Olivia Munn says she’s grateful for the support she’s received for getting a scene cut in ‘The Predator’ that featured her opposite a registered sex offender. However, the actress says she doesn’t feel that support from her director or castmates.
Munn alerted Twentieth Century Fox to the criminal history of Steven Wilder Striegel, a friend of Predator director Shane Black who appeared in a small role opposite Munn. Black originally defended his decision to cast Striegel, but later backtracked and apologized. Munn says she has yet to hear directly from the filmmaker and doesn’t accept the apology.
Castmember Sterling K. Brown has tweeted his support for Munn since her comments on the matter. A rep for Keegan-Michael Key, another castmate, says the actor has also reached out to apologize to Munn.
Munn spoke with Ellen DeGeneres about the ordeal this morning on The Ellen Show, saying she feels supported by the public. “The public on social media, fans, strangers on the street, all the news outlets have been extremely supportive, and that’s such a gift because it’s not an easy situation to be in. I did find out, and he was a 38-year-old man at the time – it happened about 10 years ago – 38 years old and went after a 14-year-old female relative. And when I found that out, I did call Fox and I said, ‘We have to delete the scene,’ and they did, thankfully. And I did reach out to my co-stars individually and said, ‘Hey, I want you to know I found this out’ … so they wouldn’t be blindsided like I was.”
However, the director and her fellow cast members were not as supportive as her fans, and Munn further told Ellen they chastised her for calling out Striegel’s past. AfterEllen hasn’t been able to confirm the exact details of his crimes, but some sources claim that ten years ago, at age 38, Striegler went after a 14-year-old female relative. Munn is glad she spoke out about it and added, “The reality is that the people who collude to keep people like this in positions of power, that’s the real problem.”
She’s so right.
