Regardless of the fact that fans and fellow directors have forgiven Gunn, Disney has remained rooted in the notion that Gunn will not return. Even Gunn himself has moved on and is now reported to be the figurehead of DC's The Suicide Squad . So what on earth went down for Gunn to be fired and treated so harshly for a mistake he later admitted and apologised for and why does this matter in the industry? James Gunn's apology was heartfelt and sincere compared to most apologies you get from the film industry;
“My words of nearly a decade ago were, at the time, totally failed and unfortunate efforts to be provocative. I have regretted them for many years since – not just because they were stupid, not at all funny, wildly insensitive, and certainly not provocative like I had hoped, but also because they don’t reflect the person I am today or have been for some time.”
The issue doesn't come from the apology but the content of the jokes are the main issue. Despite being sincere, Disney as a brand was never going to allow a director known for paedophilia and rape jokes near a family friendly product. They could of been the funniest jokes in the world, they were not, but no one would admit to liking that sort of humour.
Yet he was known for these jokes and even apologised for them in 2012. Disney already knew of his edgy humour well before they hired him and he had been told off by a liberal blogsphere. But as his career surged that was left behind him, or so he thought. As they weren't deleted at the time they remained on the internet for the whole world to refind last year. The tweets were resurfaced by a series of conservative figures who were sick of Gunn constantly attacking President Trump and within hours Disney announced they had parted ways.
Even before the rise of influential movements, such as MeToo and TimesUp which has since had an effect on industry leaders; any controversy that is associated with paedophilia is sure to send wavelengths. Industry Journalist Anne Thompson put it simply;
“They’re protecting a family brand, simple as that, [Disney chairman] Alan Horn is a very moral and upright guy. I understand the decision, but I would also suggest that no other studio would have done this. Disney represents a lot of things”.
(Dave Bautista on the Gunn controversy)
Despite trying to do the right thing, Disney faced a massive backlash from Hollywood insiders, journalists and even the cast of Guardians of The Galaxy objected to the dismissal. They did not defend the tweets, but instead expressed their anger in the fact it was a far-right take down. Other leftwing entertainers such as Patton Oswalt and Sarah Silverman had also been highlighted for off the cuff tweets of debatable humour. Yet they made it through the controversy with relative ease.
Pro-Trump comedian Roseanne Bar was also fired last year by the Disney owned ABC Television Group after her own errors in using Twitter for her racist ways. Killing her comeback as quickly as it appeared. Their errors however are not equal. One did so in bad taste and the other was a racist tweet. Comparing an ex-Obama adviser to a primate. Gunns firing on that hand made it a balancing of the scales, proving they were political impartial. Meanwhile, whilst Barr was topically immediate - Gunns firing was clearly calculated. They have been out in the open for nine years and all it took was one call out for him to be gone. Even though he apologised for the tweets before Guardians even went into production.
Gunn hasn't been the only celebrity to fall into this pitfall. Kevin Hart was set to host this years Oscars. Yet after a tidal wave of homophobic tweets resurfaced from 2009 he was very quickly axed from the headline and now the event is going hostless. Hart apologised for his wrong-doings and made it clear to those he offended he made insensitive comments. His comments too were addressed years earlier but social media has made it increasingly difficult for people to move on from their mistakes online. On the Ellen show he stated he chose to ignore the issue because he didn't want it to become bigger than it was. There have been many instances of celebrities doing unfavourable things in the past but haven't been publicly criticised. What was once a tool for self promotion and fan cultivation has turned into a platform that needs to be approached with far greater caution.
In the world before social media, things often went unbrushed and people were forgiven. But in an increasing world where society is changing and becoming more understanding, the comments of the past are no longer acceptable. Yet with the internet those words are never going to go by themselves. Did people say things they shouldn't of? Yes absolutely. But should their work be jeopardised because of it? No it shouldn't. If they had committed an atrocious act or an actual crime, then absolute take them down for the justice they deserve. Social media has been a driving factor for discussion around perpetrators. For instance the likes of Kevin Spacey who was forced to quit, was fired and even replaced on a project amid sexual abuse allegations because it was shared online publicly.
Gunn was drawn into a MeToo like accusation, despite in this case being a desperate cry for attention online which simply went too far. As a result Gunn had to be removed to save a brand as he was drawing parallels to those who had actually been accused of real crimes. The question remains, will those in trouble go back and delete their past to save their career or will they do be drawn out for the world to see? Well Rian Johnson deleted 20,000 old tweets explaining that;
“It’s nine years of stuff written largely off the cuff as ephemera, if trolls scrutinizing it for ammunition is the new normal, this seems like a ‘why not?’ move.”
Yet just because they are now gone doesn't mean he didn't say what he wrote. Surely by the same logic as James Gunn's. Johnson should of been investigated for what he wrote and if it was on the same level of Gunn's, he should of been removed from directing The Last Jedi. Social media has turned from a pleasant engaging platform to one that is being weaponized against people. You never know, your favourite actor could be the next to be exposed. What it highlights is that the film industry is now increasingly becoming a zero tolerance industry on social media, which on the one hand is great for exposing actual criminals but it is also jeopardising innocent peoples careers for the sake of being politically correct. Disney needs to learn to accept people for their flaws and that people don't necessarily reflect their brands image.
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