Olivia Munn says she was 'chastised' after telling her 'Predator' castmates about sex offender controversy
Last Thursday, the Los Angeles Times reported that a brief scene in the new movie The Predator was deleted after it was discovered that it featured an actor, William Wilder Striegel, who is a registered sex offender.
The film’s female lead, Olivia Munn, was the driving force behind its deletion, as the actress said on Ellen on Tuesday. “He’s 38 years old and went after a 14-year-old female relative,” said Munn of Striegel’s conviction. “And when I found that out, I did call Fox, and I said we have to delete this scene, and they did, thankfully.”
On-set photos give a glimpse at the now-deleted scene and show Munn’s character walking her dog and being hit on by Striegel.
Director Shane Black had hired Striegel, his friend, but has since apologized, saying he was “misled” about Striegel’s conviction. For its part, 20th Century Fox said it was unaware of the actor’s criminal background.
Munn went on to say that the studio wasn’t exactly supportive of her whistleblowing. “I wanted to give my co-stars the heads up, so they wouldn’t be blindsided like I was,” she said. “When I did call my co-stars, I was chastised the next day by people at the studio for telling them, [asking] why am I not just keeping it quiet? … ‘It got deleted, what’s the big deal?’”
Munn’s castmates from the movie also responded with silence, she said, after she informed them about Striegel’s past. “Privately, I did feel iced out,” she said. “And I think that’s what’s really important for people to understand. When you see something, you have to say something. However, it’s not going to be easy.”
Co-stars Sterling K. Brown and Boyd Holbrook have since taken to social media to apologize and offer support to Munn.
.@oliviamunn I’m sorry you’re feeling so isolated, my dear. And I’m sorry you’ve been the only one to speak up publicly. I was not at #TIFF so I didn’t have an opportunity to be there with you. There are two main issues as far as I see it. First, what is and is not forgivable?… https://t.co/NQQpoO9kPa
— Sterling K Brown (@SterlingKBrown) September 9, 2018
Even so, Munn says that she’s happy she spoke up, even if it’s hurt her professionally.
“I think people expected me to be quiet because it’s my movie,” she said on Ellen. “The truth is I don’t care if this movie gave me all the money in the world and all the power. If it costs one person’s life, they can take it — I don’t want this career.”
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