Joss Whedon threatened to make Gal Gadot ‘look incredibly stupid’ in Justice League

Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Gal Gadot, Ben Affleck, Ray Fisher and Henry Cavill at the 'Justice League' Photocall at The College in Southampton Row

In June 2020, Ray Fisher tweeted about his experience working with Joss Whedon on Justice League, where Fisher played Cyborg. Fisher called Whedon’s conduct “gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable” in a tweet. The dominos haven’t stopped falling since, with actors from Whedon’s TV productions coming forward to speak in detail about his history of sexism, misogyny and fostering horrendously toxic environments.

The entire Justice League production was a stressful mess, and director Zack Snyder had to leave mid-production because of a death in his family. Whedon was brought on, and he quickly oversaw a giant overhaul of the script, which included marginalizing the Cyborg character, taking away his backstory and centering none of the story on that character. Whedon also wanted to make fundamental changes to Wonder Woman, and he reportedly did not get along with any of the Justice League actors besides Fisher, particularly Jason Momoa and Ben Affleck. Fisher was the first one to go public in a major way, and he’s forced Warner Bros to do some kind of investigation, an investigation which seems pretty f–king compromised.

Now Fisher has gone public yet again by sitting down for a lengthy interview with the Hollywood Reporter. Having read the whole thing, I now understand why I found the scandal hard to follow as the months went by – Warner Bros has been openly obfuscating and protecting Whedon and his studio bros, including Geoff Johns and Jon Berg. Much of this THR piece is Fisher detailing the timeline of events, and it’s worth a read – go here. I believe Fisher entirely about how he was treated within the production of Justice League, and how he was treated afterwards, when he asked for the investigation. As THR also notes, it seems like everyone had an issue with Whedon. So why is WB still protecting him?

Fisher was not the only Justice League star who was unhappy. Sources say Joss Whedon clashed with all the stars of the film, including Jeremy Irons. And one Justice League star ended up taking her complaints not only to the head of the film studio but also to the chairman of Warner Bros. A knowledgeable source says Gal Gadot had multiple concerns with the revised version of the film, including “issues about her character being more aggressive than her character in Wonder Woman. She wanted to make the character flow from one movie to the next.”

The biggest clash, sources say, came when Whedon pushed Gadot to record lines she didn’t like, threatened to harm Gadot’s career and disparaged Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins. While Fisher declines to discuss any of what transpired with Gadot, a witness on the production who later spoke to investigators says that after one clash, “Joss was bragging that he’s had it out with Gal. He told her he’s the writer and she’s going to shut up and say the lines and he can make her look incredibly stupid in this movie.”

A knowledgeable source says Gadot and Jenkins went to battle, culminating in a meeting with then-Warners chairman Kevin Tsujihara. Asked for comment, Gadot says in a statement: “I had my issues with [Whedon] and Warner Bros. handled it in a timely manner.”

…By late June 2020, Fisher went public with his dissatisfaction at what he viewed as Warners’ inaction. For their part, Warners sources contend that Fisher was being manipulated by Snyder, who hoped to reclaim control of the DC film universe. Fisher says that “the assertion that a Black man would not have his own agency is just as racist as the conversations [Warners leadership] was having about the Justice League reshoots. I’ve been underestimated at every turn during this process and that is what has led us to this point. Had they taken me as seriously as they should have from the beginning, they would not have made as many foolish mistakes as they did in the process.” Snyder denies any role in influencing Fisher.

…As Fisher continued to air grievances on social media and in some interviews, he began to suspect that when he tweeted, the studio would put out an announcement to distract from his message. On July 1 — the day that Fisher tweeted about Whedon’s behavior — Deadline published an exclusive saying Warners was making a live-action Frosty the Snowman movie with Aquaman star Jason Momoa “voicing the iconic snowman.” A few weeks later, Momoa pushed back in an Instagram post. “I just think it’s f–ked up that people released a fake Frosty announcement without my permission to try to distract from Ray Fisher speaking up about the sh-tty way we were treated on Justice League reshoots,” he wrote. “Serious stuff went down. It needs to be investigated and people need to be held accountable.” (Warners says the “Untitled Snowman Comedy” remains in development.)

