items yet, but based on what people have reported here, it sounds like he has only apologized now for the tweets because he was "caught."

 

[The Wormhole]

This is horseshit. While those tweets aren't exactly anything that should be repeated in polite company, they're from years ago. Some of them go back nine years. I guess we hold grudges indefinitely now?

 

[Jax]

Bad jokes but nothing indicates Gunn was supportive of the things he was tweeting about and Gunn doesn't have a history to indicate these weren't anything other than the general toilet humor that most people have probably taken part of in some small way on the internet.

Guardians 3 will suffer from a lack of Gunn.

not deleting them until just now does imply that he stood by them to some degree after all this time

Or he has god knows how many tweets on his account over a Decade of use and simply forgot about them. Who the hell can remember what they tweeted last week, never mind almost a decade ago.

The right will bring up Roseanne but like normal it's all false equivalency from them.

 

[Jinn]

I haven't read any news items yet, but based on what people have reported here, it sounds like he has only apologized now for the tweets because he was "caught."

Okay, that definitely doesn't sound good.

 

[Jax]

These responses on Twitter caught my eye...

Hey Disney, you know who said worse things than James Gunn? Walt Disney.

Remember when Disney made a movie with Victor Salva, *after* he was convicted of being an actual pedophile? It was called Powder. James Gunn, on the other hand, made a few gross jokes 10 years ago and he's been blacklisted from the Disney family.

Just interesting, is all.

Also it seems he apologised for these things back in 2012?

 

[Booji]

The dude was in his late 40s when he said the shit. He's an adult, or should be. F him

 

[The Nth Doctor]

These responses on Twitter caught my eye...

Just interesting, is all.

Just because Disney allowed that bad shit in the past, including from their own founder, doesn't mean they should keep allowing it.

Also, I had no idea about Powder (not that I ever saw it).

Also it seems he apologised for these things back in 2012?

Ah, did he? I missed that if that was mentioned earlier. Do you have a source? Edit: Never mind, I finally actually read the entirety of the Variety article.

 

[Jax]

Just because Disney allowed that bad shit in the past, including from their own founder, doesn't mean they should keep allowing it.

James Gunn is not a pedo by all accounts and doesn't support it, what he did was make some jokes that were no worse than you read on the internet and to be quite frank hear on some comedy stages. There not allowing anything in not firing Gunn who hasn't made the sin of awful jokes like this in years so clearly it's not part of pattern of behaviour anymore if it ever was.

Speaking of not allowing things, I presume Depp will be fired in the next few minutes for his drug/alcohol issues and the fact it seems he may of hit his Ex-Wife.

*I hear the sound of Twitter accounts across the world being deleted*

 

[Jax]

That Mike guy who broke this news that is actually old news but for some reason causes more outrage in 2018 than in 2012 should be very careful about throwing stones in a GIANT FUCKING glass house. His past Tweets are...something for sure.

Who is he anyway?

 

[The Nth Doctor]

James Gunn is not a pedo by all accounts and doesn't support it, what he did was make some jokes that were no worse than you read on the internet and to be quite frank hear on some comedy stages. There not allowing anything in not firing Gunn who hasn't made the sin of awful jokes like this in years so clearly it's not part of pattern of behaviour anymore if it ever was.

Granted that, and while it helps that he did apologize for the behavior in the past, I still think it would've been a double standard to fire Roseanne but not him.

Speaking of not allowing things, I presume Depp will be fired in the next few minutes for his drug/alcohol issues and the fact it seems he may of hit his Ex-Wife.

He should be. I didn't watch the most recent Pirates of the Caribbean film because of that (helped that it looked like crap) and I feel torn about seeing the next Fantastic Beasts film for the same reason and I was disappointed that J.K. Rowling defended him.

 

[StCoop]

The right will bring up Roseanne but like normal it's all false equivalency from them.

If someone on the Right made exactly the same "jokes" just as many years ago, Gunn would have been one of the people calling for them to be fired. So what's the difference?

 

[Gaith]

Or he has god knows how many tweets on his account over a Decade of use and simply forgot about them. Who the hell can remember what they tweeted last week, never mind almost a decade ago.

He's a very well-paid guy, and LA is full of smart young people willing to work odd jobs on the cheap. He could easily have hired one to spend a day cleaning up his account.

 

[Jax]

Granted that, and while it helps that he did apologize for the behavior in the past, I still think it would've been a double standard to fire Roseanne but not him.

Roseanne had a pattern of behaviour that shown no signs of stopping and targeting individuals. Gunn made stupid jokes about a topic in general, IMO that's a clear difference and one shows intent to harm (Roseanne) and one shows poor taste in writing (Gunn).

 

[Terranimperial]

It's good that Disney fired him, any grown adult who thinks that stuff is humorous is obviously a deranged human being. Even if it is a joke it is irresponsible to leave such material out on twitter and expect not to have it turned against him.

 

[Jax]

any grown adult who thinks that stuff is humorous is obviously a deranged human being

There's alot of stand up comedians that are going to get fired soon, Frankie Boyle comes to mind from the UK is a huge star and his jokes are alot worse, yet he's loved in the UK.

Where do we draw the line? How many comedians or people who work in comedy in some sense (Big ones at that) have done or do jokes on Sex, Rape, Racism, Paedophiles etc? Again I can't help but come back to the people who target specific individuals like Roseanne did with the Tweet that got her fired and more general jokes on a topic even if their awful jokes.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

So how long does this last? Does that mean he can't do another project for the rest of his life?

 

[Jax]

I wonder if any of the Guardians actors will defend him? What happens if any say to Disney I won't do the 3rd movie if you don't bring him back? I presume the left wing mob will fire back against a target on the right and then vice versa until all we are left with in Hollywood is Betty White.

I'm glad no one uploads what me and my friends say during a game of Cards Against Humanity because we would be fired into the Sun based off the reactions of tonight.