Joss Whedon threatened Gal Gadot’s career during ‘Justice League’ confusion: Report

Ray Fisher apparently wasn’t the only one Justice League cast member for confrontation with Joss Whedon. Sources count The Hollywood Reporter This one the director – who stepped in to finish the film when original director Zack Snyder left due to a family tragedy – fought with all the stars, including Jeremy Irons. He also allegedly argued with Gal Gadot and threatened to jeopardize Wonder Woman’s career after she raised concerns about the character’s consistency.

An “experienced source” says that Gadot was concerned about the aggression of his character in Justice League and “wanted to make the character flow from one film to the next.” A witness said THR that the biggest conflict between her and Whedon came when he pressured the actress to record lines she didn’t like: “Joss was bragging that he was done with Gal,” said the witness to the trade. “He told her that he is the screenwriter and that she will shut up and say the lines, and he can make her look incredibly stupid in this film.”

THR reports that Gadot and Wonder Woman director Patti Jenkins, whom Whedon also allegedly belittled, met with the former Warner Bros. president. Kevin Tsujihara – who would later step down following allegations of misconduct. Gadot said THR in a statement: “I had my problems with [Whedon] and Warner Bros. dealt with it in a timely manner. “

For decades, Whedon has been praised as a feminist writer and director – but in recent years, several parties have challenged that reputation. In 2017, his ex-wife Kai Cole wrote a blog post for The wrap calling him “a hypocrite preaching feminist ideals” and claiming that he had hidden several cases “and several inappropriate emotional cases”, including actresses, colleagues and fans. A representative from Whedon responded with a statement at the time: “Although this report includes inaccuracies and misrepresentations that can be detrimental to the family, Joss is not commenting, out of concern for his children and out of respect for his ex-wife.”

Last summer, Fisher claimed that Whedon dealt with the Justice League cast in a “gross, abusive, unprofessional and completely unacceptable” manner. Months later, the director left the HBO series The Nevers-a decision he attributed to being unable to face “the physical challenges of making such a big show during a global pandemic”. (The series opens this Sunday.) In its own statement at the time, HBO said, “We have parted ways with Joss Whedon. We remain excited about the future of ‘The Nevers’ and look forward to its debut. “

It’s on February, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel actress Charisma Carpenter presented her own allegations of bullying. “Joss Whedon has abused his power on several occasions while working together on the sets of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel,” wrote Carpenter. “Although he found his inappropriate conduct amusing, it only served to intensify my performance anxiety, weaken me and distance myself from my colleagues.”

Although he found his improper conduct amusing, it only served to intensify my performance anxiety, weaken me and distance myself from my colleagues.

Carpenter added that Whedon “created hostile and toxic work environments from the beginning of his career”. She described “her continuing passive-aggressive threats to fire me” and claimed that he called her “fat” for colleagues when she was four months pregnant. “He was mean and scathing, openly despising others and often had his favorites, pitting people against each other to compete and compete for their attention and approval,” she wrote.

A representative for Joss Whedon did not respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment at the time Carpenter introduced himself. WarnerMedia, for its part, reiterated its statement that, in the wake of Fisher’s allegations, the studio brought in an outside law firm to conduct an “extensive investigation … conducted by a former federal judge who assured WarnerMedia that he did not there were impediments to the investigation. ”

This investigation was completed in December, when the studio released a statement alleging that “corrective measures have been taken”. A representative said THR that, for legal and privacy reasons, the studio’s policy “is not to publicly disclose the findings or the results of an investigation”.

A WarnerMedia representative also provided The Daily Beast with the full testimony that investigator Katherine B. Forrest gave THR, in which she wrote, in part, “My investigation involved more than 80 interviews, reviewing thousands of pages of documents and more than 2,000 hours of work by me and my colleagues. My team and I got in touch twice with all the cast and crew members involved in the Justice League reshoots (more than 600 people), as well as with all the individuals that Ray Fisher specifically asked us to interview. We speak to every individual who would speak to us and to all the people Mr. Fisher asked us to speak to. I have not found any reliable support for allegations of racial animus or racial insensitivity or disability. “

Representatives for Whedon and Gadot did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s request for additional comments.

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