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James Gunn tweet from 2018 resurfaces after Jared Leto accused of criminal sexual conduct
Patrick H.
Following allegations that four women have accused Jared Leto of criminal sexual misconduct, attention is turning back to a 2018 James Gunn post that some now see as a pointed jab at the actor.
The new claims are detailed in Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret, which aired on BBC iPlayer. The documentary features four women: Isabel, Alex, Clara and Etta, (who all chose to conceal their identities) who describe encounters with Leto dating back to when they were just teenagers.
The claims made against the actor
Isabel, now in her 40s, says she was 17 when Leto allegedly sexually assaulted her in a motel bathroom, while, Alex, 19 at the time but told Leto she was 17, claims he threatened her with sexual assault after they were left alone in a hotel room.
Clara alleges she had sex with Leto when she was 17, which would constitue statutory rape under California law, while Etta was just 16 when she was allegedly groomed after Leto reportedly made several sexually explicit calls to her.
The BBC spoke to 10 women who say they encountered Leto between 2002 and 2016, when he was in his 30s and 40s.
These allegations follow a 2025 Air Mail investigation in which nine women came forward.
The actor denied those claims at the time, and has since been forced to deny them again in a recent statement concerning the BBC’s investigation.
Gunn's tweet resurfaces from 2018
Long before these reports, James Gunn made a now-viral comment about Leto. As one X user noted: “James Gunn of all people made a reference to this a long time ago.”
In May 2018, Dylan Sprouse posted on Twitter, tagging Leto: “Now that you’ve slid into the dm’s of every female model aged 18-25, what would you say your success rate is?”
Gunn replied: “He starts at 18 on the internet?”
Though he never elaborated on the pointed comment, many have since read the line as an insinuation that Leto allegedly pursued women younger than 18.
Gunn has also taken indirect jabs at Leto’s band, Thirty Seconds to Mars in the past, in his series Peacemaker.
In the season two premiere, John Cena’s character says: “Last time I was in that car, it was playing Spin Doctors or Thirty Seconds to Mars or some s**t. I was gonna kick its a** then, but you two seem like you’re on good terms.”
Emilia (Jennifer Holland) replies: “I am not on good terms with Thirty Seconds to Mars, how dare you.”
Cena’s character fires back: “Jeez, anyone’s better than Thirty Seconds to Mars. That garage band I was in for two seconds is better than Thirty Seconds to Mars.”
Despite these jokes, Gunn has never described himself as being in a feud with Leto or suggested there was a personal falling out between them.