James Gunn, the director of the " Guardians of the
Galaxy" superhero film franchise, was fired by Disney on Friday over
a series of recently-emerged old tweets in which he made jokes about
rape and paedophilia.
"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," Disney chairman
Alan Horn said in a statement widely shared by US media.
In a statement published by the Hollywood Reporter magazine, Gunn
said in response that he regretted and took full responsibility for
the tweets.
On Thursday, Gunn also spoke on Twitter about the old posts, saying
that while he viewed himself as a "provocateur" who told "jokes that
were outrageous and taboo," his "days saying something just because
it's shocking and trying to get a reaction are over."
"It's not to say I'm better, but I am very, very different than I was
a few years ago," the 51-year-old American added.
In one of the tweets, which dated mostly from 2008 to 2011, Gunn
wrote: "The best thing about being raped is when you're done being
raped and it's like 'whew this feels great, not being raped!'"
Gunn wrote and directed the two previous " Guardians of the Galaxy"
films, and had been due to release a third installment in the series
in 2020. It was not clear who would now direct the film.
The old tweets were unearthed then published by the conservative
Daily Caller news website, prompting calls for Disney to sack Gunn.
Gunn has been an outspoken critic of US President Donald Trump and
said in December that he did not care if his stance resulted in him
losing fans.