Disgraced filmmaker Joss Whedon has publicly responded to actors Ray Fisher and Gal Gadot following their accusations of Whedon's misconduct on the set of 2017's "Justice League."
"I'm terrified of every word that comes out of my mouth," Whedon, 57, said in a profile with New York magazine published Monday, marking the first time the director has addressed allegations about mistreatment during reshoots for "Justice League," which Whedon took on after the departure of original filmmaker Zack Snyder.
According to the magazine, "things were tense between him and the stars" from the start because Whedon didn't just want to "impose a whole new vision on their work; he introduced an entirely different style of management."
In July 2020, Fisher, 34, said on social media that Whedon's "on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable." Then, last April, Fisher, who played Cyborg, the first Black superhero in a DC movie, told The Hollywood Reporter that he felt he had "to explain some of the most basic points of what would be offensive to the Black community."
On Monday, Whedon addressed Fisher's comments and said he drastically cut Cyborg's role in "Justice League" because the storyline "logically made no sense" and because he felt Fisher's acting was bad.
USA TODAY has reached out to Whedon, Fisher and Gadot's reps for comment.
Joss Whedon calls Ray Fisher 'a bad actor in both senses'
Whedon also insisted his conversations with the actor were friendly and respectful and that none of Fisher's claims were "either true or merited discussing."
Of Fisher's motives, Whedon simply told New York magazine: "We're talking about a malevolent force. We're talking about a bad actor in both senses." He alluded Fisher's actions were meant to taint Whedon's reputation ahead of the 2021 release of Snyder's "Zack Snyder's Justice League" cut.
Fisher also previously alleged Whedon was "enabled, in many ways by Geoff Johns and Jon Berg," two producers on the film who were executives running DC Films for Warner Bros. Pictures at the time. Fisher claimed Johns, Berg, and Warner Bros. studio chief Toby Emmerich and other top executives expressed concerns about having "an angry Black man" at the center of the movie, which underwent sunnier revisions once Whedon took over.
An investigation into Warner Media was conducted in response to Fisher's claims then but "no credible support for claims of racial animus or racial or disability insensitivity" were found.
In response to Whedon's profile published Monday, Fisher took to Twitter: "Looks like Joss Whedon got to direct an engagement after all…"
"Rather than address all of the lies and buffoonery today—I will be celebrating the legacy of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Tomorrow the work continues," he wrote.
'I KNEW I WAS ON MY OWN':Ray Fisher alleges 'Justice League' execs didn't want 'angry Black man' at film's center
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Joss Whedon denies threatening Gal Gadot's career: 'Who does that?'
"Wonder Woman" star Gadot, 36, also encountered inappropriate conduct while working on "Justice League" with Whedon at the helm, according to THR last April. According to unnamed sources, the tension between Whedon and Gadot came to a head when the director threatened her career and disparaged "Wonder Woman" director Patty Jenkins.
In a statement to THR at the time, Gadot said, "I had my issues with (Whedon) and Warner Bros. handled it in a timely manner."
Whedon denied Monday that he threatened Gadot's career.
"I don't threaten people," he told New York magazine. "Who does that?"
Instead, Whedon alleges it may have been a misunderstanding due to language barriers. "English is not her first language, and I tend to be annoyingly flowery in my speech," Whedon said.
Whedon also recalled an argument over a scene Gadot wanted to cut, to which he said he responded "jokingly" that if she wanted to get rid of it, the "Wonder Woman" star would have to "tie him to a railroad track and do it over his dead body."
"Then I was told that I had said something about her dead body and tying her to the railroad track," Whedon said.
However, Gadot disagreed with Whedon's version of what happened and told the publication via email: "I understood perfectly."
MORE ALLEGATIONS:Charisma Carpenter details director Joss Whedon's alleged abuse of power, 'Buffy' co-stars share support
Joss Whedon denies calling Charisma Carpenter 'fat' during 'Angel'
Last February, Charisma Carpenter, 51, who starred in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel," which Whedon created, alleged abuse while working with the "Avengers" director.
"(He) abused his power on numerous occasions while working on the sets of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and 'Angel.' While he found his misconduct amusing, it only served to intensify my performance anxiety, disempower me, and alienate me from my peers," Carpenter wrote in a lengthy statement on Twitter at the time.
Carpenter wrote at the time that when Fisher publicly accused Whedon of "abusive and unprofessional behavior toward the cast and crew during reshoots on the Justice League set in 2017, it gutted me."
After becoming pregnant while working on "Angel," Carpenter claimed Whedon called her "fat" and asked if she was "going to keep it."
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In the profile published Monday, Whedon said he regretted how he spoke to Carpenter after learning she was pregnant. "I was not mannerly," he said. "Most of my experiences with Charisma were delightful and charming."
"I did not call her fat" while pregnant, Whedon said. "Of course I didn't."
"Joss has a history of being casually cruel," Carpenter said in her February 2021 social media post. "He has created hostile and toxic work environments since his early career. I know because I experienced it first-hand. Repeatedly."
Contributing: Kelly Lawler, Charles Trepany and Jenna Ryu, USA TODAY; Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press
