- It's just funny.
You're not supposed to take it serious.
- I don't think he should be reinstated as director.
There has to be some amount of consequences.
♪ (industrial intro) ♪
- (FBE) Today, we're gonna be talking about a recent incident
involving Guardians of the Galaxy director, James Gunn.
- Whaat? Okay, I have not heard anything about this.
- I have no idea what happened. - Okay, I heard about this.
- We're gonna read some of his old tweets?
- (FBE) Tweets of his from about eight to ten years ago resurfaced
that were kind of offensive jokes,
which caused Alan Horn, the chairman of Walt Disney Studios,
to release the following statement. - Okay.
"The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James' Twitter feed
are indefensible and inconsistent with our studio's values."
- "We have severed our business relationship with him."
That's a really one sentence statement. Just done and done.
- "Alan Horn, chairman of Walt Disney Studios."
I can't stress enough how important it is
to be cautious about the things you say.
- Looks pretty serious, but also, it was eight to ten years ago.
- Wait, what? They fired him? I'm in shock, and I'm also afraid.
What's gonna happen to Guardians of the Galaxy?
- I didn't think anything like this was happening.
This is like Roseanne.
Sometimes the past comes back to nip you in the butt.
- Especially with the #metoo movement and things that have come out
in the past about Hollywood,
I think it's just one of those sensitive things that,
yeah, Walt Disney doesn't want that represented for them.
- It just sucks for the people who made their mistakes online,
because they can never escape from that.
I think some people are just fortunate enough
that the incidents that they aren't proud of occurred offline.
- I would say it was a little radical of Disney
just to go ka-pa for something that was done 10 year ago.
You wanna talk about resurfacing [bleep],
let's bring up some old Disney cartoons.
That's some racist [bleep] [bleep] right there!
- (FBE) But after this, James issued an apology statement,
so we have that for you to read now.
- Okay. It says, "Many people who have followed my career
know when I started I viewed myself as a provocateur,
making movies and telling jokes that were outrageous and taboo."
- "As I discussed publicly many times,
as I have developed as a person, so has my work and my humor."
- Okay, I get that. Especially, this was eight,
ten years ago, I feel definitely the sort of PC culture
was a lot more of a recent thing. We've become overall
a lot more conscious of what we're doing,
which I think is a good thing.
- That's true. People can change.
It just seems to me just because they repeat a pattern
in Disney and them, I don't know why it's hard
to accept it or be okay with it.
- "It's not to say I'm better, but I am very, very different
than I was a few years ago. Today, I try to root my work
in love and connection and less in anger."
- "My days saying something just because it's shocking
and trying to get a reaction are over."
Are they really, though?
- "In the past, I have apologized for humor of mine
that hurt people. I truly felt sorry
and meant every word of my apologies."
Okay. I mean, now I feel bad for him.
Whatever he said, it must be really, really bad.
- This doesn't make sense, 'cause he's already done
two major Guardians movies, and these came out, like you said,
eight years ago. So, if you're gonna background check someone,
might wanna do it before the first one.
- For the record, when I made these shocking jokes,
I wasn't living them out. I know this is a weird statement
to make and seems obvious, but still, here I am saying it.
That's in reference to some of the pedophilic jokes
he sort of made. I definitely feel like there are
certain things that you don't joke about, though,
especially when it comes to minors and things like that.
That's super sensitive. And I think that was
still super sensitive eight to ten years ago.
- "Anyway, that's the completely honest truth.
I used to make a lot of offensive jokes.
I don't anymore."
- "I don't blame my past self for this,
but I like myself more and feel more like a full human being
and creator today. Love to you all."
- I have a darker sense of humor, so I can find, I guess,
the humor in topics that are taboo
and things that you're not supposed to talk about.
But I think, at the same time, when you're gonna make a joke,
there has to be some kind of taste, or there has to be some sort of
maybe motive you're trying to get out of saying the joke.
- (FBE) There are more than a dozen or so tweets that resurfaced.
We're gonna have you take a look at just a few of them.
- "I like it when little boys touch me in my silly place."
If you're easily offended and sensitive,
you're not gonna find something like this funny.
I think these are hysterical.
- Pedophilic jokes... not really funny.
- "My new film [bleep], a small town where [bleep]
is illegal and one high school kid [bleep] in front of the others
to show how fun it is."
He is like a 12-year-old boy in these tweets.
- This is a lot worse than I thought it was.
I thought, for some reason, it was gonna be, like...
