Spider-Man: Lotus has been picking up a lot of attention over the last few months. Directed by newcomer Gavin J Konop, the trailer shows Spidey at his lowest as he struggles to deal with the death of Gwen Stacy. To mournful piano music, we see Spidey paying tribute at her grave and wondering whether to hang up his costume for good.
Homecoming, Far From Home, and No Way Home director Jon Watts said it looks great, and expectations were high for its release later this year.
Unfortunately, Lotus is now blowing up social media for less happy reasons, after Spider-Man/Peter Parker actor Warden Wayne’s racist comments on social media were exposed.
Wayne quickly put out a statement claiming he welcomed the chance to explain himself:
But that’s not all, as director Gavin Konop apparently also can’t resist dropping slurs.
It’s worth pointing out these aren’t recent, though 2017 isn’t exactly the distant past. Reaction on social media has been pretty much what you’d expect:
Some others are finding schadenfreude in this news:
And here’s what it’s like when you realize why Spider-Man: Lotus is trending:
For those who helped fund Lotus, this isn’t the news they wanted to hear:
Plans are still underway for Spider-Man: Lotus‘ release later in 2022, though these revelations have poured a considerable amount of cold water over proceedings. It also continues the debate on whether it’s right to judge people by what they said on the internet in the past, though we have to underline that 2017 wasn’t that long ago.
Maybe the takeaway is just don’t throw slurs around online – not just because it might ruin your career a few years down the line – but because it’s a deeply crappy thing to do.