…”I don’t believe some of these people are fit for positions of leadership,” says Fisher, who explains he’s not looking for anyone to be fired. “I don’t want them excommunicated from Hollywood, but I don’t think they should be in charge of the hiring and firing of other people.” Fisher knows he’s not going to win that battle, but he feels a point has been made. “If I can’t get accountability,” he says, “at least I can make people aware of who they’re dealing with.”

[From THR]

This is beyond disgusting: “Whedon pushed Gadot to record lines she didn’t like, threatened to harm Gadot’s career and disparaged Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins… ‘Joss was bragging that he’s had it out with Gal. He told her he’s the writer and she’s going to shut up and say the lines and he can make her look incredibly stupid in this movie.’” This dude was considered a feminist icon for years. He was considered a writer and director FOR women. And there he was, with a budget of hundreds of millions of dollars, picking on the one female superhero and making sure the actress knew that he could destroy her. I would love a full-length movie about Gal Gadot going to her agent, going to Patty Jenkins and going to the studio chief in short order. It sounds like all of the actors have Ray’s back, so then why is WB still being such f–king d–kheads?

Meet the Filmmakers: Avengers: Age of Ultron, Apple Store, London, England, 22.04.15

Jason Momoa, Henry Cavill, Ezra Miller, Gal Gadot, Ray Fisher, Ben Affleck  11/13/2017 The World Premiere of "Justice League" held at The Dolby Theater in Hollywood, CA

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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62 Responses to “Joss Whedon threatened to make Gal Gadot ‘look incredibly stupid’ in Justice League”

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  1. Izzy says:

    I’m heading over to Twitter now to remind WB that they are defending a man who was not allowed to be alone in a room with a 15-year-old girl working on one of his shows.

  2. Lauren says:

    Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins have been the only ones to lend some credibility to any DC movie. They have all been horrible and unwatchable. That Joss Whedon had the courage to discredit any of that is disgusting, reprehensible and so in line with his misogynistic views that I can’t even.

  3. Gillysirl says:

    Very good question! What is WB trying to hide? The press releases that coincide with Ray speaking up is very telling. They think they can erase him by distracting viewers. I read the article last night and thought it was patronizing towards Ray. I applaud him standing up to a powerful bully and speaking his truth.

    • Steph says:

      And they tried using another BIPOC in their fake announcement to be like, “ see? We LOVE POC! It was only one actor who had an issue”.

      Joss Whedon is Weinstein-lite.

  4. Levans says:

    This whole debacle is a mess. I believe Ray and outside of Charisma Carpenter and Jason Momoa I wish more of Ray’s colleagues would speak up for him…not just themselves.

    Joss and the studio bosses involved in the coverup should face a long journey before working in positions of power again.

    • Darla says:

      Yeah I think Gal is a disappointment here, but then again so is Affleck.

      • Levans says:

        I am disappointed but not shocked. White women have historically not stood with black people or other minorities against racism and other microagressions.

      • Sigmund says:

        @Levans I mean, does Gal identify as white? She’s Israeli.

        Either way, she does have a lot of wealth and privilege stemming from that wealth. Idk. I sort of feel on the fence about this. Whedon should be held responsible for his behavior. I don’t know how I feel about blaming the other actors for his conduct.

      • SKF says:

        I think Gal potentially doesn’t want to destroy her relationship with WB because she is still working with them extensively. She’s charming; but not the greatest actress and this is a super important working relationship for her. She’s kind of between a rock and a hard place here. I wish she would support him more; but I get why she didn’t / hasn’t.

        Ben is the frustrating one. He was the actor with the most fame and power on that film. He doesn’t need WB to be a success. He’s not doing further Batman movies with them anyway. His word would carry a lot of weight and he knows it. Pretty cowardly not to stand up for the new black actor with no power. RDJ stood up for smaller actors against Marvel and that was a boss move. Yes it was privately; but I feel in a similar situation he would have stood up for them publicly too.

        It is interesting that the Avengers cast all seemed to love working with Joss. At least the first time. I’m guessing he brought a very different energy to the first Avengers set – especially as it was his first superhero movie.

