James Gunn and offensive tweets

[DIS_MIKE]

I don’t believe the guy is a pedophile and from what I’ve read, he’s big into dark humor. Disney should’ve properly vetted him in the first place but mistakes do happen.

Now that the main cast of GOTG are calling for Disney to reinstate Gunn, what are the chances it will actually happen? I say it’s highly unlikely as Disney will want to distance themselves as far away from him and the scandal as possible. It clearly doesn’t fit within the Disney ethos and their family-friendly culture/brand.

Either way, it’s unfortunate for both parties involved.

Here’s the statement from the cast for those who haven’t read it yet.

 

[GreatLakes]

If this was any other studio he and they could have done some damage control around it. If Disney had been proactive and made a statement back when they hired him that they knew these tweets existed and they are confident they were made in and ill-advised attempt at humor in the past they might have still been able to keep him on. Because this is Disney and a reaction to a revelation made by the press I don't see him coming back but who really knows.

 

[Minniefan2296]

Disney knew about the tweets when they hired him. He apologized for them years ago and everyone moved past them. Until someone with an ax to grind brought them back to light.

 

[Wendy31]

But, really, where's the line?

Why do some people's livelihoods get ruined while others get a free pass?

Joss Whedon has tweeted awful & repulsive things as well, & no one seems to care.

 

[smiths02]

If this was any other studio he and they could have done some damage control around it. If Disney had been proactive and made a statement back when they hired him that they knew these tweets existed and they are confident they were made in and ill-advised attempt at humor in the past they might have still been able to keep him on. Because this is Disney and a reaction to a revelation made by the press I don't see him coming back but who really knows.

Looking at Chris Pratt's IG...the story is like a game of telephone. It has gone from a few dozen inexcusable tweets that were intended as jokes to James Gunn is a pedophile who tweeted 10,000 times about it and linked child pornography.
Even a poster on this thread reported that she heard he was a pedophile.
I don't think Disney will take any decisions back.

 

[longboard55]

we went to a high school college night with our daughter about 10 years ago. They made a huge point preching of what you put on the internet will follow you for life. On one hand we can say it is just a stupid error, but too many people hide behind the internet. Maybe someone will see this and think twice next time

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Perception is everything.

 

[AustinTink]

There's an ounce of truth in every joke. I absolutely cannot believe that a guy that "jokes" about that subject matter is innocent. I can't imagine a brain that is even wired to makes those jokes in the first place. Disgusting person.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

Awww, boo hoo hoo for him.

I don't care how the tweets resurfaced or who was behind it.

I don't care that some people get away with this while others don't.

Disney was right to part ways with him.

 

[Jennasis]

The subject matter and person in question aside...Regarding stuff you post, I have been saying for years: It's not "big brother" you need to worry about anymore...."LITTLE SISTER" is watching, and she can't wait to tattle on you and get you in trouble.

 

[DisneyOma]

Gunn says they were all from ten years ago, which is not true. Some were from 5 - 6 years ago, which would have been right around the first GOTG movie went into production. Gunn should have known better. Disney should have probably avoided him all together or told him to delete the tweets years ago (because this came up before).

I don't feel bad for the guy. The tweets weren't funny. I do think it's interesting how we don't hold everybody to the same standard. Look at R. Kelly: dude had sex with minors, yet still has new albums come out. Roman Polanski gets standing ovations at the Oscars. Woody Allen is still making movies. Michael Richards, meanwhile, is still a pariah. Don't get me wrong, Richards was wrong. But do you see the serious lack of consistency here?

Oh yeah, big time. Can't get political here though.

It is an illustration on why it is important to always act a certain way online because it can come back to kill you later.

Oh, I hope so, for other certain tweeters... But then, there's that consistency issue FlightlessDuck mentioned.

Are we going to prosecute all people, who say stupid or offensive things, in the court of public opinion? Fire 'em? Just asking,

Oh, I wish... see above

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Roseanne's tweet was about an actual person. Did this guy single out a specific person/child or was it a general joke about a subject some find offensive?
I don't think it is hypocritical at all, Roseanne's tweet also wasn't 10 years ago, it was in the present.
So I don't see it as the same thing, none of her past offensiveness got her fired, her current behavior did.

