Justice League's Ray Fisher On What Spurred Him To Speak Out Against Joss Whedon
It appears as though Warner Bros. is moving full steam ahead with Zack Snyder's version of Justice League, investing up to an additional $70 million in reshoots and VFX. While the studio seems set on looking toward the future of DC comic book films, actor Ray Fisher is still trying to hold those accountable who made the theatrical release of Justice League such an ordeal.
In July of 2020, Fisher took to Twitter to accuse Joss Whedon, who replaced Zack Snyder as the director of Justice League after a family tragedy forced him to step down, of unprofessional and abusive behavior on the set of the film. Fisher's tweet read, "Joss Wheadon's on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable. He was enabled, in many ways, by Geoff Johns and Jon Berg. Accountability>Entertainment."
Warner Bros. has denied any inappropriate actions behind the scenes (via Vanity Fair). However, Fisher's comments paint a disturbing portrait of what allegedly went on behind the scenes of the superhero team-up film. In a recent interview with Forbes, he went on to discuss what exactly motivated him to speak out so publicly at this time.
Ray Fisher claims racist conversations made him want to speak up
Fisher states the reason he decided to come forward with these allegations when he did was due to learning about a harmful act undertaken by Whedon. "What set my soul on fire and forced me to speak out about Joss Whedon this summer was my becoming informed that Joss had ordered that the complexion of an actor of color be changed in post-production because he didn't like the color of their skin tone," Fisher claims. "Man, with everything 2020's been, that was the tipping point for me." Forbes states that they reached out to Whedon for comment but didn't receive a response.
Fisher claims he learned of additional harmful actions and conversations taken by Warner Bros. executives after he initially came forward with his accusations toward Whedon. Fisher states, "Decision-makers that participated in those racist conversations were Geoff Johns, Jon Berg, and current Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairman Toby Emmerich." Fisher goes on to explain how Johns would give him notes that were actually just coded versions of the racially-charged things he allegedly said behind the scenes with the other higher-ups at Warner Bros.
He goes on to say how he always believed many of the attacks were brought about by race. It's relevant to note that several actors of color who were initially cast in Zack Snyder's Justice League were either completely removed from the final film or had their parts substantially redacted. Most notably, Kiersey Clemons was supposed to play Iris West, love interest to the Flash (Ezra Miller), but she's nowhere to be found in the 2017 film. She'll reprise her role in the Snyder Cut, but Fisher hints such changes exemplified the abusive, toxic environment behind the scenes. Fisher states, "I always suspected that race was a determining factor for the way that things went down, but it wasn't until this past summer that I was able to prove it."
Fisher will be back to tell Cyborg's story proper in the Snyder Cut. He's returned for reshoots and will reprise his superhero role when the revamped story debuts on HBO Max sometime in 2021. For even more drama, stay tuned as the saga between Ray Fisher and Warner Brothers continues to play out in the public eye.