Earlier this week, there was a public outcry against the sci-fi adventure flick Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials after actor Dylan O'Brien talked about how cast and crew members had taken Pueblo peoples artifacts from the shoot location at a sacred burial ground. A petition was launched calling for them to apologize and return the items, but now the studio is denying the claims after its investigation found no artifacts were taken.
The cast and crew had been explicitly told not take anything and to respect the site at the Diamond Tail Ranch in New Mexico. According to 20th Century Fox, there's no evidence that anyone disobeyed the rules.
Spokesman Chris Petrikin told the Associated Press, "Twentieth Century Fox and the entire Scorch Trials production have deep respect for the local Native American culture and environment and are sorry that any actions or statements by people involved in the production led to any suggestion that our intentions were anything but deferential or that anything was taken from the area."
O'Brien hasn't shed any more light on his initial comments, which he made during an appearance on Live! With Kelly and Michael. "They said don't take anything and respect the grounds," he said at the time. "Don't take any artifacts — rocks, skulls, anything like that. And everyone just takes stuff, obviously."
He even said that various crew members had fallen ill or gotten hurt during the shoot, insinuating that they had been cursed due to stealing from the grounds. Watch the interview below.
Diamond Tail Ranch manager Roch Hart told TMZ that he wasn't aware of anything going missing, but said, "If the artifacts are not returned, we will be contacting our attorney."
As of press time, the petition calling for an apology has received 57,194 signatures.
The cast and crew had been explicitly told not take anything and to respect the site at the Diamond Tail Ranch in New Mexico. According to 20th Century Fox, there's no evidence that anyone disobeyed the rules.
Spokesman Chris Petrikin told the Associated Press, "Twentieth Century Fox and the entire Scorch Trials production have deep respect for the local Native American culture and environment and are sorry that any actions or statements by people involved in the production led to any suggestion that our intentions were anything but deferential or that anything was taken from the area."
O'Brien hasn't shed any more light on his initial comments, which he made during an appearance on Live! With Kelly and Michael. "They said don't take anything and respect the grounds," he said at the time. "Don't take any artifacts — rocks, skulls, anything like that. And everyone just takes stuff, obviously."
He even said that various crew members had fallen ill or gotten hurt during the shoot, insinuating that they had been cursed due to stealing from the grounds. Watch the interview below.
Diamond Tail Ranch manager Roch Hart told TMZ that he wasn't aware of anything going missing, but said, "If the artifacts are not returned, we will be contacting our attorney."
As of press time, the petition calling for an apology has received 57,194 signatures.
