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Working for Disney after James Gunn sacking is 'nauseating' says Dave Bautista

Dave Bautista (Credit: Variety)
Dave Bautista (Credit: Variety)

Dave Bautista has slammed Disney over the sacking of Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, saying that he finds it ‘nauseating’ that he will have to appear in the next movie.

Bautista was the first member of the Guardians of the Galaxy cast to publicly back Gunn after deleted tweets he posted joking about rape and paedophilia some years ago were unearthed and published by an alt-right activist.

Disney quickly sacked the director – who had made the first two movies in the Marvel series – from making the third, which was set to go into production in the autumn.

Bautista, who plays Drax The Destroyer, has said that he’ll honour his contractual obligations, but in an excoriating tweet he ensured that his employers know how unhappy he is about it.

(Credit: Marvel/Disney)
(Credit: Marvel/Disney)

Asked by a fan on Twitter what he plans to do if Gunn is not reinstated, he replied: “I will do what Im legally obligated to do but @Guardians without @JamesGunn is not what I signed up for. GOTG w/o @JamesGunn just isn’t GOTG. Its also pretty nauseating to work for someone who’d empower a smear campaign by fascists #cybernazis . That’s just how I feel.”

Bautista is not alone.

Kurt Russell, who played Chris Pratt’s character Peter Quill’s father in Guardians of the Galaxy 2, also rallied behind Gunn, if slightly less vehemently.

“It’s sad. But it’s a part of our fabric now, and I get it,” Russell told Variety.

“But I do think we’re getting a little too sensitive on maybe some of the wrong people.

“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.

“He has a wonderful heart and a wonderful mind. I hope he is forgiven.”

Last week, in a joint statement, the movies’ other stars also backed Gunn.

Meanwhile, an online petition to have Gunn reinstated topped over 365,000 signatures, but according to reports Disney is ‘unlikely’ to rehire him.

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