Rumor: Taika Waititi Reprimanded By Marvel For Racy Photos With Rita Ora And Tessa Thompson
A new rumor claims Marvel Studios and Disney reprimanded Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi after racy photos surfaced of him with Rita Ora and Thor: Love and Thunder actress Tessa Thompson.
Related: Taika Waititi On Star Wars: “I’m So Angry About What I’m About To Do To Ruin It.”
Twitter user TheFoxyPanda shared a number of the photos that appear to show Ora, Waititi, and Thompson kissing each other and having a laugh.
Rumored: Rita Ora, Taika Waititi and Tessa Thompson in poly dynamic pic.twitter.com/TpjcGWhory
— Cleo Panda (@TheFoxyPanda) May 25, 2021
Vanity Fair writer Emily Kirkpatrick also notes that another man who was on the balcony with Waititi, Ora, and Thompson also kissed Thompson on the same day.
outlets keep talking about tessa kissing this “mystery man” on the same day as the rita ora/taika waititi makeout like he wasn’t also sitting right there on that balcony!!! pic.twitter.com/uWCHcoHdYP
— internet baby (@kirkpate) May 26, 2021
Following these photos that hit the internet last week, a report from Australia’s The Daily Telegraph via The Independent claims that “Marvel bosses have reportedly reprimanded the Kiwi filmmaker for the photograph.”
As The Independent reports, “an insider close to Thor: Love and Thunder’s production told the publication that the behaviour exhibiting the photo is ‘not exactly the image they’re looking to project in relation to one of their biggest franchises’.”
The source also detailed that Waititi “crossed a line” despite having a reputation for being a “party animal.”
It’s hard to imagine this type of behavior would offend anyone at Marvel Studios and Disney anymore.
The company owns one of the raunchiest characters ever created in Deadpool and he’s gotten up to way worse shenanigans than Waititi, Thompson, Ora, and the mystery man.
Outside of Marvel characters they also own the Simpsons, one of their most successful properties on Disney+ if their trending charts are to be believed.
If Marvel Studios and Disney are somehow taking issue with the type of relationship, that doesn’t really make sense either given the biggest selling point for their Eternals film has been an openly gay relationship.
Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige proclaimed back on Good Morning America that the film would feature a gay character who had a family and was married.
He stated, “He’s married. He’s got a family, and that is just part of who he is.”
.@Disney‘s EPIC surprises! From #LizzieMcGuire to @DisneyFrozen 2 to @starwars #TheRiseOfSkywalker to #BlackPanther 2 — @Ginger_Zee has ALL the highlights!
Find more on all the incredible #D23Expo announcements here: https://t.co/EutVh4kPAM pic.twitter.com/P7jo6cfhDP
— Good Morning America (@GMA) August 26, 2019
Actor Haaz Sleiman confirmed not only would the movie feature a gay couple, but it would also feature the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first gay kiss.
He explained back in February 2020, “I just shot a Marvel film with the first openly gay superhero, The Eternals.”
He continued, “I’m married to the gay superhero Phastos, played by Atlanta’s Brian Tyree Henry, and we represent a gay family and have a child.”
When asked if there was a kiss, he confirmed it, “Oh, yeah, absolutely, and it’s a beautiful, very moving kiss. Everyone cried on set.”
“For me it’s very important to show how loving and beautiful a queer family can be,” Sleiman added.
Aside from The Eternals, Waititi also declared that he plans to make Thompson’s Valkyrie queer in Thor: Love and Thunder.
Waititi was asked back in February 2020, “Would you like for Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie to be explicitly queer in this next movie?”
He responded, “I think so. The IP is not mine. But with the actors, I feel whatever makes them comfortable — whether they feel like there’s a natural choice, or a natural way for that character to go — then I’m pretty supportive. If Tessa wanted to do that, I’m in.”
Thompson claimed her character was bi back in October 2017, “She’s bi. And yes, she cares very little about what men think of her. What a joy to play!”
However, there could be a #MeToo problem given Thompson is one of the actresses on Thor: Love and Thunder, the film Waititi is directing, and it could be construed that he might be using his position of authority with her.
However, the photos appear to show Thompson willfully engaging in the conduct herself.
Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
But that didn’t stop Warner Bros. from getting rid of Chairman and CEO Kevin Tsujihara back in March 2019.
What do you make of this rumor? Do you think there is anything to it or do you think it’s all hot air?
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