James Gunn back in GotG Chair!!!

[Dragonus45]

This should have been handled from the beginning of Disney's contract with him, that's due diligence in the 21st century.

Actually it was, this came up when they first said they were going to hire him and he apologized then and they hired him anyways.

[Kitten Champion]

Actually it was, this came up when they first said they were going to hire him and he apologized then and they hired him anyways.

Cool, then it was a non-issue from the beginning. At least for me.

[Rynjin]

I mean, not to sound like I agree with firing him, but he made those Tweets in his 40's. He was not some college sophomore and most certainly should have known better, at that point in your life "boys will be boys" isn't a thing. I do think his Tweets warranted a sincere-feeling public apology, but not loss of employment or this whole hullabaloo.

Personally I don't think his tweets required an apology at all; a joke in poor taste is just that: a joke. He wasn't spouting racist propaganda, coded "jokes" like semi-open homophobes like to make, or something similar that required an explanation. He made a ****ty joke and time marched on. That was the "in" style of humor at the time, during South Park and Family Guy's heyday, among other tasteless and cringy shows I've forgotten by now.

That's somewhat beside the point to your main argument though; people's attitudes CAN change in their adulthood. His sense of humor changed, and society as a whole has had a HUGE sea change on what jokes (and what targets) are acceptable in comedy over time. People change all the time, not just as children.

[Ramza00]

Personally I don't think his tweets required an apology at all; a joke in poor taste is just that: a joke. He wasn't spouting racist propaganda, coded "jokes" like semi-open homophobes like to make, or something similar that required an explanation. He made a ****ty joke and time marched on. That was the "in" style of humor at the time, during South Park and Family Guy's heyday, among other tasteless and cringy shows I've forgotten by now.

That's somewhat beside the point to your main argument though; people's attitudes CAN change in their adulthood. His sense of humor changed, and society as a whole has had a HUGE sea change on what jokes (and what targets) are acceptable in comedy over time. People change all the time, not just as children.

The jokes we're about the molestation of children, to some people this is as big of taboo as racism, or racist propaganda.

[Giggling Ghast]

Well, he worked for Troma at the time, and their stock in trade is excessive carnage and shock humour. The tweets were in poor taste, but the matter had been raised before in 2012. Gunn had apologized back then and apologized again when the matter re-surfaced last year, which was only because Gunn had been vocally critical of Donald Trump and various right-wing dickbags like Pizzagate promoter Mike Cernovich wanted to punish him for it.

He should not have been fired. Disney should not have bowed to the will of said right-wing dickbags. Now that mistake has been corrected.

To paraphrase Lindsay Ellis: "The push to re-hire Gunn was bigger than Gunn himself — he would be fine. His career would recover (and it has). But goblins like Cernovich had learned their bad faith conspiracy nonsense works, as well-meaning liberals keep falling for it."

[Kitten Champion]

That's somewhat beside the point to your main argument though; people's attitudes CAN change in their adulthood. His sense of humor changed, and society as a whole has had a HUGE sea change on what jokes (and what targets) are acceptable in comedy over time. People change all the time, not just as children.

It's not whether people can change - sure, if he were still making those jokes now then we likely wouldn't be having this discussion in the first place - it's the argument that you have some sense of diminished responsibility because "you didn't know any better" really falls flat to me when you're in your 40's.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Additional late factoid: the Trump Administration gave final regulatory approval to the FOX buyout last week. This week, Disney just happens to rehire the guy who was making Trump uncomfortable. Correlation is not causation, but it still makes you think.

[The Glyphstone]

Great Modthulhu: This thread is rapidly turning political and seems to have nothing that can really be discussed outside of that. The thread title says all it needs to, so I'm locking it before it gets any worse.