Guardians of the Galaxy Director Gunn Apologizes for Superhero Sex Blog

James Gunn, director of the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy feature film adaptation for Marvel Studios, has apologized for a controversial blog post made nearly two years ago in which he made a number of sexist and homophobic remarks regarding comic book characters. The article, the result of a social media poll in which Gunn asked who the fifty most sexually-desirable superheroes were, was accompanied by Gunn's personal commentary on most of the list, some of which was deemed offensive by a number of bloggers who recently uncovered the writing. Shortly after the piece returned to prominence earlier this week, Gunn deleted the post but the web cache, combined with screen captures made while it was still live, continued to generate hits and controversy. Within the comics industry, a number of bloggers expressed concern that Disney and Marvel were about to hand over the task of presenting the Guardians of the Galaxy to a mainstream audience, to a voice they found repugnant. A handful of fans were threatening to boycott the film and bloggers at DC Women Kicking Ass and The Mary Sue both provided readers with contact information to complain to Disney. Today, after about 36 hours of conversation in the comics and entertainment blogosphere started to spill over into places like The Huffington Post and The Hollywood Reporter, Gunn addressed the post directly for the first time in a statement provided to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, an LGBT rights group. Wrote Gunn,

"A couple of years ago I wrote a blog that was meant to be satirical and funny.  In rereading it over the past day I don't think it's funny.  The attempted humor in the blog does not represent my actual feelings.  However, I can see where statements were poorly worded and offensive to many.  I'm sorry and regret making them at all.  People who are familiar with me as evidenced by my Facebook page and other mediums know that I'm an outspoken proponent for the rights of the gay and lesbian community,  women and anyone who feels disenfranchised, and it kills me that some other outsider like myself, despite his or her gender or sexuality, might feel hurt or attacked by something I said.  We're all in the same camp, and I want to do my best to make this world a better place for all of us.  I'm learning all the time.   I promise to be more careful with my words in the future.  And I will do my best to be funnier as well. Much love to all."