Sen. Ted Cruz Rafael (Ted) Edward CruzCruz blocks amended resolution honoring Ginsburg over language about her dying wish Trump argues full Supreme Court needed to settle potential election disputes Press: Notorious RBG vs Notorious GOP MORE (R-Texas) on Saturday called for director James Gunn to be prosecuted if his old tweets joking about pedophilia and rape are true.

Gunn was fired from “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" by Disney Studios after far-right activists unearthed the old comments.

Cruz, who formerly served as solicitor general of Texas, called the tweets "just horrible."

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“Wow. These #JamesGunn tweets are just horrible,” Cruz tweeted. “Child rape is no laughing matter. As Texas [solicitor general], I handled far too many child sexual assaults. Truly evil. I’m glad Disney fired him, but if these tweets are true, he needs to be prosecuted.”

Wow. These #JamesGunn tweets are just horrible. Child rape is no laughing matter. As Texas SG, I handled far too many child sexual assaults. Truly evil. I’m glad Disney fired him, but if these tweets are true, he needs to be prosecuted. pic.twitter.com/1IgHC18J4x — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 21, 2018

Cruz later clarified that he meant Gunn should be prosecuted if there is evidence that he engaged in rape or pedophilia, not that he should be prosecuted for the tweets.

“Several tweets refer directly to his having had sex w/ kids,” Cruz wrote in a later tweet. “If someone tweets confessing to a crime (repeatedly), it should be investigated. If he’s telling the truth—if he has in fact molested young children—then he should be prosecuted.”

Cruz went on to defend his call for prosecution.

"Yes, his speech is protected, but any criminal actions are not," he added in another tweet. "If he’s telling the truth — if he has in fact molested young children — then he should be prosecuted. Now."

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Gunn was fired Friday after Mike Cernovich and Jack Posobiec, far-right activists known for pushing conspiracy theories, tweeted screenshots of Gunn’s since-deleted tweets that joked about pedophilia.

Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn confirmed Gunn’s firing to Variety on Friday.

“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,” Horn said.

Gunn apologized for the comments in a Twitter thread and shut down his personal website. He also said in a statement to BuzzFeed that he has “regretted [the tweets] for many years.”

“My words of nearly a decade ago were, at the time, totally failed and unfortunate efforts to be provocative,” Gunn said in a statement. “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.”

-Updated 5:35 p.m.