James Gunn Promises to Help After Raccoon Breaks Into Woman's Home and Wreaks Havoc

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Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn has offered to help cover the cost of damage to a Twitter user's house, after a family of raccoons apparently crashed through her ceiling and trashed her bedroom and office over the weekend. In addition to using the character of Rocket Raccoon as a major player in his Guardians trilogy, Gunn has often been an advocate for animal rights issues, as well as shelters and other organizations that help raccoons. He famously posed with a Oreo, the raccoon who served as the model for Rocket in the film, on the red carpet of the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie.

The victim of the raccoon invasion was PhD student Haley Iliff, who said that her situation was complicated when the Humane Society wouldn't help, because they didn't want to disturb what appeared to be a mother racoon protecting her young. It therefore took an extra day to find someone who would help to remove the critters.

"Let me know how much damage they've done, and I'll make a donation to help cover the costs," Gunn tweeted, adding that he had followed her so that she could send her a direct message on Twitter. "It's the least I can do on behalf of my masked brethren."

You can see his tweet below.

Let me know how much damage they've done & I'll make a donation to help cover the costs. It's the least I can do on behalf of my masked brethren. ? https://t.co/lbgoAd5mQU

-- James Gunn (@JamesGunn) June 29, 2021

Iliff shared a series of images taken over two days, ranging from damage done to her apartment to a racoon seemingly stuck on a door frame, to the final disposition of the creatures in a crate, as they were taken out of the house. She said that along the way, the hole in her roof attracted additional raccoons, bringing her total to five by the time all was said and done.

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This might feel a little like a recent, unsettling invasion of hundreds of birds who took over a California home in a matter of hours after a screen in the home's chimney was compromised. While that event drew the inevitable comparisons to Alfred Hitchock's The Birds, it was likely Guardians of the Galaxy jokes that attracted Gunn's attention to Iliff's plight.

Ironically, while there is no indication as yet that Iliff did or did not take Gunn up on his offer, there are dozens of tweets from fans jokingly soliciting his help recovering the belongings, or The Suicide Squad premiere tickets, that raccoons supposedly absconded with,.