Boyd Holbrook does not want his Predator co-star Olivia Munn to feel “abandoned or alone” for speaking out after discovering that a registered sex offender had been cast in the film.
“I have stated before, and I will state it again, I am proud of Olivia for the way that she handled a difficult and alarming situation, and I am grateful that Fox took the information seriously and took action swiftly,” said Holbrook in a statement posted to his Instagram on Monday.
In his statement, the actor also confirmed that the situation led him to pull out of some press commitments to promote The Predator at the Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff).
“It is true that I pulled out of a small amount of press on Saturday, as this type of social commentary is new to me and given the nature of the originating crime, I felt further discussion could cause unwanted trauma and pain, neither of which I wanted to incite to the anonymous young woman,” said Holbrook.
He added: “I now realise that my understanding of the situation was not the full picture and the last thing I want is for Olivia to ever feel abandoned or alone. We are in the midst of a very crucial and important time, and it is imperative that we keep listening.”
Last week, in advance of the film’s Tiff premiere, the Los Angeles Times reported that Twentieth Century Fox deleted a scene from The Predator featuring Steven Wilder Striegel after Munn discovered he was a registered sex offender. In 2010, Striegel had pleaded guilty to felony charges that he attempted to lure a 14-year-old female relative into a sexual relationship over email.
The Predator director Shane Black was the only person aware of his background and cast Striegel “to help a friend.”
Following the report, Black apologised, saying “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.”
Holbrook had also demonstrated support for Munn during a video interview at Variety’s Tiff studio.
