The “Justice League” saga continues to be very messy and unpredictable. Following actor Ray Fisher‘s allegations about his treatment on Joss Whedon‘s set for the film, and Whedon’s “gross” and “abusive” behavior, Warner Bros. has issued a statement pushing back Fisher’s claims.
Even though things seemed to be going smoothly with the claims, with Fisher even commending Warner Bros. for formerly bringing in a third-party investigator to get to the bottom of things, it seems to have changed. This presumable began with a tweet Fisher posted on Friday, in which he claims that current DC Films President Walter Hamada had “attempted to throw Joss Whedon and Jon Berg under the bus in hopes that I would relent on Geoff Johns.”
Late that same day, Warner Bros. fired with their own statement on the matter, which seemed to be a direct response to Fisher’s latest claims.
“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,” reads the statement from a Warner Bros. spokesperson. “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.”
Warner Bros. continued: “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.”
This suggests that the road to the release of “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” will only get messier by the time it is unleashed on HBO Max in 2021.