Joss Whedon Needs to Go
Joss Whedon, director and one-time king of the nerds, finally responds to allegations of abuse and racism. It’s not good.
Joss Whedon was once lauded as an underdog and the king of the nerds– with loyal fans wearing “Joss Whedon Is My Master Now” shirts. He gained a reputation of being a feminist creator thanks to shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
He climbed the Hollywood ladder and became sought after for both his writing and his directing; and worked with some of the biggest franchises. He even won an award from Equality Now.
But there was a lot of rotten below the surface.
The Truth Comes Out
Reports of Whedon has been problematic on set started coming out as his career grew. His ex-wife wrote an op-ed for The Wrap in 2017 that revealed he emotionally abused her and lied about having multiple extramarital affairs. This was followed up by a deluge of accusations from actors and writers Whedon had worked with over the years.
Justice League‘s Ray Fisher detailed abuse at the hands of the director in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. His accounts were followed by more from the JL cast, including Gal Gadot and Ben Affleck. Buffy the Vampire Slayer stars Charisma Carpenter, Michelle Tractenberg, and Sarah Michelle Gellar all spoke out in early 2021.
The once-beloved director/writer has fallen in recent years. For good reasons.
via Marvel
Whedon addressed many of the accusations in a recent interview with New York Magazine. He made it clear he’s not sorry for his behavior and happy to blame everyone else. He’s doubling down on everything, starting with the cast of Justice League.
Gadot has claimed that during the reshoots of Justice League that the director threatened to harm her career if she didn’t say her lines exactly as they were on the page. In the New York interview, Whedon shot back. He claimed that Gadot misunderstood him while insulting her intelligence and grasp of language: “English is not her first language, and I tend to be annoyingly flowery in my speech.”
via Warner Bros.
And that’s just the start of it. He makes fun of Ray Fisher’s acting abilities and tries to excuse a history of sexual harassment and cruelty with stories of his childhood. Whedon also states that he may have been “too nice” to people he’s worked with. He digs himself further into a hole with every word.
You can read the entire interview here. Along with talking to Whedon, the author spoke with dozens of people he worked with as well as his accusers.
Joss Whedon Needs to Go
He has stated that he has been seeking treatment for addictive tendencies, specifically “sex and love addiction”– something James Franco, Kevin Spacey, and Harvey Weinstein have all used as part of their defense. While pathological disorders and addiction are serious issues, they don’t excuse Whedon’s decades of behavior.
Given all of the evidence and the words of the man himself, it’s time for Joss Whedon to fade into the background. Warner Bros. has already removed him from The Nevers– going so far as to scrub his name off the credits. He shouldn’t be getting more projects. There are other more deserving folks in the industry that don’t treat their cast and crew like dirt.
