Shane Black Issues Heartfelt Apology For ‘The Predator’ Controversy

At The Predator‘s Los Angeles premiere last week, director Shane Black issued a heartfelt apology for casting a registered sex offender in the film.

Controversy surrounded The Predator ahead of its release last Friday because of Black casting his friend and registered sex offender Wilder Striegel. Twentieth Century Fox went on to cut his scene with Olivia Munn from the film after she told the studio about Striegel’s past. Munn has continued to talk about the controversy with the press voicing her disappointment with Black and the cast for not speaking out. Black spoke with the Associated Press at the Los Angeles premiere of the film and addressed the controversy:   

“I made an error in judgement that is irresponsible — I’m not just a kid. This is an adult decision with real responsibilities, and I didn’t vet somebody…I was the captain of that ship. It’s my job to make sure that those things don’t happen. And I failed, and I did cause pain to the people in the cast. That’s unacceptable. I take full responsibility. I’m very deeply sorry.”

Black continued to apologize on the red carpet and feels that the controversy has overshadowed the film, which only made $24M during its opening weekend:

“I think about this a lot — I hope I learn from this. Because it really bothers me that this movie, which could’ve been beautiful people and a beautiful night…has been overshadowed in some ways by a stupid decision that I made. I’m very sorry to anybody.”

The Predator is now playing.

Source: Associated Press