‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ Director James Gunn Under Fire For Old Tweets Joking About Pedophilia, Rape
Acclaimed director James Gunn came under fire Thursday night for old tweets that resurfaced containing jokes about sensitive topics such as pedophilia and rape.
According to Hollywoodlife, the tweets date back to 2009 and 2011. The tweets also include him slamming The Expendables film. The tweets were discovered on Gunn’s now deactivated personal website and shared via Twitter. The Guardians of the Galaxy director has since issued an apology in a series of tweets.
Some of the tweets, many of which have been subsequently deleted, include:
August, 2010 — “The Expendables was so manly I f—ed the s— out of the p-ssy boy next to me. The boys ARE back in town!”
October, 2009 — “Wondering which Disneyland character would be the worst to get raped by. I think it’s Goofy. But Sleepy would suck too.”
April, 2009 — “I like it when little boys touch me in my silly place. Shhh!”
February, 2009 — “The best thing about being raped is when you’re done being raped and it’s like ‘whew this feels great, not being raped!'”
Gunn recently found himself in hot water back in May 2018 when he responded to a tweet posted by actor Dylan Sprouse. Yo @jaredleto now that you’ve slid into the DM’s of every female model aged 18-25, what would you say your success rate is?” tweeted the 25-year-old actor. “He starts at 18 on the internet?” responded Gunn.
Gunn’s tweets were also shared by alt-right conspiracy theorist Mike Cernovich who also tweeted “It’s still 3 am in California, Disney is for an interesting day, as is San Diego Comicon, where James Gunn is scheduled to speak this afternoon.” The director is known anti-Trump supporter and tweets frequently, criticizing President Trump’s policies and the Republican party.
The director is currently at the San Diego Comic Con and slated to speak and reveal a surprise to fans. There has been no statement from Disney or Comic-Con as to whether the director will be removed from any panels.
James Gunn is known for directing films such as Slither, Super, and the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. The director has also written films such as the live action on-screen 2001 adaptation of Scooby-Doo and its sequel, the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead, and most recently The Belko Experiment.
Gunn is currently penning the script to Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 and is planning to wrap up the franchise with the third installment.
On July 13, Gunn teased fans that he will be premiering something “dark, sweet, and special” today at the San Diego Comic Con.
Read Gunn’s apology below
“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.
It’s not to say I’m better, but 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.
In the past, I have apologized for humor of mine that hurt people. I truly felt sorry and meant every word of my apologies.
For the record, when I made these shocking jokes, I wasn’t living them out. I know this is a weird statement to make, and seems obvious, but, still, here I am, saying it.”
