The Walt Disney Studios has maintained a family-friendly image since it was founded in October 16, 1923. For over 90 years, Walt Disney Studios has been producing movies for children, and throughout those years, Disney has managed to maintain their family-friendly image. Walt Disney Studios capitalizes on their family-friendly image by making movies that stay at the top of the box offices, mass producing toys and merchandise, and having family vacation spots open year-round.
Disney is a very popular company that many love; however, they are caught in a controversial issue right now over firing one of their directors, James Gunn. Recently, it was brought to light that Gunn had tweeted many offensive jokes about rape and pedophelia. Many people are upset and angry about the decision to fire James Gunn over tweets from his past before he was even a part of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. Many feel that Gunn was fired for the sins of his past and not being allowed a chance to show how he has changed over the years, which many feel is hypocritical considering Disney movies usually involve learning from your mistakes. The cast of the Guardians of the Galaxy firmly believe Gunn should be reinstated as the director and even wrote a letter on Gunn’s behalf. One of Gunn’s biggest supporters is Dave Bautista, who plays Drax in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, has been very outspoken over the whole ordeal and even asked to be released from his contract if the studio didn’t continue to use Gunn’s script for the third installment of the franchise. Not only is the cast upset, but fans of the franchise have also been showing their support for Gunn by making petitions to have him reinstated. Even a fellow member of Disney, Kevin Feige was pushing for Gunn’s reinstatement though he was out of town and unable to attend the meeting between James Gunn and the studio’s chairman Alan Horn.
Despite protests from both fans and cast members, Disney stands by the decision to remove James Gunn as the director of Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3 due to him being inconsistent with Walt Disney Studio’s values and family-friendly image, and the jokes being indefensible during the era of the #MeToo movement.
Press Statement
I, James Gunn, would like to provide an explanation and to apologize for the tweets that
may have offended anyone. I understand that his joke may have come off as offensive and would like to apologize, but also to ask you to understand that they were from years ago and that I am not the same person now as I was then. I would also like to recognize that while I was fired as director for Disney and Marvel, for the duration of the process the discourse remained civil; furthermore I understand why I was released by Disney.
First, I would like to make it known that when I was just starting my career I viewed myself as a provocateur and made many offensive and taboo jokes. However, as I have previously mentioned in this statement and many other public discussions, I have developed as a person, and just as I developed so has my work and my humor. I used to make a lot of offensive jokes to try and gage a reaction, but those days are over and have been for a long time. I do sincerely apologize to anyone I may have offended with my jokes in the past and to those they offend now.
While I am very sorry for my how my jokes may have offended anyone, I do ask for you to understand that they were from a long time ago and that everyone does and posts things that they shouldn’t have and regret. I am not in anyway excusing my behavior, but I do believe that somewhere everyone has a picture or a joke of something that they are not proud of. Just because there is a post from your past that some don’t agree with or is offensive to some, it does not make you a bad person. Like I said previously, a lot of the time these posts brought to light are from the early days when you were young and stupid. With that said I would once again like to apologize to anyone that I may have offended.
Finally, I would like to say that while I wish my past hadn’t gotten me relieved of my position as a director for Disney and Marvel, I believe they were well within their rights to fire me. My past jokes caught up to me and they were not in line with Disney’s image or values as a company. I do appreciate all of the time and experience I gained while I was a part of their organization, and I am sad that time in my life has come to an end. I would for this to be an example to others. While I understand how you can post something without thinking about future consequences when you are young, I would like to ask you to think about it first so that you don’t lose and amazing opportunity like I have. Thank you all for listening and understanding.
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