Guardians Of The Galaxy star Dave Bautista has defended James Gunn after the director was fired over offensive historical tweets.
Gunn, 51, has been sacked by Disney after a far-right blogger dredged up old tweets from the director which made light of subjects including rape and paedophilia.
One tweet read: I like when little boys touch me in my silly place.
Another read: The best thing about being raped is when youre done being raped and its like, “whew this feels great, not being raped!”
The tweets, uncovered by conspiracy theorist Mike Cernovich, were sent years before Gunn became the director of the Guardians Of The Galaxy franchise.
I will have more to say but for right now all I will say is this..@JamesGunn is one of the most loving,caring,good natured people I have ever met. Hes gentle and kind and cares deeply for people and animals. Hes made mistakes. We all have. Im NOT ok with whats happening to him
— Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) July 21, 2018
Bautista, who plays Drax in the movies, took to Twitter to say that he is not ok with the directors exit.
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The 49-year-old wrote: I will have more to say but for right now all I will say is this..@JamesGunn is one of the most loving,caring,good natured people I have ever met. Hes gentle and kind and cares deeply for people and animals.
Hes made mistakes. We all have. Im NOT ok with whats happening to him.
Gunns firing has caused much controversy amongst fans, with many claiming he shouldnt have been sacked as the tweets were almost a decade ago; while others have said Disney had no choice due to the nature of the tweets.
Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn said on Friday: The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James Twitter feed are indefensible.
[They are] inconsistent with our studios values, and we have severed our business relationship with him.
James wrote on Twitter: 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 Ive developed as a person, so has my work and my humour.
Its not to say Im 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 its shocking and trying to get a reaction are over.
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More: Marvel
In the past, I have apologised for humour 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 wasnt living them out. I know this is a weird statement to make, and seems obvious, but, still, here I am, saying it.
Anyway, thats the completely honest truth: I used to make a lot of offensive jokes. I dont anymore. I dont 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.
It is unclear how this will affect Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol.3, which is slated for release in 2020.
The hugely successful Marvel franchise also stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel and Karen Gillan.
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