'Guardians' Star Kurt Russell Defends James Gunn over Child Rape Tweets: 'We're Getting a Little Too Sensitive'

Guardians of the Galaxy star Kurt Russell has defended Marvel director James Gunn over his recent firing by Disney, arguing that people have become a “little too sensitive” over the Disney director’s rape tweets.

“It’s sad. But it’s a part of our fabric now, and I get it,” Kurt Russell told Variety at Netflix’s event on Saturday night. “But I do think we’re getting a little too sensitive on maybe some of the wrong people.”

Last month, Disney severed ties with the 52-year-old director after the unearthing of dozens of tweets where he made light of pedophilia and child rape, homosexuals, the Holocaust, 9/11, AIDS, and Mexicans.

“You have to realize that when you are in that world as a comedian, a writer, whatever you’re always stretching the boundaries and trying to find something which lead him to something that the world loves, which is ‘Guardians of the Galaxy,’” Russell continued. “He has a wonderful heart and a wonderful mind. I hope he is forgiven.”

Russell’s comments come days after Guardians of the Galaxy cast members publicly demanded that Disney rehire Gunn, declaring they were left “shocked” by his firing while decrying how the media were “duped into believing the many outlandish conspiracy theories surrounding him.”

Neither Russell or other Guardians cast members have directly addressed Gunn’s relationship with Huston Huddleston, a man convicted for possession of child pornography. It has also emerged that Gunn ran his own personal blog that he took down soon after his tweets went public, where he shared a YouTube video entitled “100 Pubescent Girls Touch Themselves.”

“Huston Huddleston posted this video on my Facebook page with the note ‘I thought you’d appreciate this,’ My response: ‘Appreciate it?!! I just came all over my own face!!'” Gunn wrote alongside the video.

Meanwhile, a petition on Change.org calling on Disney to rehire Gunn has surpassed 366,000 signatures. However, there are no current indications that Disney will reverse their original decision.

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