When it was announced that the “Snyder Cut” of Justice League would eventually be released on HBO Max, many fans (for whatever reason) tweeted that they felt bad for Joss Whedon, the director who finished the theatrical cut of the movie after Snyder stepped down. Justice League star Ray Fisher has some words that may make you rethink that pity.
Just recently, Fisher tweeted a slight dig at Joss Whedon, retracting the praise he’d offered during the lead up to the movie. Clearly, the “slightness” of it wasn’t enough, and Fisher (who played Victor Stone, also known as Cyborg, in Justice League) took to Twitter to share more specific thoughts on Whedon:
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
— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) July 1, 2020
The thing about Whedon is that, for so long, he got credit for bringing strong characters to life—particularly strong female characters, with the popularity of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. As someone who is currently going through Buffy for the first time, I find myself gravitating toward all the male characters instead, something that I often find in Whedon’s work. His idea of a “strong” female character is basically to have her be really good at fighting and then go, “Oh, boys” at the antics of the men (something that is present in Justice League as well as The Avengers, so … nothing changed).
The Telegraph has detailed quite a few times in the past when Whedon’s true colors were revealed. For years, he banked on this supposed feminist credentials to earn him clout, and Justice League was no different. It is right there in his storytelling that he continued to use his status as a prominent “nerd” in Hollywood to make these movies despite growing criticism.
The fact that he was enabled by both Geoff Johns and Jon Berg? That’s sadly not that surprising. It’s the same old boys’ club mentality that we still have to fight against in pretty much every industry. Meanwhile, when Warner Bros. lets women take the reins, that’s when their films shine, despite men typically being seen as “safer bets” by movie studios.
Fisher has also been very excited about the prospect of the Snyder Cut, which makes sense since, in Whedon’s Justice League, Cyborg (along with Wonder Woman) was treated absolutely terribly. Ray Fisher having that excitement about the story that Zack Snyder was originally going to tell for Victor Stone does give me (as someone who is still skeptical about the Snyder Cut) some hope.
I just feel bad that it has taken this long for Ray Fisher to feel like he could say something.
(image: Warner Bros.)
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