Guardians of the Galaxy star Dave Bautista has been outspoken in his defense of recently-ousted director James Gunn and his blasting of Disney over the decision continues.
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In a Tweet on Wednesday, the Drax actor re-tweeted an article from The Hollywood Reporter entitled “In Firing James Gunn, Disney Hurts All of Hollywood”, while sharing his agreement. Check it out below.
And then some! Never make a mistake! Don’t have a sense of humor! Don’t be politically outspoken! Etc, fucking etc!!! https://t.co/WDfuvl9qGD
— Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) July 25, 2018
“And then some!” Bautista writes. “Never make a mistake! Don’t have a sense of humor! Don’t be politically outspoken! Etc, f***ing etc!!”
Last week, Disney fired Gunn after some very offensive tweets the filmmaker wrote a decade ago resurfaced with Chairman of Walt Disney Studios Alan Horn calling the tweets “indefensible and inconsistent” with the studio’s values. While Gunn has apologized for the tweets, Bautista has previously pointed out that the director is a good and caring person and that he’s not okay with his firing before moving on to criticizing Disney’s decision more directly.
“What happened here is so much bigger then G3, @JamesGunn ,myself,@Disney etc. This was a #cybernazi attack that succeeded,” the actor tweeted. “Unless we start to unite together against this crap, whether people are offended are not! …it’s going to get much worse. And it can happen to anyone,” Bautista wrote on Twitter earlier this week.
Bautista isn’t the only person questioning Gunn’s firing. In addition to an outpouring of support from fans and celebrities alike, NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also recently shared his thoughts. In a lengthy article (also for The Hollywood Reporter) Abdul-Jabbar noted several recent, high profile issues where outrage over offensive speech or content resulted in firings or calls for cancellation. Specifically citing Gunn’s situation, Abdul-Jabbar questioned Disney’s decision in light of its own controversial past.
“Disney’s sentiment seems sincere, but the actual words are problematic,” he writes. “If we start going back through Disney movies in the past, how much blatant sexism, racism and homophobia will we find? Disney would rightfully claim that, though those offenses may have occurred, the company has evolved since then. Which is the same claim Gunn has made regarding his tweets.”
Abdul-Jabbar boiled it down to an even finer point.
“Why does Disney deserve our admiration for changing, but Gunn gets our scorn?”
It’s a point Bautista seems to question as well.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was expected to shoot in January ahead of a May 2020 release, although Gunn’s firing may impact the schedule.
What do you think about the James Gunn firing? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
