'Justice League': Joss Whedon finally addresses on-set mistreatment claims
Joss Whedon's version of Justice League is more or less a sour experience for Warner Bros. and DCEU. On one hand, the film was lambasted by DC fans and on the other, Whedon was slammed by at least two lead cast members for poor on-set behavior. After keeping quiet all this time, the filmmaker has finally responded to these claims. Here's a timeline.
The first hit against Whedon came in July 2020, when Ray "Cyborg" Fisher alleged the director "was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable" on the sets of Justice League to nearly everyone in the cast and crew. Soon, Fisher found support in "Aquaman" Jason Momoa. Later, in May 2021, Gal Gadot spoke about her experience during the shooting, saying Whedon had "threatened my career."
On January 17, Whedon finally addressed the allegations in New York magazine. Dismissing multiple accounts of rude behavior made against him (on Justice League sets and beyond), the writer-director said none of the allegations made by Fisher publicly were "either true or merited discussing." He also denied underlining claims of being a racist person by the Cyborg actor. This isn't all.
Whedon had taken up the mantle of the 2017 WB film after original helmer Zack Snyder dropped out midway due to personal reasons. After coming aboard, Whedon decided to chop down Fisher's role significantly, further angering the fans. The 57-year-old said it was simply because he felt the "acting was bad." However, when #SnyderCut had come out last year, Fisher's performance was widely lauded.
"Looks like Joss Whedon got to direct an endgame after all," tweeted Fisher once the feature got published. He said he would comment on it later as January 17 was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day and he would celebrate that instead.
Coming to Gadot's claims of threatening her career, Whedon straight up said: "I don't threaten people. Who does that?" Then he reasoned the Red Notice star must have misunderstood him as "English is not her first language." He recalled making a joke on set and later seeing his statements distorted in media. When New York reached out to Gadot, she replied: "I understood perfectly."
