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Olivia Munn admitted on Saturday, September 8, that she felt isolated after speaking out about a cast member on her new movie The Predator who is a sex offender.
While Hollywood may appear to be all glitz and glam on the surface, the industry has seen its fair share of scandals through the years. The New York Times and the New Yorker first published investigative pieces in 2017 that accused disgruntled movie producer Harvey Weinstein of decades of sexual assault and harassment. Soon after, Weinstein stood trial and was […]
Munn showed up solo for an interview with The Hollywood Reporter on Saturday that was reportedly supposed to be conducted along with her fellow cast members and admitted she felt disheartened by the lack of response and support from the film’s director Shane Black and her fellow actors.
Revealing she hadn’t heard from her director, the X-Men alum said she felt like she’s “been treated by some people that I’m the one who went to jail or I’m the one that put this guy on set. … It’s a very lonely feeling to be sitting here by myself when I should be sitting here with the rest of the cast.”
One of her castmates, Keegan-Michael Key, told THR through his rep that he wasn’t there because he was leaving the Toronto International Film Festival early to spend the Jewish holiday with his wife and “had reached out to Olivia privately last week to let her know how proud he was of her.”
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The Los Angeles Times reported on Thursday, September 6, that the actress, 38, had gone to 20th Century Fox to report that an actor named Steven Wilder Striegel was a registered sex offender who had been convicted of attempting to lure a 14-year-old girl into a sexual relationship via the internet.
Fox cut Striegel’s only scene in the film, which also featured Munn, and Black later released an apology for casting the actor, who is his longtime pal.
“I personally chose to help a friend,” Black said in a written statement to The Times. “I can understand others might disapprove, as his conviction was on a sensitive charge and not to be taken lightly.”
Munn told Vanity Fair on Saturday that she was also surprised when her costars including Key, Boyd Holbrook and Trevante Rhodes gave Black what appeared to be a standing ovation at the film’s premiere at TIFF.
“I looked back and I see the guys standing up, and I was just confused, because I hadn’t heard from them during the day,” she said. “Everybody else was sitting down — it wasn’t like this massive standing ovation for him. I felt it was still appropriate to clap and cheer, but to actually make that gesture to stand up, especially in this moment … and privately I knew that no one reached out to me to say, ‘Are you OK?’ It did feel bad.”
“Thank God, honestly, that there is social media,” Munn added. “It’s the fans and news outlets that’s confirming it to me that what I did was the right thing. If I didn’t have that feedback, I’d kind of go a little crazy thinking, ‘Why am I being treated like this?’ That’s not O.K., to feel like the bad guy.”
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Sterling K. Brown, who costars with Munn in the sci-fi action film, tweeted about the controversy and addressed Munn directly on Saturday, writing, “@oliviamunn I’m sorry you’re feeling so isolated, my dear. And I’m sorry you’ve been the only one to speak up publicly. I was not at #TIFF so I didn’t have an opportunity to be there with you. There are two main issues as far as I see it. First, what is and is not forgivable?…”
.@oliviamunn I’m sorry you’re feeling so isolated, my dear. And I’m sorry you’ve been the only one to speak up publicly. I was not at #TIFF so I didn’t have an opportunity to be there with you. There are two main issues as far as I see it. First, what is and is not forgivable?… https://t.co/NQQpoO9kPa
“That’s gonna vary from individual to individual. You and @BonafideBlack may differ when it comes to that issue. I don’t have all the details regarding his friend’s crime, but I know it involves a minor, and he spent time in jail. With regards to forgiveness, I leave that to the individual,” the This Is Us star continued. “What I take issue with, (& I believe Shane addressed this in his apology), is that we all have the right to know who we’re working with! And when someone has been convicted of a crime of a sexual nature involving a child, we have the right to say that’s not okay!”
“Our studio was not given that opportunity, and neither was our cast. Especially @oliviamunn who was the only member of the principal cast who had to work with him. I so appreciate that you “didn’t leave well enough alone,” & again, I’m sorry you feel isolated in taking action,” he concluded. “Thank you to @20thcenturyfox for taking quick action in deleting the scene. @oliviamunn I hope you don’t feel quite so alone. You did the right thing.”
