‘I’m one of the nicer showrunners’: Joss Whedon denies misconduct allegations

Joss Whedon, Buffy creator and director of films including The Avengers and Justice League, has responded to multiple allegations of misconduct, denying claims from actors including Gal Gadot and Ray Fisher that he threatened and belittled them on set.

In a lengthy interview with New York magazine, Whedon responded to the stream of allegations made against him, which began to gain momentum in 2020 when Fisher detailed his experiences on the set of Justice League. Whedon stepped in to direct the film after the departure of Zack Snyder.

Fisher described Whedon as "gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable" and claimed his behaviour was "enabled" by senior executives at Warner Brothers studio. He said he had been told by a source that Whedon had lightened his skin tone in the 2017 film, and criticised Whedon for cutting several actors of colour from the film in rewrites, including reducing his role as Cyborg. When he shared his feedback, Whedon told him: "It feels like I'm taking notes right now, and I don't like taking notes from anybody - not even Robert Downey Jr."

Whedon denied Fisher's account at the time, but gave no further statement. But speaking to New York magazine, Whedon said he had brightened the entire film in postproduction, not just Fisher's skin tone, and that he had cut down Cyborg's role because he felt Fisher was a bad actor. He claimed viewers at test screenings had reported that Cyborg was "the worst of all the characters in the film".

"We're talking about a malevolent force," Whedon said of Fisher in the interview. "We're talking about a bad actor in both senses."

Gadot, who plays Wonder Woman in Justice League, had also claimed Whedon "threatened" her on set and said he would make her "career miserable" during disagreements. A witness told Hollywood Reporter: "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."

Whedon denied he had threatened Gadot to New York magazine, saying she had misunderstood him when he said she would have to tie him to a railroad track before he'd cut a scene she had requested he take out.