The other day, actor Ray Fisher, who played the superhero Cyborg in 2017’s Justice League, posted a video of himself talking about Joss Whedon, who came in to finish shooting Justice League after original director Zack Snyder had to leave due to a family emergency. “Joss is a great guy,” he says in the video, “and Zack picked a good person to come in and clean up; and finish up for him.” That’s nice, right?
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
Only the caption he wrote told a different story. “I’d like to take a moment to forcefully retract every bit of this statement.” When I read that, I thought Fisher was talking generally about withdrawing his support for the theatrical cut of Justice League, which was pretty widely panned by fans and critics alike. After all, HBO Max is planning to release “the Snyder Cut,” a version of the movie that preserves Zack Snyder’s original vision. I figured Fisher was just getting us hyped for that.
But in light of a new tweet, I think Fisher meant exactly what he said. Apparently he had some major problems with the way Whedon directed the movie:
Joss Wheadon’s on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable.
— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) July 1, 2020
He was enabled, in many ways, by Geoff Johns and Jon Berg.
Accountability>Entertainment
“‘Joss Whedon’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.”
Fisher doesn’t give any specifics about Whedon’s behavior, but the director of The Avengers and the creator of shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly has come under fire before, particularly after his ex-wife Kai Cole wrote an article accusing him of using “his relationship with me as a shield … so no one would question his relationships with other women or scrutinize his writing as anything other than feminist.” We don’t know if Fisher’s criticism is related to this.
Earlier, Fisher had praised Snyder and Justice League writer Chris Terrio for giving him a seat at the table:
I don’t praise Chris Terrio and @ZackSnyder for simply putting me in Justice League.
— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) June 6, 2020
I praise them for EMPOWERING me (a black man with no film credits to his name) with a seat at the creative table and input on the framing of the Stones before there was even a script! #BORGLIFE pic.twitter.com/hbshWFkxrJ
We’ll see if this goes any further. For now, the Snyder Cut of Justice League is due out sometime next year.
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels