Dave Bautista calls James Gunn firing nauseating

Dave Bautista. Pic/AFP

"Guardians of the Galaxy" actor Dave Bautista says the firing of James Gunn from the franchise is "nauseating". Gunn was fired after some of his old offensive tweets on pedophilia and rape resurfaced. Disney severed its business ties with Gunn on July 20. After the "Guardians of the Galaxy" cast released a statement supporting Gunn, Bautista, who plays Drax in the franchise, has shared his personal thoughts on the matter through a post on Twitter, reports variety.com.

Bautista wrote on Twitter on Sunday that he will still act in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" because he is "legally obligated" but that the franchise without Gunn is "not what I signed up for". "('Guardians of the Galaxy') without James Gunn just isn't ('Guardians of the Galaxy')," he wrote.

"It's also pretty nauseating to work for someone who would empower a smear campaign by fascists #cybernazis," Bautista continued, referring to right-wing commentator Mike Cernovich, who unearthed Gunn's 10-year-old tweets. "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" star Kurt Russell also weighed in on the firing recently, saying that maybe "we are getting a little too sensitive on maybe some of the wrong people".

Gunn was let go from the franchise after old tweets that made jokes of pedophilia and rape were unearthed and circulated on the Internet. Though a petition signed by thousands was formed to rehire the director and numerous celebrities, including the film's cast, spoke out against the exit, Disney has no plans to bring Gunn back on board the franchise.

The ousted director apologized for his tweets hours after the firing. "My words of nearly a decade ago were, at the time, totally failed and unfortunate efforts to be provocative," Gunn said.

"I have regretted them for many years since -- not just because they were stupid, not at all funny, wildly insensitive, and certainly not provocative like I had hoped, but also because they don't reflect the person I am today or have been for some time."

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