Olivia Munn will only promote The Predator because she's proud of the cast (and contractually obligated)

By Danette Chavez | September 7, 2018 | 6:38pm

Aux Features Film

Yesterday, we reported that director Shane Black apologized for having wittingly cast a registered sex offender in a few of his movies, including the forthcoming The Predator. Black says he was misled by his (former, we assume) friend, actor Steven Wilder Striegel (credited as Steve Wilder), about the circumstances that led to Striegel’s guilty plea in 201o to “charges of risk of injury to a child and enticing a minor by computer after attempting to manipulate a 14-year-old girl into a sexual relationship.”

Fox took decisive action after Olivia Munn, who stars in The Predator along with Sterling K. Brown and Boyd Holbrook, alerted the studio to the fact that Striegel is a registered sex offender. Striegel’s scene has been removed from the film, which is due out September 14 and is already being heavily promoted by the studio. But Munn is limiting the amount of press she’s doing ahead of the premiere—as she tweeted Thursday, she’s only participated in some red carpets out of contractual obligation to the studio and mutual admiration for her castmates.

Most Popular

Munn, who also co-stars with Joely Richardson in the upcoming supernatural-thriller series The Rook, was responding to a Twitter user who asked why she was doing any press for the film. The actor explained what you’ve probably already guessed, that she’s “contractually obligated.” She’s also clearly proud of her work and co-workers, writing “I worked really hard on this film, as did the rest of the cast and crew.” Munn also notes that the higher-ups would probably prefer that she steer clear of the red carpet entirely: “It would make everyone breathe easier.” But now that Striegel’s scene has been cut, she’ll endorse the movie in muted fashion.

An advocate of the Time’s Up movement, Munn recently published an essay in which she pushed for greater accountability in a culture that rushes to forgive offenders while being hostile to survivors.

[via IndieWire]