Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana have voiced their support for James Gunn after the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' filmmaker was fired by Walt Disney amid a backlash over previous controversial comments.
The two stars were part of the cast for the first two movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise, which were written and directed by the 51-year-old filmmaker, who has been booted by Walt Disney after offensive social media posts he had made in the past resurfaced online.
Addressing his firing, Pratt, 39, tweeted a praying hands and heart emoji and wrote: "'Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters. Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.' JAMES 1:19 (sic)"
“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters. Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.”
JAMES 1:19
🙏♥️
— chris pratt (@prattprattpratt) July 22, 2018
His co-star Saldana, 40, admitted it had been "challenging", and while she hinted at commenting in more detail in the future but still voiced her support for Gunn.
She tweeted: "It's been a challenging weekend I'm not gonna lie. I'm pausing myself to take everything in before I speak out of term. I just want everyone to know I love ALL members of my GOTG family. Always will."
Gunn previously issued his own statement on the incident, where he apologised for the comments he made in the past.
He wrote on Twitter: "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 have discussed publicly many times, as I've developed as a person, so has my work and my humour.
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.
"In the past, I have apologized for humor of mine that hurt people. I truly felt sorry and meant every word of my apologies.
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. 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 like a more full human being and creator today. Love you to you all.(sic)"