  5. Midnight@theOasis says:

    Evidently the toxicity has long arms. I admire Ray Fisher for speaking up even at the cost to his career. It’s criminal that these toxic douche bags are allowed to get away with this crap. Also, the Hollywood Reporter article mentions Whedon’s impact on Rege Jean Page: “Revealing to THR just how far-reaching Whedon and John’s discriminatory practices went, Fisher divulged a missed moment concerning Bridgerton breakout star Regé-Jean Page, who was ultimately passed over a role in the Syfy series Krypton because “Superman could not have a Black grandfather.”

  6. Jane says:

    The thing is that Gal Gadot clearly had more clout with WB at the time, coming off of the highly successful Wonder Woman movie and with Patty Jenkins in her corner, and was able to complain, get that complaint taken seriously, and get her way on set. Ray Fisher didn’t have that, and if you read the whole HR article, it’s easy to see why. He was young and unknown, and you can read that article and easily interpret it as him being unprofessional, ungrateful, and making a lot of fuss about nothing. Or you can read it as a long, LONG list of micro-aggressions. He’s been the one to stick his head above the parapet from the start, with minimal support from Jason Momoa, and no support from anyone else with name recognition involved in the film. I can easily believe that Whedon didn’t misbehave in front of Ben Affleck, Oscar-winning writer, director, and Hollywood alpha male, or that Ben was so wrapped up in his own troubles that he didn’t really notice what was going on – it seems to be a pattern with Whedon that he punches down. But there’s no excuse for everyone else staying silent. Jeremy Irons, for example, has absolutely nothing to lose from criticising Whedon, and absolutely has the clout to do so, and yet he’s said nothing this whole time.

    • SnowQueenM says:

      According to the leaks on Reddit, many of which have been surprisingly accurate, but it’s Reddit so who knows, Ben Affleck tried to organize a set walk-off at some point during Joss Whedon’s tenure. So, the behavior probably wasn’t isolated to Ray Fisher and Gal Gadot. Affleck couldn’t get the support of everyone, though I guess he tried.

      • Rapunzel says:

        I can believe Affleck might have wanted to stage a walk out. He directs and probably saw how screwed up Whedon was behaving just from that perspective. And the reshot scenes show he was phoning it in and not really into what he was performing. If you compare to the Snyder cut, the difference in his acting says a lot about whose version he preferred.

        I still wonder why WB didn’t just hand the reigns to Affleck…he could’ve done it. And probably better than Whedon.

      • WithTheAmerican says:

        But that is b.s. because all he had to do was… WALK. he’s an a list star with mega power. He has more power than Joss Whedon, even.

      • Rapunzel says:

        Withtheamerican- a walkout doesn’t work if it’s just one person. If Affleck couldn’t get the rest of the cast with him, he’d be smart enough to save his power for other issues. Nobody’s listening to a one person walk out. No matter who it is.

      • WithTheAmerican says:

        @Ralunzel, yes it does. All he had to do was refuse to shoot the next scene. Call the studio.

        It happens all of the time when stars want a bigger trailer so it could happen over an issue they felt strongly about if indeed they actually felt strongly about it.

        Ben Affleck can get whatever he wants.

      • SnowQueenM says:

        @ Rapunzel, WithTheAmerican – I mean, it’s speculation, so who knows if this is even true. However, if it is… He is Ben Affleck. There’s not much solidarity in a solo walk-off, but he probably could have forced some concessions if he’d really wanted to do it. Although, I think this would have been around the time he relapsed, so maybe that was an added complication.

        He still should be speaking up now. Him and Jason Momoa and Gal Gadot and HENRY CAVILL (where is he in this mess??) should be supporting Ray. Almost all of the Buffy actors were supportive of Charisma and Michelle. So…why not here?

      • Darla says:

        I mean, who knows. But we know Gal would have NOT been down for that. Her response is so white woman feminism. It’s really kind of gag-worthy. So she’s a no. Momoa is a yes. What we don’t know is Ezra and Cavill. Without knowing how those two reacted it’s impossible to say whether Affleck had any big star support. I wouldn’t put Ezra as a big star, but Cavill sure is. So I don’t have enough info to go on, other than for Gal who sucks, period.

    • Yup, Me says:

      Shock of shocks- the white guys DIDN’T speak up for their Black Male colleague and, by their silence, have indirectly directly protected the other (asshole) white guy in the situation. You DON’T say.

      Also- Gal Gadot’s response was pretty meh as well.

