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
(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”.