James Gunn 'absolutely infuriated' by criticism of Chris Pratt

James Gunn has admitted the hate directed at Chris Pratt online "absolutely infuriates" him.

The Internet meme naming the Guardians of the Galaxy actor as Hollywood's "Worst Chris" - compared to Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, and Chris Pine - regularly resurfaces on Twitter, while he has also received backlash for praising his wife Katherine Schwarzenegger and was accused of attending an anti-LBTQ+ church.

Discussing the negativity surrounding the star, his Guardians director Gunn insisted people have made up facts about Pratt and don't know who is truly is.

"It absolutely infuriates me. Chris is unspeakably kind to people; he goes out of his way to help kids. He's an especially loving father. And there's a lot of stuff that people have literally just made up about him-about his politics, about who he is, about what he believes of other people, you know?" he told Men's Health magazine.

Gunn defended his franchise's leading man on Twitter earlier this year when people called for Pratt to be replaced in Guardians due to his rumoured involvement with the Hillsong Church.

"For what? Because of your made-up, utterly-false beliefs about him? For something that someone else told you about him that’s not true? Chris Pratt would never be replaced as Star-Lord but, if he ever was, we would all be going with him," he replied to a user.

"I know the church he currently goes to. Do you? (The answer is you don’t, but you heard from someone who heard from someone who heard from someone where he goes to church, so decided, 'yeah, okay, I’ll believe this terrible thing I heard online about this celebrity!')"

In the Men's Health piece, Pratt insisted he never attended Hillsong and goes to Zoe Church instead.