Hugh Jackman on whether the Bryan Singer abuse allegations tainted X-Men legacy – “Things have changed for the better”

Bryan Singer faced multiple accusations of sexual misconduct on set of X-Men films.

By Bollywood Hungama News Network -

January 6, 2023 - 1:07 PM IST

Hugh Jackman, who famously played Wolverine in the X-Men franchise, has weighed in on whether the sexual misconduct allegations against X-Men director Bryan Singer have tainted the legacy of the superhero franchise. "You know, that's a really, really complicated question," the actor told The Guardian in an interview, according to Entertainment Weekly. "There's a lot of things at stake there. X-Men was the turning point, I believe, in terms of comic-book movies, and I think there's a lot to be proud of.”

Hugh Jackman on whether the Bryan Singer abuse allegations tainted X-Men legacy – “Things have changed for the better”

“And there's certainly questions to be asked, and I think they should be asked," Jackman continued. “But I guess I don't know how to elegantly answer that. I think it's complex, and ultimately, I look back with pride at what we've achieved and what momentum that started.”

Since the release of X-Men films, multiple accusations of sexual misconduct surfaced against Singer coming from stars like Halle Berry and Jennifer Lawrence. As the report suggests, the filmmaker has been sued multiple times since 1997, though all lawsuits have either been dropped or settled out of court. He has not been arrested or charged with any crimes and the filmmaker has denied the allegations.

Jackman was also asked about the various allegations published by The Hollywood Reporter in 2020 including allegations of inappropriate on-set behavior. In 2020, Berry, who played Storm in the Fox superhero franchise, detailed numerous fights with Singer during the production of Days of Future Past, and told Variety that “everybody’s heard the stories — I don’t have to repeat them — and heard of his challenges, and what he struggles with.”

When Jackman was asked if he had ever had such an experience on-set, the actor replied, "This was my first movie in America, you gotta understand; it was all so new to me. I think it's fair to say that… There are some stories, you know… I think there are some ways of being on set that would not happen now. And I think that things have changed for the better."

Jackman’s comments come after X-Men franchise star Jennifer Lawrence, made mention of Singer in a roundtable conversation by THR last month. Lawrence spoke about Singer’s troubling behavior on set. "It was incredible to not be around toxic masculinity. To get a little break from it," she said of working with a woman director Lila Neugebauer.

"And it did always just make us laugh about how we ended up with, 'Women shouldn't be in roles like this because we're so emotional.' I mean, I've worked with Bryan Singer. I've seen emotional men. I've seen the biggest hissy fits thrown on set."

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