Iron Man 3 director Shane Black came under massive public fire when he cast a s-x offender in 2018’s The Predator. The sixth movie in the popular sci-fi franchise was a highly controversial addition after the director cast his friend Steven Wilder Striegel even after knowing his past. The backlash became so intense that the director and the studio had to publicly apologize for it.
The Predator didn’t have a very good time after it was embroiled in several controversies. While the casting of a s-x offender even after prior knowledge angered the masses, the depiction of autism in the movie. All of these issues led the movie to be a failure both critically and commercially.
What led the Iron Man 3 director to apologize publicly?
The Iron Man 3 director was a close friend of Steven Wilder Striegel and had worked with them in his numerous projects as minor characters. While frequent collaborations aren’t a new thing in Hollywood, the problem occurred when it came to the public that the actor was a registered s-x offender and also pleaded guilty to luring an underage girl into an s-xual relationship through e-mail.
Public outrage started when it was revealed that Shane Black knew about his past actions but chose to remain silent. Even though he earlier stated that he did everything for the sake of friendship, later as reported by Entertainment Weekly, the director had to issue an apology due to the intense hate.
“Having read this morning’s news reports, it has sadly become clear to me that I was misled by a friend I really wanted to believe was telling me the truth when he described the circumstances of his conviction. I believe strongly in giving people second chances – but sometimes you discover that chance is not as warranted as you may have hoped.”
The Lethal Weapon writer added that he was disappointed in himself and claimed that he had let everyone down by allowing Striegel to work in the movie. However, Striegel claimed that Black knew about everything and the latter might not have felt any danger from him.
Fox had to omit the scene of Steven Wilder Striegel from the movie
To be precise, Steven Wilder Striegel had an extremely minor role in the movie and was only involved in one scene with Olivia Munn. The actress was disappointed a lot after learning that Shane Black allowed the Iron Man 3 actor even after having full knowledge.
But soon after the incident attracted a lot of hate, Fox took quick action and omitted the single scene involving the actor. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, a spokesperson also apologized publicly and stated that they couldn’t run required background tests due to legal limitations.
“Our studio was not aware of Mr. Striegel’s background when he was hired. We were not aware of his background during the casting process due to legal limitations that impede studios from running background checks on actors.”
Following the controversy, both Shane Black and Striegel have not been seen working on any project. Looks like the Black’s decision to defend the latter’s heinous acts in the name of friendship proved devastating for his image and career.
