'The Predator' Cuts Scene Featuring Sex Offender, Thanks to Olivia Munn
20th Century Fox
Movie

Munn was shocked to find out that a registered sex offender was cast in the Shane Black-directed movie and later informed the studio about this.

AceShowbiz - Olivia Munn was shocked to learn filmmaker Shane Black had cast a registered sex offender in their new movie, ironically called The Predator.

The actress shared a small scene with Steven Wilder Striegel, who was accused in 2010 of trying to coax a 14-year-old girl into a sexual relationship over the Internet.

He served six months behind bars after pleading guilty to felony charges of risk of injury to a child and enticing a minor by computer, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Munn learned about Striegel's checkered past last month and immediately brought the information to Twentieth Century Fox studio bosses' attention. They cut his scene from the finished film, which also stars Sterling K. Brown and Boyd Holbrook.

"(I find it) both surprising and unsettling that Shane Black, our director, did not share this information to the cast, crew, or Fox Studios prior to, during, or after production," read Munn's statement issued to the publication. "However, I am relieved that when Fox finally did receive the information, the studio took appropriate action by deleting the scene featuring Wilder prior to release of the film."

Studio executives insist they were "not aware" of Striegel's criminal history before he was cast in the movie due to "legal limitations" on running background checks, but Black initially defended his casting, explaining he was just trying to help out an old pal, who he believed was "caught up in a bad situation".

However, after reading the article in the Times, which included email correspondence between Striegel and the teen, Black had a change of heart, and he has now apologised for being "misled by a friend", who he had previously hired for small appearances in his other films Iron Man 3 and The Nice Guys.

"I believe strongly in giving people second chances - but sometimes you discover that chance is not as warranted as you may have hoped," Black shares in a new statement.

"After learning more about the affidavit, transcripts and additional details surrounding Steve Striegel's sentence, I am deeply disappointed in myself. I apologize to all of those, past and present, I've let down by having Steve around them without giving them a voice in the decision."

Black's new remarks emerge after Striegel, who has contested some of the allegations against him, insisted he would have never has signed on for the film if he knew it would cause issues for his director pal, branding his criminal past an "enormously unfortunate chapter" in his life.

He has yet to respond to the moviemaker's latest statement.

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