Joss Whedon Refutes Justice League Cast Accusations

Joss Whedon is responding to the Justice League cast and their criticisms of his directorial style (at best), and/or the accusations of his abusive treatment of the actors while on set (at worst). The controversy around Justice League has swirled since before the film ever hit theaters in fall of 2017. Whedon was brought on board to direct Justice League after Warner Bros. and Zack Snyder had a falling out during production on the film, and Snyder left the project. However, in the time since release, there have been more stories from cast members that Whedon was not a friendly or collaborative presence on set.

In his first time speaking up on the Justice League matter, Whedon addresses some of the more specific claims that came from the respective stars of Justice League. Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot previously claimed that Whedon threatened to kill her career at one point; “I don’t threaten people. Who does that?” Whedon said. He then “explains” that when it comes to Gadot, “English is not her first language, and I tend to be annoyingly flowery in my speech.” He recounted a debate about a scene he had with the Israeli actress, which he claims she took completely the wrong way. 

(In her own email response to NY Magazine, Gadot apparently counters that “I understood perfectly,” when it comes to the incident Whedon is referencing.) 

Cyborg actor Ray Fisher was one of the driving forces behind opening the dialogue about what happened with Justice Leauge in the public forum. Fisher outright accused Whedon of being an abusive presence on set, and even going so far as changing an actor of color’s skin tone to a lighter shade. However, when it comes to Ray Fisher’s claims, Whedon insists that he wasn’t alone in thinking Fisher’s Cyborg performance was up to the task; Whedon claims he worked closely with Fisher on all the changes (read: reductions) to Cyborg’s role in Justice League and that they had a fine relationship while working on the film. Whedon now insists that Fisher is “a malevolent force… We’re talking about a bad actor in both senses.” 

Finally, while Whedon doesn’t outright blame Zack Snyder for all the backlash he received over Justice League, he claims the cult of “Snyder Bros” did come at him in the filmmaker’s name – even after Warner Bros. released Zack Snyder’s Justice League on HBO Max last year. “I don’t know who started it [the online hate campaign]. I just know in whose name it was done.” Whedon credits the timing of both Justice League and his ex-wife publishing a scathing letter about him as creating the perfect storm of Internet vengeance: 

“The beginning of the internet raised me up, and the modern internet pulled me down,” Whedon says. “The perfect symmetry is not lost on me.”

Source: NY Magazine (via Apple News)