      I’d love to know how/why we’d need a film about the white woman in this situation welding what institutional power she’s gained to protect (only) herself RATHER than a film about the lone Black guy who has spent MONTHS speaking out about this with little to no institutional power of his own to weild?

      No we do not need (yet another) film about white women looking out for themselves to the exclusion of others. The Susan B Anthony story more than covers that particular annoying habit.

      • detritus says:

        I was also very nonplussed with Gals response. She basically threw Fisher under the bus saying the system worked for her.

        Seems like it might be the time to mention there are whispers of not so great things re Gal and Armie Hammer.

      • TheOriginalMia says:

        Agreed. Ben has said nothing. It’s not like his clout isn’t bigger than Whedon’s. I mean he got his brother an Oscar after credible claims of sexual harrassment. And Gal hasn’t really supported Ray. She’s worried about her contract with WB. Neither has Patty Jenkins. They have power, but its reach is limited to their product, not the young, unknown black actor.

      • Anna says:

        Exactly. No surprise but always upsetting.

      • oliphant500 says:

        what’s the Gal Gadot and armie hammer stuff?

    • emmy says:

      I hope Jeremy Irons keeps it shut, I have a feeling he would side with Whedon. Judging from his past statements on topics such as groping women. Women in general.

      I have lost track of what when down and how so I will read the HR article later. But why is it again a young black person with little to no clout in Hollywood who has the balls to stand up and say “No more.” ? Do people realize how many powerful people are involved in making a movie like that? The silence is deafening. Maybe Ray Fisher was at a point in his career where he realized that this sh*t wasn’t worth it if it would be like that for his entire professional life. If he didn’t speak up. But that is a hard realization and I have great respect for him. Maybe Gal was past that point and did what she felt she could without jeaopardizing her career. I have no idea. If anyone could have taken on Whedon, it was Ben Affleck. Maybe he thought of his brother though and decided eh, not sticking my neck out.

      • SnowQueenM says:

        Jeremy Irons got so mad at Joss Whedon that he actually left the set once. Not disputing Jeremy Iron’s garbage and generally disappointing nature, but I think it illustrates how awful Whedon is if even Jeremy Irons thinks he’s trash.

    • Courtney B says:

      @jane WW came out just a few months before JL so it hadn’t premiered when they were filming. (It wrapped in October 2016. WW came out June 2017). At the time people were still wondering whether it would bomb. So I don’t know how much clout she had. Affleck probably had the most clout followed by Cavill.

    • Jezebeelzebub says:

      I had a hard time following all this Whedon bullshit, too. I read the THR article and I still kind of didnt get it- just taking it at face value, it reads like Whedon is an a-hole (not a shitty and toxic a-hole, a regular a-hole) and Ray Fisher didn’t like him. You know what I mean? Unpleasant and not someone you’d want to hang out with, but not necessarily damaging.

      HOWEVER, micro-agressions are a Thing. Just because it may not look like much when its written down doesn’t mean it’s not a real problem when its actually happening. I mean, I know when I want to actively be shitty to someone and make them feel bad on purpose. I know how to get away with it, too- how to shit all over someone but not give that person anything concrete to be able to use against me- and I’m not even all that bright, y’all. I’m pretty sure Joss Whedon is clever and manipulative enough to have figured out how to do it, too. The problem ol’ Joss has run into is that he has been pulling that shit too much on too many people for too long. One or two people saying “this guy is terrible, look at his behavior” is like a blip. But several people with similar accounts taking place over several years isnt a blip- that’s a fucking blight. That’s a pattern. That’s who this guy IS.

      In regard to the concerns Ray Fisher had with the script changes, all I have to say is this: when a person of color tells me that they feel like theres some racist shit being sprinkled around, I tend to believe them. (Full disclosure: I’m white.) For instance, I wouldnt have given the “boo-yah” thing a second thought, but…. yeah- I kinda get it but even if I didn’t, it doesn’t matter. This man who is a person of color says he feels like there is a problem, so there’s a problem and should be looked into. It’s not as though Fisher was like “Whedon is bad- SEIZE HIM”. Fisher wanted his problem looked into, which is a fair and reasonable expectation. Instead, not only is he being aggressively ignored, it seems like he is being shut the fuck down.

      And I’m not saying that should need some white people on board to give his story any weight, either- but he totally does!

