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Guardians of the Galaxy actor Dave Bautista has been among the leading critics of Disneys firing of the franchises director James Gunn, and now hes “thanking” the studio for the move. In a tweet today, the wrestler-turned-thespian also took a not-subtle swipe at the folks who dredged up Gunns old offensive tweets that kick-started the ruckus:
Bautista, who played Drax the Destroyer in the first two installments of the lucrative Marvel superhero franchise, spoke out last month against Gunns axing and said at the time that “will have more to say.” He tweeted in late July that Gunn “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.”
Gunn was severed from the Marvel Comics Universe after a slew of social media posts referencing child molestation resurfaced. They were written long before he got the Guardians gig, and he apologized for them. According to Fox News — which referenced The Daily Caller, One America News Network correspondent Jack Posobiec and right-wing commentator Mike Cernovich — the tweets were brought up because Gunn is an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump and the effort was to knock him down.
RelatedPossible Reprieve On James Gunn & Guardians As Marvel Back Channels With Disney?
Disney fired Gunn abruptly on July 20, with Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn saying in a statement: “The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studios values, and we have severed our business relationship with him.”
Bautista and his fellow Guardians castmates later wrote an open letter supporting the director. Others also rallied to Gunns defense including Selma Blair — who called for Disney to rehire him — but folks including Roseanne Barr and Sen. Ted Cruz condemned him. Barr said she was “disgusted” by the support for Gunn, and Cruz said, ““He needs to be prosecuted if the tweets are true.”
RelatedGuardians Of The Galaxy Star Dave Bautista Calls Working For Disney “Pretty Nauseating”
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