Since "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchise director James Gunn was fired by Disney on July 20, several Hollywood stars have spoken out in his defense.
"Guardians" star Dave Bautista issued his support on Twitter the same day, calling Gunn "one of the most loving, caring, good natured people I have ever met" and telling fans, "Im NOT ok with what's happening to him." Gunn's brother, actor Sean Gunn, also took to social media to weigh in on the controversy.
Now another bold-faced name, Selma Blair, is publicly defending the writer-director.
"I stand by the very decent man @JamesGunn is today. He is a wonderful example of a man committed to owning past discretions and being a stand up person, to say the least," she tweeted on July 21.
Execs removed Gunn from future directorial duties on the Marvel Cinematic Universe projects after some of his old and wildly controversial Twitter and blog posts that addressed taboo topics like rape, pedophilia and molestation were dug up amid the outspoken Donald Trump critic's clashes with the president's supporters on social media.
Blair shared with her followers a Change.org petition that has garnered more than 64,000 signatures so far in support of Gunn's rehiring. "Marvel: RE-HIRE JAMES GUNN – Sign the Petition! https://chn.ge/2JIuUrB 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," she wrote.
Blair also praised the embattled director, writing, "@JamesGunn I thank you for your talent, your decency and your evolution as a man. You propped me up when I was in a scary place, and guided me towards the decent and right thing to do. You have shown strength of character more than most anyone I know. You understood," she wrote.
Back in February, Blair revealed that Gunn was one of four key people who supported her when she was deciding whether or not to come forward publicly with allegations that filmmaker James Toback had sexually assaulted her in 1999. (Actresses Rachel McAdams and Jessica Chastain and 'Doctor Strange' filmmaker Scott Derrickson were the others.) "Really, it was two men who were the most comforting to me in saying, 'You'll be safe, you'll be OK,'" Blair told The Hollywood Reporter.
Walt Disney Company Chairman Alan Horn issued a statement after it fired Gunn on Friday, writing, "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."
Though Gunn had already apologized for many of the comments back in 2012, Entertainment Weekly reported — something many of the filmmaker's online supporters also pointed out — he again said he was sorry in the wake of his firing.
"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," he said in a statement, as reported by Deadline. "Regardless of how much time has passed, I understand and accept the business decisions taken today. Even these many years later, I take full responsibility for the way I conducted myself then. All I can do now, beyond offering my sincere and heartfelt regret, is to be the best human being I can be: accepting, understanding, committed to equality, and far more thoughtful about my public statements and my obligations to our public discourse. To everyone inside my industry and beyond, I again offer my deepest apologies. Love to all."
He also further explained his position in a series of tweets.
One day after Bautista backed Gunn and the same day Blair tweeted her support, Gunn's brother, actor Sean Gunn, posted a lengthy message of love for his filmmaker sibling on Instagram, explaining why he thinks Disney made a bad decision.
He wrote, in part, "This isn't new information, by the way. It's all stuff that James has explained many times in interviews, in more detail and more eloquently. It's not some new spin. It's always been part of this story. So I guess my hope is that fans continue to watch and appreciate the Guardians movies, not despite the fact that the filmmaker used to be kind of a jackass, but because of it. They are, after all, movies about discovering your best self. Working on those movies made my brother a better person, and they made me one too. I'll always be proud of that."