After writing and directing the first two installments of the Guardians of the Galaxy movie franchise, James Gunn has been taken off Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 after controversial tweets resurfaced via Daily Caller. The nearly 10-year-old tweets included crude content about racism, pedophilia and rape.
"The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James’ Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studio’s values, and we have severed our business relationship with him," said Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn in a statement to ET.
Gunn reacted to the controversy through a series of tweets. “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," he wrote. "As I have discussed publicly many times, as I’ve developed as a person, so has my work and my humor.”
"It’s not to say I’m 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," he added. "My days saying something just because it’s shocking and trying to get a reaction are over."
"Anyway, that’s the completely honest truth: I used to make a lot of offensive jokes. I don’t anymore. I don’t 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," he concluded.
View his tweets below.
Aside from Guardian of the Galaxy, Gunn is also credited as an executive producer on Avengers: Infinity War and wrote Movie 43, Scooby-Doo, Dawn of the Dead and The Belko Experiment.
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