Justice League, the DCEU’s flailing attempt at their own Avengers-style all-star mash-up, may have gotten a Mulligan, with the much-hoped-for “Snyder Cut” en route early next year. But there are still skeletons tumbling from the troubled production’s closet. In July, one of its stars, Ray Fisher, aka Cyborg, alleged on-set abuse at the hands of the film’s second director, Joss Whedon, who stepped into replace the departing Zack Snyder. Last month, Warner Bros., which owns the DCEU, opened an investigation into Fisher’s claims, but last week both the studio and the actor took their feud next level.
On Friday, as per Deadline, a Warner Bros. spokesperson issued a statement, alleging that Fisher, who had insisted WarnerMedia hire an independent investigator, was not playing ball. “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,” the statement read. “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.”
The next day, Fisher struck back. Taking to Twitter — where he originally alleged that Whedon’s treatment of himself and others was “gross, abusive, unprofessional and completely unacceptable” — the actor denied that he’d been avoiding the independent investigator, saying he had spoken with them and offering an e-mail, dated August 26, as proof. He also called out Warner Bros. for their “desperate and scattershot attempt to discredit me.”
Thank you all for the support and for seeing through @wbpictures desperate and scattershot attempt to discredit me to continue protecting those in power.
I met with the investigator via Zoom on Aug 26th. Below is an email I sent to my team and @sagaftra immediately after:
1/2 pic.twitter.com/TWTHv68G9Q
— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) September 5, 2020
“It’s also worth noting that I made it clear to the world on Aug 21st that I would be vetting the investigator to ensure a fair and protected process for all witnesses,” he added. “@wbpictures has escalated this to an entirely different level, but I’m ready to meet the challenge.
In Justice League, Fisher played one of the main team — a former college athlete named Victor Stone who, after a fatal car accident, is reborn as a robotic crime fighter. As evidenced by early trailers, Fisher originally had a much larger role, complete with his own origin story. Very little of that wound up in the version that hit theaters in late 2017, but the “Snyder Cut” trailer shows that that will be restored.
(Via Deadline)