Ray Fisher's Joss Whedon Abuse Allegations

Overview

Ray Fisher's Joss Whedon Abuse Allegations refer to a series of accusations made by actor Ray Fisher who claims that director Joss Whedon was abusive toward him and other actors on the set of the 2017 superhero film Justice League.

Background

On June 29th, 2020, Ray Fisher, who plays the character Cyborg in Justice League, tweeted^[1] a video of himself praising director Joss Whedon, who took on directing duties of Justice League after Zack Snyder left production following a personal tragedy. He added the caption, "I’d like to take a moment to forcefully retract every bit of this statement." The post received more than 660,000 views, 19,000 likes and 5,000 retweets in less than three months (shown below).

I’d like to take a moment to forcefully retract every bit of this statement: pic.twitter.com/1ECwwu6TG1

— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) June 29, 2020

Days later, Fisher elaborated on his comments, accusing Whedon of "abusive" behavior. He wrote, "Joss Wheadon’s on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable. He was enabled, in many ways, by Geoff Johns and Jon Berg. Accountability>Entertainment."

Developments

Online Reaction

Following Fisher's post, others offered the actor support. Fellow Justice League actor Karen Bryson shared^[2][ Fisher's tweet and agreed with it (shown below, left). Twitter^[3] user @CloutCOBA1N tweeted, "Ray Fisher said fuck it and reminded everyone the open secret that nerds ignore. Joss Whedon has a history of being unprofessional and predatory especially towards women. His ex- wife literally exposed him if you are asking Ray to be 'professional' then you’re part of the problem." The tweet received more than 1,600 likes and 490 retweets in less than three months (shown below, right).

The controversay also inspired conversation on the /r/DC_Cinematic subreddit.^[4][5][6]

Jon Berg's Response

According to Variety,^[7] Jon Berg, the former co-president of production at Warner Bros., who Fisher pointed to in his tweet, denied the allegations. He said that Fisher's claim was "categorically untrue that we enabled any unprofessional behavior." He continued, "I remember [Fisher] being upset that we wanted him to say ‘Booyaa,’ which is a well-known saying of Cyborg in the animated series."

Investigation

On August 20th, Fisher tweeted that Warner Media launched an "independent third-part investigation" into the allegations. He wrote, "After 5 weeks of interviews with various cast/crew, @WarnerMedia has officially launched an independent third-party investigation to get to the heart of the toxic and abusive work environment created during Justice League reshoots. This is a MASSIVE step forward!" He continued to accuse other Geoff Johns, the president and Chief Creative Officer at DC Comics, and Jon Berg of "grossly abusing their power during the uncertainty of AT&T's merger with Time Warner." The tweet received more than 12,000 likes and 3,800 retweets in less than one month (shown below).

On September 4th, Fisher tweeted,^[8] "So you can better understand how deep this goes: After speaking out about Justice League, I received a phone call from the President of DC Films wherein he attempted to throw Joss Whedon and Jon Berg under the bus in hopes that I would relent on Geoff Johns. I will not." The tweet received 12,000 likes and 3,000 retweets in less than two weeks (shown below).

That day, Warner Bros. denied Fisher's claims.^[9]

In July, Ray Fisher’s representatives asked DC Films President Walter Hamada to talk to Mr. Fisher about his concerns during the production of “Justice League.” The two had previously spoken when Mr. Hamada asked him to reprise his role as Cyborg in Warner Bros.’ upcoming Flash movie, together with other members of the Justice League. In their July conversation, Mr. Fisher recounted disagreements he’d had with the film’s creative team regarding his portrayal of Cyborg, and complained that his suggested script revisions were not adopted. Mr. Hamada explained that creative differences are a normal part of the production process, and that a film’s writer/director ultimately has to be in charge of these matters. Notably, Mr. Hamada also told Mr. Fisher that he would elevate his concerns to WarnerMedia so they could conduct an investigation. At no time did Mr. Hamada ever “throw anyone under the bus,” as Mr. Fisher has falsely claimed, or render any judgments about the “Justice League” production, in which Mr. Hamada had no involvement, since filming occurred before Mr. Hamada was elevated to his current position.

While Mr. Fisher never alleged any actionable misconduct against him, WarnerMedia nonetheless initiated an investigation into the concerns he’d raised about his character’s portrayal. Still not satisfied, Mr. Fisher insisted that WarnerMedia hire an independent third party investigator. This investigator has attempted multiple times to meet with Mr. Fisher to discuss his concerns but, to date, Mr. Fisher has declined to speak to the investigator. Warner Bros. remains committed to accountability and to the well-being of every cast and crew member on each of its productions. It also remains committed to investigating any specific and credible allegation of misconduct, which thus far Mr. Fisher has failed to provide.

That day, Fisher tweeted an email about the investigation. He wrote, "Just got off the line with the investigator. Had to end the interview early before going into detail with him. He's definitely been put on the case by Warner Bros. Pictures not Warner Media. His findings will go directly and solely to Warner Bros. Pictures legal."

Jason Mamoa's Comments

On September 14th, 2020, Justice League star Jason Mamoa posted support for Fisher on Instagram.^[10] He wrote, "THIS SHIT HAS TO STOP AND NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT @ray8fisher AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO EXPERIENCED WHAT HAPPEN UNDER THE WATCH OF @wbpictures NEEDS PROPER INVESTIGATION I just think it’s fucked up that people released a fake Frosty announcement without my permission to try to distract from Ray Fisher speaking up about the shitty way we were treated on Justice League reshoots. Serious stuff went down. It needs to be investigated and people need to be held accountable. #IStandWithRayFisher. aloha j." The post received more than 532,000 likes in less than 24 hours (shown below).

Search Interest

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External References