New Report Reveals Crew Warned Producers Before 'Deadpool 2' On-Set Tragedy
On August 14, racer Joi 'S.J.' Harris was killed while performing a stunt on the set of Deadpool [...]
On August 14, racer Joi "S.J." Harris was killed while performing a stunt on the set of Deadpool 2. Now, a new report alleges that Harris' death could have been prevented and that Harris wasn't ready to perform the stunt that killed her.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, producers for the film had been pressuring stunt coordinators to have Harris perform the motorcycle stunt despite the racer's lack of stunt experience. The report claims that the pressure stemmed from Harris being an African-American woman who could easily serve as a stand-in for Zazie Beetz's Domino.
Harris, who was a professional road racer, was killed when the Ducati 939 Hyperstrada motorcycle she was riding crashed through the plate glass window of a nearby building when Harris failed to stop at the designated spot and continued down a second ramp, hitting a concrete curb. She had completed the stunt five times in practice, but crashed during the first live take.
A production source said that while Harris had been improving in her stunt work several crew members had warned producers that she wasn't ready for what would ultimately be her final ride.
"She was improving, but I was watching her and, oh my God, I thought, 'It's just a matter of time before she crashes into a wall or runs somebody over," the stunt performer who had been training Harris the day before the crash said.
Some in the Hollywood stunt community believe a lack of diversity contributed to Harris' death.
"The producers put pressure to have somebody of the same sex and ethnicity in a position she wasn't qualified to be in," veteran stunt coordinator Conrad Palmisano said. "The stunt coordinators caved to the pressure."
Harris was reportedly the second person asked to attempt the stunt. The source indicated that another woman had been hired, but didn't perform well-enough on the motorcycle so Harris, who had never done stunts on a movie before Deadpool 2, was enlisted instead.
"I cringed every time she went out," the source said. "Like, when is she going to crash?"
Production on Deadpool 2 was shut down for 48 hours after the accident and has since resumed. The film is on track to hit theaters June 1, 2018.