  7. Gail Hirst says:

    “why is WB still being such f–king d–kheads?”
    I’m very angry. Been fighting since the ’70s and I really, honestly thought we would be in a way better place than we are. I’m exhausted, frustrated and anger is turning into a hard core in my being, in my heart and it’s leaking out my pores.
    I thought we’d be so far ahead of where we are.
    I’m all out of love. I’m beginning to deeply desire revenge.
    I want corporations to stop flexing, grabbing and start being responsible.
    I want our leaders to actually lead us to a better place, and stop offering excuses.
    I thought the world would be a better place for my kid.
    It’s not. Why is Warner Brothers being such f-king d-kheads?
    Money. Power. White supremacy. Why indeed.
    I’m sorry.

    • Betsy says:

      I don’t really have any right to wish for revenge (I’m White, I haven’t really had to struggle for anything, etc), but I have to say that I often find myself imagining it. A lot. Lately on the simpletons who. won’t. learn.

      I’ve been online arguing with people about the Derek Chauvin the cold blooded white supremacist murderer and the number of people who are STILL caping for Chauvin infuriates me. It is so, so obvious what Chauvin did, but still people pretend that it was something other than cold blooded murder.

    • Steph says:

      I get that feeling of revenge. I’ve been fighting for the inclusion of indigenous people since I was in grade school. Every time the teachers would talk about the foundation of America, I would call them out for neglecting to mention that this country is built in the blood and destruction of my ancestors. But I pass as white so what do I know (according to them).

      Story time- When the capitol insurrection happened I was majorly triggered. My uncle burned a flag in the steps of the capitol and was labeled a terrorist (AIM). The FBI set his house on fire a month later with my aunt, her mom, and my little cousins in it. And yet l, my uncle STILL fought to get BIPOC folks some equality.

      It’s 50 years after AIM, and the same fight for BIPOC equality rages on. White people who act 100x worse than marginalized folks standing up for themselves and the white people get off, the PoC are deemed terrorists.

    • Anna says:

      Same

  8. Elizabeth says:

    Since Charisma Carpenter came forward, and even since Joss’s ex wife did, it’s become increasingly clear Joss Whedon is a genuine jerk. The fact he has a new show coming out is testament to how untouchable a straight cis white man is in Hollywood still, He masqueraded as a feminist but he also oversaw Buffy’s rape attack, lesbian death as a plot point, and glorified Xander’s toxicity. So if you look at the show there are even hints there (and especially if you look at Dollhouse). It’s super sad because I enjoyed Buffy a lot when I was younger and now I can’t. (Plus it IS very cheesy.)

  9. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    Protect the money at all costs. But all this protection paints the company with horrendous brushes. They’re protecting a proven monster AND they’re extremely lazy. He’s 100 percent replaceable. Get to work.

  10. LaUnicaAngelina says:

    In hindsight, much of how certain storylines played out on Buffy and Angel make so much sense. They didn’t make sense for the characters and stories, but show the vindictiveness of Joss Whedon.

    • Courtney B says:

      They sure do. 😡

    • IMARA219 says:

      Yep clear as day now. I love Buffy and I love moments from Angel but the way some storylines went with certain characters, you can see the damage.

  11. Jess says:

    I am one of those people who loved Joss so much during the Buffy years. But ever since his ex-wife spoke out and he wrote the scene for Black Widow where she called herself a monster for being sterilized I’ve realized he’s a problem. I’m so glad more people are speaking out and I hope he suffers consequences for his abusive and bigoted actions.

    • smcollins says:

      Yes, as director of the first two Avengers movies he’s also a part of the MCU. I remember Elizabeth Olsen having issues with her costume in Age of Ultron and the amount of cleavage it required (not to mention the short skirt and thigh high tights). In Infinity Wars (with new directors) the cleavage was still kinda there but at least she got to wear pants.

      • Courtney B says:

        We haven’t heard stories from Avengers. I wonder if he was on his best behavior given the size of this movie for a director unproven in film. Plus he had RDJ, Jeremy Renner, ScarJo, Sam Jackson, Mark Ruffalo. All well established and with clout. And that cast was really tight and stuck together. It would’ve been harder to exploit. In Age of Ultron you could start to see some cracks. Especially with his handling of Black Widow who’d had so much growth in Captain America: Winter Soldier which he didn’t direct and came between the two. Her character was so trashed in AOU.

