A Finger on the Trigger, Part 2
(Trigger warning: suicide, a LOT of racial and transphobic content)
There have already been several articles written about Guns Akimbo director Jason Lei Howden’s behavior over the last couple of days — how he targeted writers of color who had nothing to do with the bullying of Much Ado About Cinema’s editor, how he continued to rage at anyone who dared question him or give his film a bad review, how he gave a halfhearted “I’m sorry if you were offended” apology, how he has a history of bullying people who don’t enjoy his work even a little bit, how Saban Films is still going ahead with the film’s release despite its director acting like a baby…the list goes on.
Well, he has seemingly hit a new low.
After deactivating his account once again, Howden appears to have taken the news that people aren’t going to see his film (and that people don’t accept his “apology”) quite badly. So badly, in fact, that it appears he’s tweeting from a new, burner account with the very mature and professional name “Fuck journos”.
“FJ”, as I’ll refer to this account, initially denied being Howden:
But if it truly is him, it seems he’s given up on trying to pretend.
If FJ is trying to shock people, it’s certainly working — not only is this account continuing Howden’s abuse of both “SJWs” and people of color on an absolutely horrendous new level, but is throwing out slurs and alt-right dog whistles like there’s no tomorrow. “I like triggering snowflakes,” reads one tweet. Another refers to a critic as a “soy boi stain”, a reference to a transphobic slur. Still another replies to a user with a gay pride flag in their name, “Seeing that flag after your name, explains it all honestly.”
FJ calls people “retarded”, references “blacks putting SJW shit into literally nothing”, and continues to directly attack the people that Howden initially accused. If Howden was truly trying to stop cyberbullying, FJ is pushing the needle far in the wrong direction.
So Jason Lei Howden and FJ — which all signs point to being the same person — have seemingly torpedoed any future prospects for the sophomore director who doesn’t know how to leave well enough alone. Critics, fans, and Jameela Jamil alike have all decried his efforts. If he wants to hide behind anonymity, he’s doing a poor job of it. If it’s not him, there must be better things to do than to continue to defend someone who has dug his own grave with his gun hands.
Guns Akimbo is still slated for release on February 28th. I won’t be seeing it. If you’re looking for alternatives, here’s a list I made of action movies that I enjoy that weren’t directed by Howden. (There are quite a few.)
