Last month — in the wake of announced plans to release a new version of Justice League recreated by original director Zack Snyder — Cyborg actor Ray Fisher took to social media to denounce Joss Whedon’s handling of the film. Among other things, he accused the director of fostering a hostile work environment. Now, Warner Bros. is apparently finally looking into it.
The news once again comes from Fisher, who tweeted that WarnerMedia — the vast parent company within the even-vaster TimeWarner megacorp — will launch “an independent third-party investigation” into the accusations based upon “5 weeks of interviews with various cast/crew.”
“I believe this investigation will show that Geoff Johns, Joss Whedon, Jon Berg (and others) grossly abused their power during the uncertainty of AT&T’s merger with Time Warner,” Fisher’s statement continued. “Thank you Warner Media and ATT for making strides to ensure a safer workplace for all!”
I believe this investigation will show that Geoff Johns, Joss Whedon, Jon Berg (and others) grossly abused their power during the uncertainty of AT&T’s merger with Time Warner.
Thank you @WarnerMedia and @ATT for making strides to ensure a safer workplace for all!????????
A>E
(2/2)
— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) August 20, 2020
While stories of Justice League’s troubled reshoot process — sparked by Snyder’s tragic exit from production due to a family bereavement — have been commonplace ever since the film released, Fisher’s accusations were far more serious than anything previously reported on in the film’s troubled path to the silver screen. “Joss Wheadon’s on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable,” he previously wrote. “He was enabled, in many ways, by Geoff Johns and Jon Berg.” Additionally, Fisher wrote, “During the LA reshoots for Justice League, Geoff Johns summoned me to his office to belittle and admonish my (and my agent’s) attempts to take grievances up the proper chain of command. He then made a thinly veiled threat to my career. This behaviour cannot continue.”
So far, only Jon Berg of the people named in Fisher’s accusations has spoken out, telling Variety in the wake of Fisher’s initial social media statements that the only discontent he could recall with Fisher on-set was the actor’s recalcitrance to use Cyborg’s “Booyah!” catchphrase from Teen Titans. Gizmodo has reached out to Fisher’s representatives as well as Warner Bros. for commentary on the investigation announcement. We’ll update this post when and if we hear back.
You may recall Fisher participated in the fan-organised event that took place during, but was not affiliated with, San Diego Comic-Con. That was the one where Zack Snyder premiered a snippet of footage from his new cut of the film. However, Fisher will not be attending Warner Bros. official DC Fandome event this upcoming weekend. He is one of the few Justice League names not participating and has not promoted the event on social media outside of sharing Zack Snyder’s countdowns to its Justice League panel.