  12. Lawcatb says:

    Ray Fisher’s costars haven’t had his back. Some have issued vague statements of support, but he’s had to carry almost all of the water in this fight. This isn’t true ally-ship. It’s the bare minimum while still engaging in CYA politics. And Ray’s the one who has suffered the damage to his career as a result of his speaking up and pushing on this issue. It’s still to be seen just how far-reaching that damage will be, but we already know he’s been fired from his role as Cyborg. This

    • Anna says:

      Truth. BIPOC are used to that. White colleagues will go quiet or throw us under the bus in a heartbeat, including and sometimes especially “allies”. It’s such b.s. My motto has become “trust no one” because honestly, why?

  13. Jellybean says:

    I think the stuff about Gal is bad and Whedon is an A**hole. I really applaud the way she handled the situation. A lot of the rest of it on set seems to have been creative differences, exacerbated by the change of director under emotional circumstances and the instruction from the studio that he cut the run time in half. Clearly Snyder wanted every actor to have a say in the character development and Whedon didn’t, lots of hurt ego and trampled hopes, all made worse by Whedon’s sh**y attitude. Kevin Costner’s break through part in The Big Chill ended up cut completely, apart from the bit where he was a faceless corpse – these things happen. Znyder eventually made all the cast happy but made a film that WB could not release in cinemas because it was 4 hours long. As for Ray, this was pretty much his first film and he thought he was going to get a major role in a huge blockbuster with creative control over his character. I understand his disappointment.

  14. Steph says:

    I’m confused by this. I thought Gal said something along the lines of “I wasn’t there for the reshoots with the guys but I think everyone should be heard.” Has she been legally gagged? That seems like a very gentle statement in light of how she was treated.

    • Jellybean says:

      I think a lot of the stuff he is hearsay. He wasn’t necessarily mean to her, they just disagreed on the tone of the character and she went to the studio bosses because she was fighting to keep continuity between this and her solo film. The other stuff is what Ray says others overheard being said about her. Ray will not name those people. He says they spoke to the investigator, but there is no way to know if they said the same to the investigator or if anyone corroborated what they it. So now Ray wants it all out in public.

      • dogmom says:

        One of the stories I read about Whedon’s mistreatment of Gal involves the quickie shot in JL where the Flash lands on top of Wonder Woman with his face in her chest. That wasn’t in Zack Snyder’s version and JW added it when he rewrote the script. (Apparently there’s a similar scene in Age of Ultron involving Black Widow, but I don’t remember it.) Anyway Gal told Whedon she wouldn’t do the shot, he trapped her in a room by herself and verbally abused her about it, so she went to her agent and the studio brass. They ended up keeping that shot in the movie, but her stunt double did it, which is why in the Whedon version of JL Wonder Woman’s head is turned away from the camera in that shot. Super gross.

  15. Anname says:

    Whedon was removed from his WB show, wasn’t he? I thought The Nevers was given to someone else. Is WB working with him at all anymore?

  16. Amelie says:

    There was also a detail I read yesterday that I guess one of Cyborg’s catch phrases is “Booyah” and as a black man Ray Fisher viewed him saying “Booyah” as problematic and tried to explain to Whedon or WB execs why he didn’t want to say it. I am not familiar with Cyborg or the cartoon and I just briefly googled and realized the character in the cartoon is also black. The powers that be were so insistent he say it and were saying things like the audience would expect the Cyborg character to say booyah because it’s his signature catch phrase. As a white woman I just find the catchphrase stupid and cheesy as heck but I guess when I think about it it does have racist connotations, I just never thought about it before. Like is it something super cliche black characters are often scripted to say in movies or TV? Though I wonder if Ray knew about the whole booyah thing before he agreed to play the character? Probably not I’m guessing.

    It was just gave me a lot of clarity into the kinds of things that were upsetting Ray because so far we’ve heard Joss Whedon was super unprofessional and toxic but nothing specific (which I didn’t need proof of as so many people have spoken up about Joss Whedon). It just gave me context and my heart goes out to Ray.

