Source Breaks Down Henry Cavill's Behavior & 'Personality Shift' That Allegedly Got Him Fired From 'The Witcher'
Rumors swirl Cavill was fired after video game addiction sent Cavill down an "incel" rabbit hole.
Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock & Netflix The surprise news of Henry Cavill's departure from both Netflix's "The Witcher" and the next installment of DC Studios' Superman franchise has caused quite a stir.
Officially, the departures have been chalked-up to scheduling conflicts and changes in creative direction.
But behind-the-scenes rumors from the set of "The Witcher" paint a different picture of the real reason the 39-year-old actor has found himself out of two jobs in two months.
One in which Cavill has become so toxic toward women he was fired from "The Witcher"—and might have been removed from the Superman franchise as a pre-emptive strike.
Rumors claim Henry Cavill was dropped after mistreating women on set.
Cavill first announced his return as Superman and his departure from "The Witcher" just days apart in October.
Cavill took to Instagram on October 24, posting a video of himself as Superman along with a caption calling the video "a very small taste of what’s to come."
Days later, he posted another update to Instagram announcing he would be departing "The Witcher" and congratulating actor Liam Hemsworth, who will take over as Geralt of Rivia.
But in a shock reversal, DC Studios announced this week that Cavill has been replaced as Superman—despite currently appearing in the role in DC's "Black Adam" with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
That shake-up has been attributed to DC Studios' new leadership and their desire to refresh the Superman franchise, but the change has further fueled speculation.
A source claims Cavill has become "impossible" and "toxic" to work with—especially for women.
In a recent episode of her podcast, Hollywood gossip reporter DeuxMoi shared a story allegedly received from a "The Witcher" insider that gives an eyebrow-raising account of a shift in Cavill's demeanor.
The insider reports he became "impossible for women to work with"—a major problem for "The Witcher," the showrunner of who is a woman, Lauren Schmidt-Hissrich.
The insider reports Cavill would "try to overrule" Schmidt-Hissrich at every turn—a huge violation of TV procedure, where showrunners decide every detail, "down to the buttons on a costume."
Soon, Cavill's war with Schmidt-Hissrich bled into the staff in general, with female writers and directors being "suddenly completely ignored on set," leading to widespread conflict.
Finally, Cavill's behavior escalated to inappropriate comments. The source clarified that they were not of a sexual nature, but "disrespectful and toxic all the same."
The source linked Cavill's behavior to him becoming a video game "addict" and taking on gamer culture's problem with misogyny.
DeuxMoi's source likened Cavill's addiction to gaming to "working with any other addict," saying that Cavill was "distracted, he was late, he was obsessive."
Video game culture's notoriously virulent misogyny seemed to have rubbed off on Cavill, and he began using inappropriate "video game bro language" with coworkers.
Soon, the source reported, Cavill's "whole personality shifted"—a transition a coworker likened to "watching [someone] get brainwashed by QAnon."
Cavill has a history of off-color comments about women. In 2018, he criticized the #MeToo movement for making it impossible to "woo and chase" women.
And he's been criticized for having dated much younger women, like actor Kaley Cuoco, when she was just 19.
Cavill's behavior reportedly escalated so drastically that Netflix fired him from "The Witcher."
DeuxMoi's source claims Cavill began making absurd demands on set—including a refusal to do further nude or sex scenes, which are central to "The Witcher."
And he formed an alliance with a male writer on the show who was also an avid gamer, and who ended up being fired after "multiple HR complaints."
The source reports Cavill retaliated by doing everything he could to hold up production, leading Netflix bosses to issue him a final warning.
In response, Cavill sent an inappropriate email sent to the show's entire writing staff.
And for the Netflix bosses, who DeuxMoi's source says had already requested Schmidt-Hissrich prepare an exit storyline for Cavill, "that was it" for the actor's tenure as Geralt of Rivia.
Some fans think "The Witcher" drama is why Cavill has been removed from the Superman franchise.
Cavill announced his departure from the Superman films in another Instagram post in which he spoke glowingly of DC Studios' new leadership, director James Gunn and Peter Safran.
But the abrupt shift coupled with the behind-the-scenes "Witcher" rumors has led some fans to speculate Cavill was removed from his Superman role because of similar problems.
Gunn and Safran have said Superman's casting changed because the next film focuses on a young Superman, and that their DC Studios overhaul may include a new character for Cavill.
So it's possible the alleged on-set drama, if it is to be believed, had nothing to do with Cavill's removal.
Still, the timing of these shake-ups is awfully interesting.
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.