Gal Gadot Confirms She Had ‘Issues’ With Joss Whedon, Strengthening Ray Fisher’s 'Justice League' Case
Enough is enough.
STEWART COOK/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK As more accusation of alleged misconduct by Joss Whedon on the set of Justice League come to light, Gal Gadot is finally acknowledging her own less than positive experience with the controversial director.
Rumors about Whedon’s alleged on-set bullying and abuse of power have been slowly unraveling since his ex-wfe ex-wife Kai Cole published an essay about him in 2017.
Things escalated quickly from there after Ray Fisher, who plays Cyborg in the film, first began speaking out about his experiences with the director in a June 2020 tweet. Fisher ignited months of back and forth with Warner Bros. which became less about Whedon’s behavior and more about how the studio was facilitating and enabling what he considers to be a racially motivated attack on his role.
Warner Bros. launched an investigation into Fisher’s allegations, concluding that no racially motivated bullying had occurred. However, Fisher has continued to stand his ground, and recent events signal that there is likely even more to bolster the actor’s claims than we know.
Gadot has now made her first official statement about Whedon.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Fisher implied that other actors on the Justice League set had also been mistreated by Whedon. Though Fisher wouldn't discuss who, this added fuel to rumors that Gal Gadot had clashed with Whedon.
Sources say Gadot was unhappy with changes Whedon had made to her character that were inconsistent with her previous Wonder Woman film.
It is also believed that Whedon may have threatened Gadot’s career, undermining her previous work after she expressed reluctance about certain lines she was scripted to say in the film.
One witness says, "Joss was bragging that he's had it out with Gal. He told her he's the writer and she's going to shut up and say the lines and he can make her look incredibly stupid in this movie."
The accusations are in line with the picture Fisher has painted of Whedon’s behavior, which he has called “gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable.”
Asked about the rumors, Gadot told THR, "I had my issues with [Whedon] and Warner Bros. handled it in a timely manner."
While she did not go into further detail about what exactly those issues were, her statement has some questioning why Warner Bros. was willing to handle Gadot’s complaint but has repeatedly dismissed Fisher’s.
The studio has repeatedly appeared to betray an ignorance about the depth of Fisher’s allegations by refusing to disclose the details of the investigation into racial bias.
They also seem to have discounted Fisher’s concerns that their films lacked Black representation with the tokenizing statement WarnerMedia Studios CEO Ann Sarnoff shared in an interview with Variety, in which she said that DC Films President Walter Hamada “happens to be a person of color, so he knows what that feels like."
Gadot is also a more high-profile actor than Fisher, so perhaps her complaint appeared more pressing to the studio than Fisher’s. Regardless, many feel that would only further illustrate Warner Bros’ apparent willingness to silence Black actors.
Whedon has a history of controversy.
By confirming her own experience with Whedon involved some form of misconduct on his part, Gadot can now be added to the ever-growing list of actors who have affirmed having clashed with the director.
Charisma Carpenter, who worked with Whedon on Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel, came forward earlier this year with details of what she called the director’s “long history of being casually cruel.”
Her story exposed numerous sexist and manipulative exchanges she says she had with Whedon as she showed her support for Fisher.
For years, many suspected Whedon also came to blows with Sarah Michelle Gellar on the Buffy set.
If Carpenter’s retelling of her own experience is anything to go by, this doesn’t seem unlikely, but rather may be yet another instance within a rapidly emerging pattern.
Alice Kelly is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York. Catch her covering all things social justice, news, and entertainment. Keep up with her on Twitter for more.