It appears James Gunn will not tolerate any slander when it comes to the stars of his movies. Gunn, who's currently directing the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, recently defended Chris Pratt's casting as Star-Lord after someone suggested that he be replaced in the franchise's next installment.
Pratt enjoyed a lot of admiration from fans for his work on projects like Guardians of the Galaxy and Parks and Recreation. However, he's recently come under fire over his association with a church for its anti-LGBTQ+ views, even drawing criticism from Elliot Page.
After a supposed fan suggested in a viral tweet that Pratt be replaced by Aquaman star Patrick Wilson, Gunn responded angrily, believing that the fan's suggestion was based on Pratt's religion rather than his acting abilities. "For what? Because of your made-up, utterly-false beliefs about him?" Gunn said. "For something that someone else told you about him that’s not true? Chris Pratt would never be replaced as Star-Lord but, if he ever was, we would all be going with him." After another fan insinuated Pratt was homophobic because of the church he goes to, Gunn continued to defend him, saying, "He isn’t. I know the church he currently goes to. Do you? (The answer is you don’t, but you heard from someone who heard from someone who heard from someone where he goes to church, so decided, 'yeah, okay, I’ll believe this terrible thing I heard online about this celebrity!')"
No matter what anyone may think of Gunn's words, one thing is for sure: he knows much more about Pratt than any normal person would since he's worked with him for almost a decade now. Anyone who says otherwise is being disingenuous. It's also abundantly clear that Gunn has a close bond with Pratt much like he does with anyone else in the Guardians of the Galaxy cast, so it makes sense that he would defend Pratt if anyone came after him. Especially if it's regarding falsehoods surrounding Pratt's religious beliefs.
It's very simple people. Until Pratt actually does something that warrants taking his acting career away from him, there's no reason to make a fuss about his place in Hollywood. Simply being a Christian should not fit the criteria to cancel anyone these days any more than being a homosexual should. At the end of the day, a celebrity's beliefs should be treated just like their sexual orientation: like it's nobody's business. And if information like that is out in the open, no one has the right to judge on that alone. It's just as wrong to condemn someone for being Christian as it is wrong to condemn someone for being gay if they haven't done anything morally wrong. Odds are, no one outside of Pratt's friends and family knows him personally and never will, so anyone outside of that circle who want him gone should stop acting like they do just because of unsubstantiated gossip that they've heard about his religious affiliations.
More importantly, if you don't like Pratt, then don't watch any movies that star Pratt. It's a massive waste of time and energy to put such efforts into canceling him when he hasn't done anything wrong considering the much simpler route to take is to simply ignore the movies he's in. It's not that complex to grasp. If the movies he stars in as the lead don't turn a profit, then Hollywood will eventually stop casting him in lead roles. When it's all said and done, if Pratt loses his label as an A-list movie star, it's going to be because people stopped seeing his movies. Not because of his Christian beliefs.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be released in theaters on May 5th, 2023.
Source: James Gunn/Twitter