- Maybe like a racist thing? - ...political. But this is...
- And I thought it was, like, a couple tweets.
I didn't think it was gonna be basically his whole Twitter.
- "The Hardy Boys and the mystery of what it feels like
when Uncle Bernie [bleep] me." Interesting.
- But it's like... (chuckles) Even some of these,
it's just, like, you read 'em, it's just funny.
- It'd be different if it was, like,
one or two tweets, where it's like, oh, you know what?
Maybe he was drunk or maybe he was doing something stupid.
But if you're gonna have multiple tweets like this,
it's like-- I'm so angry. I'm shaking all over. It's gross.
- Just makes me sad. Why wasn't he stopped before?
What happened? Why is this being dragged to attention just now?
- Sometimes people feel like the only way to make it
in the world is to be something that they're not
just to get attention.
There are a lot of people who have probably said
these exact same things to their friends,
and they haven't had a camera in their face.
I've done stuff that I would be disappointed in myself
if I looked back and put myself back in that position.
- (FBE) These tweets caused a huge uproar on social media
with some very firmly believing that his firing was justified
and some question whether this was severe
or recent enough to justify his firing.
What do you think? - I mean, he's made these bad jokes,
but does that change how he did his job
and how well he did his job?
I just feel like that shouldn't really affect his career.
- It's just funny. You're not supposed to take it serious.
But we live in a very sensitive day and age.
- Well, obviously, I have no issue with it.
But from Disney's business standpoint, I can see why.
- What they did was the right they needed to do.
And maybe this will be better for them, too.
Maybe the movies will come out better because of this.
- Of course it's right that he was fired,
because he's working with so many people
and so many kids around him. And kids are watching his shows,
and they can find these tweets. What about young filmmakers
that want to make film? And reading this,
what kind of example are they setting?
- From a business standpoint, I think firing him
was the right choice. But I do hope that from this point on,
he's still able to really move forward with his life.
- (FBE) So, a few days ago the main cast
of the Guardians of the Galaxy films actually responded to Gunn's firing.
So, we have that to show you now as well.
- I think they were in support of him.
- "Fully supports James Gunn.
We are all shocked by his abrupt firing last week."
- "And have intentionally waited these 10 days to respond
in order to think, pray, listen, and discuss.
In that time, we've been encouraged by the outpouring of support
from fans and members of the media, who wish to see James reinstated
as director of Volume 3." They know him very well,
and they obviously don't think that he should've been fired for this
and that his heart isn't what is portrayed
in those tweets, and so I totally agree with them.
And it just makes me kind of sad that his career is jeopardized
from these tweets that were jokes.
- I just can't believe that they're...
just saying that they support him still,
that made me very... very sad.
- Obviously, the cast can see that they're--
it's a different man that they work with.
They weren't very funny jokes, to be honest, and completely creepy,
but, you know, I think people grow.
- "Each of us looks forward to working with our friend James again
in the future. His story isn't over, not by a long shot."
- I don't know him as a person. I cannot judge. That's not my job.
It's not my job to judge. - As a Christian
and as a believer in God and stuff, I always forgive people.
So, it's hard for me to be, like, oh, he's such a bad person.
His tweets justify what other people
are saying about him being a bad person.
But this note that all these big named actors,
who put their acting careers on the line to write this note
about somebody that put that all-- maybe it's a different story.
- They know him personally. They know the kind of person he is,
so maybe in their eyes, definitely there's some forgiveness there
that James Gunn deserves.
But I don't think he should be reinstated as director.
There has to be some amount of consequences.
- "Thank you for making the time to read our words.
The Guardians of the Galaxy."
That is so well said, and I completely agree with them.
- One part of me really wants to be, like, he is the bad guy
and there should be a zero-tolerance policy
for people who say things like this.
But he's just a human person, too.
I wouldn't want someone to hold something that I did to them
against me and use that as ammunition to therefore ruin my life
for the rest of my existence. That would really suck.
- If you're a good person and you can go out
and affect people positively and have a good impact on the world,
then obviously the people around you are gonna follow you.
And obviously, with the petition that all the main cast signed...
It's just awesome seeing the support he has,
because it doesn't matter who he was almost 10 years ago.
- (FBE) Many people feel these tweets were offensive and indefensible,
and Gunn himself even admitted that he was wrong
and has apologized before over his past
and did so again when this came to light.
