Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Joss Whedon breaks silence over Justice League allegations, calling Ray Fisher ‘bad actor in two senses’

‘Avengers’ director didn’t hold back while addressing claims

Jacob Stolworthy
Tuesday 18 January 2022 04:24 EST
Comments
Justice League Trailer 2

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Joss Whedon has broken his silence over claims of misconduct on the set of Justice League.

In 2020, Fisher, who played Cyborg in Whedon’s Justice League, alleged that the director engaged in “gross, abusive, unprofessional and completely unacceptable” behaviour on the set of the 2017 film.

Fisher shared an archive video of himself calling Whedon a “great guy”, writing: “I’d like to take a moment to forcefully retract every bit of this statement.” It was also claimed that he lightened Fisher’s skin tone during the edit.

His allegations led to a WarnerMedia investigation into Whedon’s behaviour, which saw many actors who have worked with the director in the past, including Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot, interviewed by officials.

Whedon initially failed to comment on Fisher’s allegations. However, on Monday (17 January), he denounced the claims in a new interview with New York Magazine.

He described the claims as “false and unjust” and said that he made Cyborg’s role in the film smaller as his storyline “made no sense”. He claims that test screening audiences found Cyborg’s character to be “the worst” in the film.

Whedon alleged that his conversation with Fisher about the situation was “friendly and respectful” and lasted for “hours”.

Of Fisher’s allegations, the director said: “We’re talking about a malevolent force. We’re talking about a bad actor in both senses.”

Ray Fisher as Justice League character Cyborg
Ray Fisher as Justice League character Cyborg (Warner Bros Pictures)

In the wake of the interview, the phrase I Stand with Ray Fisher began trending on Twitter. It was this phrase that had led to several Buffy the Vampire Slayer actors, including charisma Carpenter, to share their own allegations about Whedon.

Elsewhere, Whedon also called an alleged incident, previously recounted by Israeli Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot, a “misunderstanding” as “English isn’t her first language”

However, in response to this comment, Gadot told the outlet she understood Whedon “perfectly well”.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in