James Gunn Defends Chris Pratt, Calls Cancel Campaigns Against Him “Utterly-False,” And Says He Will Never Be Replaced As Star-Lord
Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn recently defended Chris Pratt following the latest cancel culture campaign against him after the actor appeared as Star-Lord for the first teaser trailer in Thor: Love and Thunder.
Numerous Twitter users at the time railed against Pratt describing him as homophobic and mocking him for being part of a joke that centered around Thor being gay for Star-Lord.
As an example, one user tweeted, “chris pratt has done irreparable damage to peter quill’s public image im BEGGING y’all to separate the character from the actor. homophobic actor ≠ canon bi character.”
Gunn would defend Pratt when one user called for Pratt to be replaced tweeting, “Marvel. Hear me out. Just… replace him.”
Gunn replied, “For what? Because of your made-up, utterly-false beliefs about him? For something that someone else told you about him that’s not true?”
The director then declared, “Chris Pratt would never be replaced as Star-Lord, but if he ever was, we would all be going with him.”
Gunn would also respond to a user who has since protected his tweets. The director wrote, “He isn’t. I know the church he currently goes to. Do you? (The answer is you don’t, but you heard from someone who heard from someone who heard from someone where he goes to church, so decided, ‘yeah, okay, I’ll believe this terrible thing I heard online about this celebrity!’)”
Gunn’s defense did little to stem the tide of those trying to cancel and lampoon Pratt with insults.
One user wrote, “It’s clear that he is a conservative, Christian, republican. His PR team does an amazing job but his actions ONLY align him with oppressive groups.”
The user then shared Pratt participating in the Black Lives Matter inspired #BlackOutTuesday campaign and a post honoring the victims of the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001.
Twitter user liviamulder wrote, “Doesn’t matter what happens. I’ll never cancel James Gun… But I believe that Chris Pratt needs to work on his beliefs regarding LGBTQ+ community. Maybe it’s a matter of him express himself better. But a work needs to be done to avoid this kind of situation.”
Another user wrote, “I don’t like him because of the thinly veiled ableism out of his own mouth about his own child, just to take a shot at his ex-wife. Nobody else had to tell me about that and I didn’t make it up.”
Gunn saw himself accused of homophobia alongside Pratt by one user who wrote, “Um. Yeah, we know which church he goes to. We know what that church is linked to as well. If my friend has a homophobic partner, and doesn’t try to stop their homophobia, then they’re homophobic too.”
Another user wrote, “This could all easily be solved if U Chris just came out and said I am not Homophobic or prejudice of any kind and I do not attend a homophobic church. And I Stand with the LGBTQIA+ Community & I’m going to unfollow conservative accounts.”
RELATED: Robert Downey Jr. Defends Chris Pratt From Social Media Mob Attacking Him As A “White Supremacist”
This isn’t the first time Gunn has defended Pratt from the social media mob. Back in 2020 when Pratt was attacked as a white supremacist for not attending an Avengers-themed virtual fundraiser for Joe Biden, Gunn joined Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo in defending the Star-Lord actor.
Gunn wrote on Twitter, “Sorry. Just finding out about this nonsense. Chris Pratt is the best dude in the world. I’ve spent hours & hours sharing my deepest truths with this man, as he has with me.”
“Please stop assuming what he believes, politically or in any other way, because he’s a Christian,” Gunn added.
In another tweet, he defended Pratt’s character writing, “What matters to me is how people treat the crew members, and wait staff, and fans. And Chris Pratt is always incredibly kind to these people, which is one of the reasons I love him.”
RELATED: Suicide Squad Director James Gunn Tweets Support For Cancel Culture
While Gunn is defending Pratt now and has done so in the past, the director has also made it clear he actually supports cancel culture.
Back in March 2021, as part of a lengthy thread regarding free speech and whether films, TV, books, and even actors and directors should be cancelled, Gunn wrote, “And for all of you out there (I see you) saying, ‘What about people who try to cancel you?! Do they have the right to do that?!'”
He answered the rhetorical question, “OF COURSE THEY DO. And I will fight for their right to do so. I may not agree with their opinions but I believe deeply in their right to free speech.”
What do you make of Gunn’s recent defense of Chris Pratt?
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