Rallying behind him. Selma Blair is just one of the many people sharing their support for James Gunn through an online petition after Walt Disney Studios fired him as the director of the third Guardians of the Galaxy film.
Blair, 46, took to Twitter on Saturday, July 21, to urge followers to help change the minds of the company who pulled 51-year-old Gunn’s job after some of his tweets from 2008 and 2009 regarding pedophilia and rape resurfaced.
“Marvel: RE-HIRE JAMES GUNN,” she tweeted alongside a link to the Change.org page. “Because if people are punished despite changing, then what does that teach people about owning mistakes and evolving? This man is one of the good ones.”
Marvel: RE-HIRE JAMES GUNN – Sign the Petition! https://t.co/JeVbFZkQLL via @Change. Because if people are punished despite changing, then what does that teach people about owning mistakes and evolving? This man is one of the good ones.
— Selma Blair (@SelmaBlair) July 22, 2018
Comedian Sarah Silverman retweeted Blair’s post. Fans of the franchise backed their belief that Gunn should be rehired by sharing and signing the petition, which currently has more than 180,000 signatures.
“I signed this petition because I respect that he ALREADY OWNED UP to these tweets years ago. This is a political attack, not a moral one, and Disney has been played. Set it right. (Also hire a woman to direct a Star Wars),” one commenter wrote. Another added: “Cause everyone would get fired if we held everyone to the same standard.”
Over the weekend, members of the Guardians of the Galaxy films — including Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista and more — addressed the situation.
Saldana tweeted: “It’s been a challenging weekend I’m not gonna lie. I’m pausing myself to take everything in before I speak out of term. I just want everyone to know I love all members of my GOTG family. Always will.”
Pratt also took to Twitter with a bible verse that read, “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters. Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. JAMES 1:19.” Gunn’s brother, Sean Gunn — who stars in the GOTG films — also tweeted his love and support.
Disney chairman Alan Horn confirmed to Us Weekly on July 20 that the studio had “severed our business relationship” with the filmmaker. Gunn, for his part, spoke out regarding the resurfaced posts in multiple tweets one day before his firing.
“In the past, I have apologized for humor of mine that hurt people,” he tweeted at the time. “truly felt sorry and meant every word of my apologies.”
