Many friends, family members, and followers have asked me my thoughts on the news that James Gunn was removed from Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3. I took some time with my thoughts to reflect on how I truly feel. While this is a hard time for me, I have put together some words for you all.

You don’t have to look any further than my right arm to know that I’m a huge fan of Guardians of the Galaxy. I’ve been a fan of the comic books since I was a little girl, and I was skeptical about how it would be adapted for theaters. I was thrilled to see the version that James Gunn brought to the big screen in 2014. During the filming of the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, I was lucky enough to visit the set and interview Gunn for the first time. I interviewed him again during Vol. 2’s press junket. During each encounter, I was impressed by his vision, his talent, and his kindness.

The news about his dismissal from Vol. 3 has broken my heart. I find his past tweets abhorrent, but I accept his apology for them and will choose to consider his more recent words and actions as indicative of his character at this time. It is up to each of you to choose to accept his apology or not for those tweets.

None of this changes my love of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and I look forward to watching all of the upcoming films, including Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

It seems that those who know him well feel the same way. Just look at some of what his Guardians family is saying on Twitter.

We are Groot.

Love to every single member of my GOTG family. — Karen Gillan (@karengillan) July 23, 2018

I will have more to say but for right now all I will say is this..@JamesGunn is one of the most loving,caring,good natured people I have ever met. He’s gentle and kind and cares deeply for people and animals. He’s made mistakes. We all have. Im NOT ok with what’s happening to him — Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) July 21, 2018

“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters. Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.” JAMES 1:19

?♥️ — chris pratt (@prattprattpratt) July 22, 2018