So far, his have been general, and though creepy, and very crass, haven't been racist or sexist or the like. Further, they were 6-10 years ago. Roseanne's were well all recent. Not the same thing at all. But of course we'll be hearing about how we're all hypocritical when in reality most of us are fine with both firings.

 

[luvsJack]

Never mind, misunderstood a previous post.

What an idiot! I do t think he is a rapist or a pedophile but just dumb. You can’t make jokes like that and not think they will come back to bite you. Besides there are a lot of things to joke about in this world to get reactions out of people. Sexual abuse is not one of those things.

 

[penn19]

So far, his have been general, and though creepy, and very crass, haven't been racist or sexist or the like. Further, they were 6-10 years ago. Roseanne's were well all recent. Not the same thing at all. But of course we'll be hearing about how we're all hypocritical when in reality most of us are fine with both firings.

I’ve heard that there were tweets regarding the Holocaust. I haven’t done an in depth search though.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Oh yeah, big time. Can't get political here though.

Oh, but I don't really think it's political, though. Or race related. Yes, Michael Richards used the N word and now can't get work. Roman Polanski having sex with a 13 year old still hands him good will in the Hollywood community. But Bill Cosby is also shunned now and is on trial. Ray Rice is out of football. Kevin Spacey and Harvey Weinstein are both no longer working in Hollywood (so far), and they have opposite political opinions.

 

[Imzadi]

So far, his have been general, and though creepy, and very crass, haven't been racist or sexist or the like. Further, they were 6-10 years ago. Roseanne's were well all recent. Not the same thing at all. But of course we'll be hearing about how we're all hypocritical when in reality most of us are fine with both firings.

Since Disney owns ABC, Disney/ABC can't fire one very high profile employee, Roseanne, for making a racist statement, in which she said she was only joking, then NOT fire another high profile employee for making similarly extremely inappropriate statements, who also claimed they were only jokes.

As a PP said, Disney is uber-conscious that their branding is about creating a safe environment for children. I haven't read any of the tweets, but how are violent, pedophilic "jokes" about rape & violence to children even remotely in alignment with creating a child safe environment?

And what idiot, trying to be "edgy" even goes THERE? Of all "edgy" out there topics to pick. If he was only making jokes, then he paid for it with his bad taste & poor judgement about topics that should never be jokes. Letting him remain fired is a more important lesson to teach young people abut watching what one tweets.

What about Maya Angelou's famous quote, "When people show you how they are, believe them the first time"? We shouldn't pick & choose when that does & doesn't apply. Or put a timeline on when it applies. Especially with pedophilic jokes about violence & rape.

The hypocrisy to me, is that when someone likes what another person is doing, OR, especially in this case, all the stars of GOTG's salary & movie ratings & quality of film may suffer without this idiot at the helm, people are all for going into denial. "James Gunn was only making 'edgy' jokes. He's really a great human being." And "Michael Jackson wasn't a pedophile, he was a musical genius, who just loved children." As though the two can't both happen together. People CAN be extremely talented or a genius in their field AND be an effed up human being TOO.

 

[Jdbsfw]

Oh, but I don't really think it's political, though. Or race related. Yes, Michael Richards used the N word and now can't get work. Roman Polanski having sex with a 13 year old still hands him good will in the Hollywood community. But Bill Cosby is also shunned now and is on trial. Ray Rice is out of football. Kevin Spacey and Harvey Weinstein are both no longer working in Hollywood (so far), and they have opposite political opinions.

I’m sorry, I tried to avoid posting on this but I’m a stickler for facts and in no universe is Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey on opposite sides of the political isle, maybe I misread your post and I apologize if so

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Since Disney owns ABC, Disney/ABC can't fire one very high profile employee, Roseanne, for making a racist statement, in which she said she was only joking, then NOT fire another high profile employee for making similarly extremely inappropriate statements, who also claimed they were only jokes.
.

They fired them both, and most of us are ok with that. No hypocrisy.

We shouldn't pick & choose when that does & doesn't apply. Or put a timeline on when it applies. Especially with pedophilic jokes about violence & rape.

Ok how far back do we go then? If some guy made some comments when he was 15 and he's now 55 do we nail him to the wall for it? Or do we understand that people can change? Big difference between blurting them out all over social media right now and 6-10 years ago. And again Disney fired them both and most of us are ok with that. No hypocrisy.

