Chris Pratt, 'Guardians...' cast sign open letter in support of Gunn

Los Angeles, July 30 (IANS) Actor Chris Pratt has shared an open letter, co-signed by the stars of "Guardians Of The Galaxy", in support of James Gunn, who has been ousted as director of "Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3"

Gunn was fired after some of his old offensive tweets on pedophilia and rape resurfaced.

"Although I don't support James Gunn's inappropriate jokes from years ago, he is a good man," Pratt wrote Monday in an Instagram post in which he shared a letter co-signed by the cast, reported The Hollywood Reporter.

"I'd personally love to see him reinstated as director of Volume 3. If you please, read the following statement- signed by our entire cast."

In the open letter, signed by Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Michael Rooker, Sean Gunn and Pom Klementieff, the cast referenced a Change.org petition asking for Gunn to be reinstated.

Disney severed its business ties with Gunn on July 20.

"We fully support James Gunn. We were all shocked by his abrupt firing last week and have intentionally waited these ten days to respond in order to think, pray, listen, and discuss," began the letter.

"In that time we have been encouraged by the outpouring of support from fans and members of the media who wish to see James reinstated as director of Volume 3, as well as discouraged by those who were so easily duped into believing the many outlandish conspiracy theories around him."

Gunn's offensive tweets were resurfaced by conservative personalities, and the "Guardians..." stars referenced political division in the US in the letter.

"There is little due process in the court of public opinion. James is likely not the last good person to be put on trial.

"Given the growing political divide in this country, it's safe to say instances like this will continue, although we hope American from across the political spectrum can ease up on the character assassinations and stop weaponizing mob mentality," the letter continued.

Before this letter, various cast members had taken different approaches to publicly addressing Gunn's firing. Bautista, Rooker and the director's brother Sean Gunn had been the most outspoken in their support of the filmmaker, The Hollywood Reporter said.

While announcing Gunn's firing, Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn had said: "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."