Hugh Jackman's (Very Cautious) Statement About Bryan Singer's Behavior On The X-Men Set Speaks Volumes
The original "X-Men" films from Bryan Singer are partially responsible for the massive deluge of superhero movies over the past few decades. The first "X-Men" film, which was released in 2000, helped introduce the general public to the struggles of mutants — individuals that are born with fantastic and unique powers. Some of these mutants may be able to blast energy from their eyes, control the weather, read minds, manipulate metal, or grow powerful claws. These are just a small snippet of mutant powers and abilities, and this fact acts as one of the major draws of the "X-Men" comics and movies.
Hugh Jackman plays the mutant known as Wolverine throughout these movies, and he is an incredibly strong, resilient, and almost feral combatant. Possessing a potent regeneration factor and a skeleton laced with an indestructible metal, Wolverine definitely has his fair share of fans, enough so that the character has three solo outings — "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," "The Wolverine," and "Logan."
Unfortunately, the Singer-led "X-Men" films are not without their backstage controversies, and Singer himself has been mired in scandal. The Hollywood Reporter noted the well-known issues surrounding Singer in 2020, with one unnamed studio executive saying, "His behavior was poor on the movie [X-Men]. We accommodated him on the first movie, and therefore we can accommodate him on the second movie. And on and on. And it created a monster."
Jackman says his experience in Singer's X-Men films made him realizing bullying is not okay
In a recent interview with The Guardian, Hugh Jackman had a chance to speak about his career thus far, and the subject of Bryan Singer and the "X-Men" films came up. Jackman was asked if the allegations against Singer have cast a pall across the franchise, and Jackman replied that the answer is complicated. On one hand, the "X-Men" movies brought the superhero movie experience to the forefront, and he is personally proud of his work in the franchise. However, he also notes that the questions being asked about Singer's conduct are ultimately very important to the conversation of filmmaking.
Jackman then offered his own diplomatic take on what had transpired during the filming of Singer's "X-Men" film, and said, "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." He continued, "There's way less tolerance for disrespectful, marginalising, bullying, any oppressive behaviour. There's zero tolerance for it now and people will speak out, and I think that's great."
Although Jackman doesn't directly name Singer as a culprit of bullying, this answer definitely corroborates some of the stories surrounding Singer's behavior.