Following the bombshell essay from Kai Cole, Joss Whedon’s ex-wife, that laid bare Whedon’s affairs and the hypocrisy of his hyped-up feminism, Twitter is having a field day.
For many fans of Whedon—and people who are not-fans of Whedon—one of the worst parts of Cole’s essay is the allegation that Whedon stayed married to her despite numerous affairs because he wanted to maintain his image as Hollywood’s premiere Woke Male Feminist. So he built up a fanbase around projects that featured strong female characters while at the same time his mentality was more in line with: “When I was running Buffy, I was surrounded by beautiful, needy, aggressive young women. It felt like I had a disease, like something from a Greek myth. Suddenly I am a powerful producer and the world is laid out at my feet and I can’t touch it.” To quote our Marykate Jasper, “Ew.”
And then, apparently, touch it Whedon did—sleeping with actresses under his employ for more than a decade. Infidelity is difficult enough, but it’s the abuse of the power dynamic that upsets me more than anything in this scenario. So I’m finding Twitter’s Whedon roast cathartic.
Why does this feel so sad and true?
joss whedon blaming patriarchy for cheating on his wife is the culmination and only natural outcome of contemporary mainstream male feminism
— julia🌴 (@frozenblueber) August 20, 2017
Somewhere there is an academic for whom this is probably the case.
Just finished my 8 years in the writing Phd thesis ‘Joss Whedon: Avenging Uber-Feminist’. Think I’ll go on Twitter to unwind.
— Tom Reagan’s Hat (@andymannion777) August 20, 2017
Well, actually …
My heart goes out to Kai Cole for having to endure the one-two punch of infidelity and Joss Whedon mansplaining things to her.
— Brandon Bird (@Brandon_Bird) August 20, 2017
This is Not Breaking News.
Oh Joss Whedon is outed as being garbage again? How often do I resurrect this thread https://t.co/GoQ0sE8vKC
— nerdy & ✨fabulous✨ (@HooiWanV) August 21, 2017
And yet …
Me: “I don’t wanna hear about Joss Whedon at all anymore”
“Joss Whedon Is a ‘Hypocrite Preaching Feminist Ideals,’ Ex-Wife Says”
Me: pic.twitter.com/Q3wvjF2UQa— Typhoid Lizard (@trilllizard420) August 20, 2017
Excuse me, I need to take a shower.
Joss Whedon blaming his infidelity on the patriarchy is the most bro-feminist thing ever. pic.twitter.com/9mXskF0An8
— manceyy (@manceyy) August 21, 2017
Oscar the Grouch would never do this, though.
joss whedon cheated on his wife for 15 years and kept her around so his perfect geek-feminist reputation wouldn’t be ruined. he’s garbage
— gabi (@harleivy) August 20, 2017
We zoom in on JOSS WHEDON, sitting alone, murmuring sarcastic comebacks to no one.
Joss Whedon: *explains his affairs with a series of cutesy, self-aware quips*
Joss’s wife: I’m leaving you— Pixelated Boat (@pixelatedboat) August 21, 2017
Yikes.
Laugh now but Joss Whedon’s dude-feminist credentials will be fine. He’ll make up for it all when he casts Lena Dunham as Batgirl.
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) August 21, 2017
Also she is is acid-tongued AND impossibly beautiful.
normal film script: she is the girl everyone wants to fuck
joss whedon script: she is the girl everyone wants to fuck, because she’s strong— men don’t @ me (@lizduckchong) August 21, 2017
We do.
Hey does anyone want to go in with me on We Told You So: A Joss Whedon Zine?
— Night King 2020 (@themeganpurdy) August 21, 2017
#JossWhedon casting call pic.twitter.com/kxZzxlgKRM
— SocialAutopay (@SocialAutopay) August 21, 2017
It’s the abuse of his position of power that should be called out again and again and again.
don’t think I’ll even be able to watch an old Joss Whedon series without wondering which woman he was cheating on his wife with
— Typhoid Lizard (@trilllizard420) August 21, 2017
This is exactly the wrong take, friend. “Hungry and aspiring young actresses” shouldn’t have to sleep with their producer to get ahead. That it “isn’t exactly surprising” is patriarchy in action.
I’m not a huge #JossWhedon fan but a successful producer sleeping with hungry and aspiring young actresses isn’t exactly surprising
— Mehul Desai (@TechNoirUK) August 21, 2017
Did you know that you can be a fan of works that Joss Whedon has created AND criticize Whedon’s hypocrisy? This person gets it. Walking and chewing gum at the same time is fun!
Hearing a lot of people start sentences with “I don’t AGREE with Joss Whedon, BUT…” today.
Buffy Summers would uppercut ALL of you slimes— Duncan Writes Words (@duncanjayr) August 21, 2017
Joss Whedon culture.
joss whedon culture is cheating on your wife several times for almost 20 years and blaming the patriarchy for it
— george michael bluth (@exmchinas) August 21, 2017
This is us.
boyfriend: are you reading about joss whedon
(an hour passes)
boyfriend: you’re still reading?
(another hour)
boyfriend: STILL?!— grief bacon (@rednewsom) August 21, 2017
(image: Shutterstock)
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