Because of James Gunn’s outspoken criticism of Donald Trump, alt-right internet trolls Jack Posobiec and Mike Cernovich went through the Guardians of the Galaxy director’s Twitter feed between 2009 and 2012, and found tweets where Gunn jokes about masturbation, pedophilia, and uses an anti-transgender slur. Disney and Marvel Studios have responded by firing Gunn from directing Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3, calling the tweets “indefensible” and “inconsistent” with their values.
Gunn has long been a provocateur who has drawn ire in the past for his unusual humor. Among the tweets that forced Disney and Marvel’s hand were: “I like when little boys touch me in my silly place.” Another: “The best thing about being raped is when you’re done being raped and it’s like ‘whew this feels great, not being raped!’” There were others that made satirical comments about the 9/11 attack, AIDS and the Holocaust.
Both Posobiec and Cernovich were huge proponents of the Pizzagate fraud, and Cernovich popularized a conspiracy theory claiming Hillary Clinton was suffering from Parkinson’s Disease during the 2016 presidential campaign. Posobiec calls himself a “Republican political operative,” who in the past has voiced support for white supremacist Richard Spencer and spent most of the last three years making shit up. In 2016, Posobiec falsely claimed Rogue One: A Star Wars Story would have explicit anti-Trump scenes and called on conservatives to boycott.
For his part, Gunn explained his past offensive tweets in a series of Twitter messages last night, prior to Disney announcing his dismissal.
Gunn has also put out this press release:
My words of nearly a decade ago were, at the time, totally failed and unfortunate efforts to be provocative. I have regretted them for many years since — not just because they were stupid, not at all funny, wildly insensitive, and certainly not provocative like I had hoped, but also because they don’t reflect the person I am today or have been for some time.
Regardless of how much time has passed, I understand and accept the business decisions taken today. Even these many years later, I take full responsibility for the way I conducted myself then. All I can do now, beyond offering my sincere and heartfelt regret, is to be the best human being I can be: accepting, understanding, committed to equality, and far more thoughtful about my public statements and my obligations to our public discourse. To everyone inside my industry and beyond, I again offer my deepest apologies. Love to all.