Earlier this summer, actor Ray Fisher, who portrayed Cyborg in Warner Bros.’ 2017 DC film Justice League, accused director Joss Whedon of “gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable” on-set treatment of the film’s cast and crew. Whedon had been brought in to complete the filming and reshoots of Justice League after original director Zack Snyder had to leave due to a family tragedy. In the same tweet, Fisher claimed that Whedon’s behavior was enabled by producers Geoff Johns and Jon Berg. On August 20, Fisher tweeted that after “5 weeks of interviews with various cast/crew, @WarnerMedia has officially launched an independent third-party investigation to get to the heart of the toxic and abusive work environment created during Justice League reshoots.” Fisher added that he hoped the investigations would reveal that Whedon, Johns, and Berg “grossly abused their power during the uncertainty of AT&T’s merger with Time Warner.”
Now, it appears that Fisher is dissatisfied with the nature of these investigations. On September 4, Fisher tweeted that after “speaking out about Justice League, I received a phone call from the President of DC Films wherein he attempted to throw Joss Whedon and Jon Berg under the bus in hopes that I would relent on Geoff Johns.” The president of DC Films is Walter Hamada.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, a Warner Bros. spokesperson released a statement in response to Fisher’s tweet, saying, “At no time did Mr. Hamada ever ‘throw anyone under the bus.’” Furthermore, the studio claims that it hired a third-party investigator to look into on-set misconduct at Fisher’s behest, and that the investigator has reached out to Fisher “multiple times,” but that “to date, Mr. Fisher has declined to speak to the investigator.” The studio also says in its statement, which you can read in full below, that Fisher has not provided them with “any specific and credible allegation of misconduct.” The Hollywood Reporter adds that Whedon and Johns have not responded to Fisher’s allegations, and Berg has “publicly denied them.”
“In July, Ray Fisher’s representatives asked DC Films President Walter Hamada to talk to Mr. Fisher about his concerns during the production of “Justice League.” The two had previously spoken when Mr. Hamada asked him to reprise his role as Cyborg in Warner Bros.’ upcoming Flash movie, together with other members of the Justice League. In their July conversation, Mr. Fisher recounted disagreements he’d had with the film’s creative team regarding his portrayal of Cyborg, and complained that his suggested script revisions were not adopted. Mr. Hamada explained that creative differences are a normal part of the production process, and that a film’s writer/director ultimately has to be in charge of these matters. Notably, Mr. Hamada also told Mr. Fisher that he would elevate his concerns to WarnerMedia so they could conduct an investigation. At no time did Mr. Hamada ever “throw anyone under the bus,” as Mr. Fisher has falsely claimed, or render any judgments about the “Justice League” production, in which Mr. Hamada had no involvement, since filming occurred before Mr. Hamada was elevated to his current position.
While Mr. Fisher never alleged any actionable misconduct against him, WarnerMedia nonetheless initiated an investigation into the concerns he’d raised about his character’s portrayal. Still not satisfied, Mr. Fisher insisted that WarnerMedia hire an independent third party investigator. This investigator has attempted multiple times to meet with Mr. Fisher to discuss his concerns but, to date, Mr. Fisher has declined to speak to the investigator. Warner Bros. remains committed to accountability and to the well-being of every cast and crew member on each of its productions. It also remains committed to investigating any specific and credible allegation of misconduct, which thus far Mr. Fisher has failed to provide.”
Update, September 5, 2:30 p.m. ET: Ray Fisher has responded to what he calls Warner Bros.’ “desperate and scattershot attempt to discredit me to continue protecting those in power,” stating that he did in fact meet with the investigator over Zoom on August 26. He tweeted a screenshot of an email he sent to his SAG-AFTRA representatives after the meeting, as evidence. In the email, he writes that he “Just got off the line with the investigator. Had to end the interview early before going into detail with him,” adding that the investigator “tried to keep me on the line, but I told him I would need to consult my team before proceeding.” In a second tweet, Fisher embeds a video from August 21 in which he says, “There’s going to be a third-party independent investigation. But even with those things, you do need to make sure that folks that you’re dealing with are on the level, because at the end of the day, those people are being paid by somebody. And finding out who’s paying them and how all that stuff is being sorted out is extremely important. You’ve gotta do your due diligence, you’ve got to fact check, and you can’t just take those things on face value.”