Some, though, even pointed out how Disney may have known
about some of these tweets, considering Gunn was hired
back in 2012, close to when these tweets were posted.
- Yeah, they totally did. - There's no way they didn't know,
because they would've checked all of his social media.
They would've gone through-- they would've seen the things he said,
and they would've seen his previous work.
Since it recently came to light,
that's why they had to do something about it.
- (FBE) Some people feel even so, these are unforgivable things
to joke about, and it's justified for him to lose his job over it
despite the apologies and many saying that he's changed.
Can you see where they're coming from? And do you agree?
- I absolutely see where they're coming from.
This is kinda Disney's way of showing, hey, you know what?
Despite how great of a director he was for the franchise and everything,
we can't tolerate something like that.
- Their motive of why they fired him wasn't because of, oh yeah,
let's do the right thing.
It was because they were concerned about themselves.
- I see where people are coming from when they're offended by the jokes.
But obviously, the cast of the Guardians of the Galaxy
know him personally. And so, I would say
that their opinions on the situation are more valid.
- Actions speak louder than words.
If you continue to, through your actions,
be a good person and try and show, not even through a camera,
that you're a good person, then obviously, it's gonna show.
And obviously, the whole staff and actors on the movie
have come to back him up, because he's obviously shown
through his actions that he's a good person,
changed person trying to focus on the now.
- I definitely feel like people can change.
That's one of the things-- I don't think that mistakes
that people have made in the past are what makes them the person
that they are in present times.
But that being said, especially in a professional setting,
Walt Disney has the right to say, "We don't want you representing them."
- I totally understand. I get it.
I understand why people see it as unjustifiable,
that's disgusting, don't do it. But I don't think it's justified
to judge him on a mistake that he made over eight years ago.
- (FBE) On the other side, many people feel
that he has apologized and has changed
and that it can send the wrong message that if you make mistakes
and truly do change and show remorse and public reaction
is so negative anyway that it won't make people
who do wrong want to change,
because it seems to make no difference.
- Yeah. It's... - I mean, that's true.
But it's, like, I don't know.
You can't go back in the past and change what happened,
but you can be a better person now. - We all had bad pasts.
We've all gone through something that we don't agree with ourselves.
And to say that, oh, I'm just gonna keep doing
what I'm doing, because they're gonna get me on it anyways,
I don't agree with that, no.
- Yeah, I feel like that's already a reason
people don't want to make the effort to change.
There are gonna be people who will never change their mind,
and you can't change it for them.
- (FBE) As you saw, there have been many people
that have come to Gunn's defense.
Over 350,000 people have signed a petition
to rehire James Gunn. If Disney did hire him back,
do you think that there would be negative repercussions for them?
- I think maybe a little bit. You'd have those people
that have really strong opinions, and they would kind of fight it.
But I think it would blow over.
Honestly, I think if they hired him back,
it wouldn't be that big of a deal, because so many people,
especially after reading what the Guardians of the Galaxy wrote,
that's a game changer.
That can change a lot of people's opinions.
- It is gonna look a bit hypocritical, especially with the Roseanne situation
that happened in the past. But, oh god, I--
no matter what, you're not gonna please anybody.
- If they bring him back on, the people who find this disgusting
and inexcusable, probably parents, are not gonna wanna
support Disney films or watch this. But also, at the same time,
I think it really shows-- it would kind of humanize
and show this empathy or sympathy
that Disney would have for this person
in being able to see the change in them and their growth.
- (FBE) What do you think should be the ultimate takeaway
from this for everybody? The general public, Disney,
everyone involved in this kind of thing.
What do you think we should take away from this moving forward?
- Be careful what you post, because it's gonna come back
and haunt you one way or another.
- Learn to take a [bleep] joke. (chuckles)
That's literally what they were. Yes, it was a crass one,
but a joke nonetheless.
- We need to be cautious with the things that we say,
because even though we do have freedom of speech
and we are able to say things that we want to,
you have to take into consideration,
does this affect somebody else besides me?
- Celebrities especially, since you're in the public eye,
you have to be very conscious of the people who are watching you.
We are watching you as an influence and to see what you're doing,
because it influences how we act.
- People can think badly of you just from social media,
but what really matters is the people who know you the most
and who love you the most. They know who you really are,
and that really came to fruition in this situation.
- It's really, really, really, really hard
to change yourself as a person. It's a lot of work.
And it's grueling. And I feel like
if more people understood
the struggle of changing yourself as a person,
then their opinions would be different.