James Gunn’s ‘starts at 18’ dig at Jared Leto resurfaces after new allegations

*Warning: This article discusses allegations of sexual assault*

Following the news that four women have accused Jared Leto of criminal sexual misconduct, people are once again talking about DCU head James Gunn’s comment about the actor. 

The new allegations are detailed in Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret, which landed on BBC iPlayer today. The four women who accuse the actor of criminal behaviour are Isabel, Alex, Clara and Etta, whose names have been changed.

Isabel, now in her 40s, says she was 17 years old when Leto allegedly sexually assaulted her in a motel bathroom. Alex, who was 19 at the time but told the actor she was 17, claims he threatened to sexually assault her after she was left alone with him in a hotel room.

Clara claims she had sex with Leto when she was 17 in California, which would constitute statutory rape under the state’s age of consent laws. Etta accuses him of making repeated sexually explicit phone calls to her when she was 16. 

The BBC spoke to 10 women in total, who say they encountered Leto between 2002 and 2016, when he was in his 30s and 40s.

Sexual misconduct allegations against the actor and 30 Seconds to Mars frontman first received widespread public attention in June 2025, when an Air Mail investigation published accounts from nine women. 

Leto denied the allegations at the time but has not responded to the claims in the BBC’s investigation. 

Long before then, James Gunn made a suggestive joke about the actor, which has since resurfaced. As one X user wrote in response to the news, “James Gunn of all people made a reference to this a long time ago.”

What exactly did James Gunn say about Jared Leto?

Back in May 2018, Dylan Sprouse called out Leto on Twitter, tagging him and asking, “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 to the tweet, “He starts at 18 on the internet?” While Gunn didn’t expand on the remark, many people have since interpreted it as an insinuation that Leto pursued women younger than 18.

There were also questions about whether there were tensions between the two when Gunn didn’t bring Leto’s Joker back for The Suicide Squad, although the filmmaker quickly quashed those rumours. 

Speaking to the New York Times in 2021, he said, “Joker, no. I just don’t know why Joker would be in the Suicide Squad. He wouldn’t be helpful in that type of war situation.”

But the conversation didn’t end there, as Gunn’s Peacemaker also made multiple digs at Leto’s band.

In the season two premiere, Chris (John Cena) has a conversation with Emilia (Jennifer Holland) after she repeatedly punches her car’s dashboard. 

Chris then says, “Last time I was in that car, it was playing Spin Doctors or Thirty Seconds to Mars or some sh*t. I was gonna kick its ass then, but you two seem like you’re on good terms.”

Emilia replies, “I am not on good terms with Thirty Seconds to Mars, how dare you.”

Then, in the post-credits scene, Emilia says, “You can’t be looping Spin Doctors in with Thirty Seconds to Mars. Spin Doctors: so good!”

Chris then 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 publicly described himself as having a feud with Leto or suggested they have had a personal falling out.

Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret is streaming in BBC iPlayer now.

Featured image credit: BBC iPlayer/Ron Adar/Shutterstock