Last year Ray Fisher dropped a bombshell on Twitter, and we’re still feeling the shockwaves.
But the actor had a terrible experience with Joss Whedon on the set of Justice League — so bad he didn’t care who knew it. The Avengers director was brought in to retool the superhero blockbuster and reportedly reshoot tons of scenes, essentially trying to do his old job (he was Hollywood’s top script doctor for years) but with a movie that had already been filmed. The result, which included reshoots with a mustachioed Henry Cavill who had to have his facial hair CGIed out, was an infamous mess. But it was apparently even worse behind the scenes.
In a series of tweets, Fisher, who debuted as Cyborg in the film, accused the director of “gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable” behavior. His allegations led to an internal investigation at Warner Bros, which doesn’t seem to have had any discernible effect to date. However, his words also opened the floodgates.
Charisma Carpenter opened up about her abusive experiences with Whedon on his shows Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel, and the rest of the cast lined up behind her. Whedon has since been dropped from multiple projects.
Related: Michelle Trachtenberg Claims Joss Was ‘Not Allowed’ To Be Alone With Her
Now Fisher — who isn’t happy with the results of Warner’s investigation, which found “no credible support for claims of racial animus” or racial “insensitivity” — is spilling all about his problems with Whedon in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
It’s a fascinating read, and we highly encourage you check out his side of things. However, it’s what he wouldn’t say that has us clutching our pearls right now. Fisher told THR he wouldn’t comment on specific interactions between Whedon and Gal Gadot.
But the outlet’s sources told them that was actually the biggest fight on set!
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According to one insider, Gadot had problems with the new version of the film — specifically she had “issues about her character being more aggressive than her character in Wonder Woman. She wanted to make the character flow from one movie to the next.”
(Ironically, in the Zack Snyder cut now on HBO Max, Wonder Woman actually murders way more people. Maybe she was OK with that kind of aggression…?)
In any case, Gadot apparently stood up to Whedon when asked to say new lines of dialogue she didn’t feel fit with her character. According to THR‘s sources, Whedon threatened the star’s career and even slammed Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins. Wow, seriously?! Considering the original Wonder Woman is still considered by many to be the best DCEU movie they’ve made so far, that sounds like Whedon was biting off a little more than he could chew… Though this was probably before either film came out.
One witness claimed to have seen Joss right after the fight, saying:
“Joss was bragging that he’s had it out with Gal. He told her he’s the writer and she’s going to shut up and say the lines and he can make her look incredibly stupid in this movie.”
Shut up and say the lines?! Some feminist. Ugh.
Another source said Gadot recruited Jenkins, and they both took the fight to then-chairman Kevin Tsujihara. It’s unclear the result; we guess we didn’t hear the worst of the lines Whedon wanted to put in Wonder Woman’s mouth because all Gadot would say to THR in a statement was:
“I had my issues with [Whedon] and Warner Bros. handled it in a timely manner.”
Hmm. We never know the extent of inappropriate behavior on that set as it seems everyone but Fisher is being tight-lipped about the whole thing.
You can read his full story HERE.
[Image via Euan Cherry/WENN/Warner Bros/YouTube.]