    I’m glad Gal had Patty Jenkins to back her up in her corner and it sounds like she managed to get her issues handled. But her support has been very lukewarm too and I do wonder if she’s not speaking up more because she doesn’t want to get involved again or if she signed some kind of NDA which prohibits her from speaking up. If the cast is supporting Ray behind the scenes that’s great but it would be nice to see them speaking up in public and not make it seem like Ray’s issues exist in a vacuum.

  17. Case says:

    I find it weird that we haven’t heard anything from the MCU folks about him. Perhaps because he was working with a lot of established actors he was on better behavior and didn’t try to bully people around? He seems to consistently be an a-hole so there must be some stories there.

    • Jellybean says:

      I think Renner was the one who suffered the most from Whedon and I always felt the others were protective of him as a result; RDJ always seemed to make a point of including him and trying to draw him into the conversation when they were interviewed as a group. By suffered, I mean that when Whedon came on board he changed the script and gutted his role of any character development – just like he did with Ray’s. Whedon also described Renner as ‘working class’ in his big, pre-Avengers interview, which seemed a bit dismissive. Maybe as third generation Hollywood Whedon resented the idea that a peasant from the Central Valley should have been cast in his movie.

      • Rapunzel says:

        Jellybean- that “working class” comment is gross af. Renner is from Modesto, and I’m from there too. As someone less than a decade younger than him, I know folks who went to school with him. And also Timothy Olyphant. James Marsters (Spike from Buffy himself) is from there too. I have a friend who was in a play with him in the early 1980s. I personally know Dot-Marie Jones from Glee who is from Turlock, and her family (though it’s not a close connection or anything). My dad met George Lucas, who is also from Modesto when he was filming American Graffiti.

        This “working class” area has some serious Hollywood talent and connections. Whedon is an ignoramus.

      • Darla says:

        I didn’t know this about Renner. This is really interesting because Renner was cast in a very early episode of Angel, and no one knew him then. I wonder if Whedon felt like he gave him his break or something. I mean this guy is obviously an ahole of the first degree, so I could see it.

      • Cee says:

        @Rapunzel IMO your town sounds awesome!

      • Rapunzel says:

        Darla- James Marsters is from the same town and Whedon employed him first. I wonder what Whedon said/felt about Marsters.

    • WithTheAmerican says:

      There are so many people on set to bully who don’t have big platforms. Just because we aren’t hearing about doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Most of them won’t speak up because to speak up is to never work again.

  18. detritus says:

    Ray Fisher deserves so much applause for pushing this.

    It’s so hard. It has major implications for his career and life in general because of the coverage. And he’s still fighting for what’s right. Bravo

  19. Emily_C says:

    I always hated Buffy with a searing passion, but for years upon years, saying anything negative about it or about Whedon got you eviscerated online. I’m glad I can now say that it was always a misogynistic show that was like watching Whedon wank about his own supposed cleverness, that no one talks that way, no one acts that way, and the whole thing is creepy af, with the vampires being the least creepy thing about it. But I had the opinion that Whedon was a horrifically bad writer and director — when everything broke about what a rampaging misogynist and general terrible person he is in real life, even I was a bit surprised.

    The reason he gets away with it, and the reason he’s protected, is not just that he’s a rich white man with whom other rich white men identify. It’s because he’s a THIRD GENERATION Hollywood creep. These men form prayer circles around their own. It’s an old boys’ club, an aristocracy, and it needs to be exposed and dissolved as much as any other aristocracy.

  20. GrilledCorn says:

    Shocking. Good on Fischer for speaking out.

  21. FF says:

    Joss has three generations worth of industry contacts and is as petty as hell.

    Also, like tends to defend like. That’s why WB protect him. In Hollywood it’s all about laying low until it blows over, so you can carry on and pick up like nothing happened.

    Whedon is also the posterboy of “nothing is ever my fault”. Try and remember he left his ex-wife with PTSD from gaslighting her so much. He’s not just an asshole but a psychological warfaring creep who takes pleasure in humiliating and dismantling people. The industry is full of tools like that.

    Too many people mitigating his MO though by saying he’s just a generic creep. He’s a straight up abuser who takes joy in his abuse and routinely punches downwards. He should never be in an position of authority over anyone. I bet Marvel are glad they’re shot of him.

    I’m also not impressed with Gadot’s lack of support for Fisher as if she’s implying he should have done it her way. Peak white feminist.