The hypocrisy to me, is that when someone likes what another person is doing, OR, especially in this case, all the stars of GOTG's salary & movie ratings & quality of film may suffer without this idiot at the helm, people are all for going into denial. "James Gunn was only making 'edgy' jokes. He's really a great human being." And "Michael Jackson wasn't a pedophile, he was a musical genius, who just loved children." As though the two can't both happen together. People CAN be extremely talented or a genius in their field AND be (redacted. Inappropriate language.) human being TOO.

Big difference between actually being a pedophile and making jokes. That analogy is very week there. Further, those that have worked with him and signed the petition know him personally. And I don't recall any of them chomping at the bit to get rid of Roseanne. So no hypocrisy there either.

What about Maya Angelou's famous quote, "When people show you how they are, believe them the first time"?

I believe you. You want to make a hypocrisy charge. Well I'm such a good guy, I'll give you one. No need to thank me.

The one that manufactured all this outrage was Mike Cernovich.
Google his name if you'd like to read some of his tweets. They're just as bad. Worse in fact. Racist. Sexist, Religious bigotry, Rape jokes, you name it.

So what we have is an agent provocateur stirring up outrage over something that he himself has done and obviously is not outraged about in the least. By the very definition of the word, he is a hypocrite. And there is your hypocrisy.
Edit. To be more precise, the hypocrisy you were looking for.

 

[Imzadi]

Ok how far back do we go then? If some guy made some comments when he was 15 and he's now 55 do we nail him to the wall for it? Or do we understand that people can change? Big difference between blurting them out all over social media right now and 6-10 years ago. And again Disney fired them both and most of us are ok with that. No hypocrisy.

How far back do we go? Try adulthood, when people are considered legally responsible for their statements. To use age 15 as an example is ridiculous, and you know it. You're just trolling. James Gunn is actually 51, not 55. Even so, at ages 41-45 he was well of ages where this ADULT MAN should know better that to make such inappropriate (to say the least,) "jokes."

By your reasoning, we shouldn't go back to hold Harvey Weinstein or Bill Cosby accountable for what they did and said 20+ years ago. Nor, Les Moonves, who also has now has accusations against him from the 80's, that's 30 years ago. The statute of limitations ran out on some of the accusations in the state that they allegedly happened. You must be fine with that. We also shouldn't hold other people responsible for their past statements from a decade ago. According to you, it's so long ago, and they've changed since then and shouldn't have consequences for their past actions or previous beliefs.

So what we have is an agent provocateur stirring up outrage over something that he himself has done and obviously is not outraged about in the least.

So one bad guy can't turn in another?

Or is it who's side this other guy is on that makes this so wrong? What if he was an upstanding guy from the other side? Or no perceivable side? Would that suddenly make the accusations & reporting of James Gunn's tweets more legit? You've said about 3 times, "Most of us are ok with that." But, it doesn't sound like you really are, you're sooo focused to beat whatever in your point into the ground.

Big difference between actually being a pedophile and making jokes. That analogy is very week there.

It's spelled weak. I didn't say he is a pedophile. No where in my statements do I make that claim. Re-read my first paragraph. I only talked about:

Since Disney owns ABC, Disney/ABC can't fire one very high profile employee, Roseanne, for making a racist statement, in which she said she was only joking, then NOT fire another high profile employee for making similarly extremely inappropriate statements, who also claimed they were only jokes.​

I ALSO said:

"If he was only making jokes, then he paid for it with his bad taste & poor judgement about topics that should never be jokes."​

He worked for a company that has a certain brand & reputation. If he worked for the Boy Scouts and made the same statements which later came to light, he'd probably be fired from there too. If he was a politician or a teacher, again he'd be fired. If he worked for some child porn site or a place where it doesn't matter, then no he wouldn't be fired for making pedophilic "jokes."

If you take away the "messenger," did James Gunn make those Tweets? Yes. Is he responsible for those tweets and what he said/says? Yes.


YOU seem to be stuck in a hypocrisy groove. Whatever.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I’m sorry, I tried to avoid posting on this but I’m a stickler for facts and in no universe is Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey on opposite sides of the political isle, maybe I misread your post and I apologize if so

Yeah, I trusted the top Google result when I asked Spacey's politics. But when I read actual articles I learned he and Harvey are both southpaws.

So... never mind.