It wasn’t so long ago that Joss Whedon was a name many of us associated with compelling stories that featured positive representations of complex and driven female characters.
Judging simply by his work, Whedon created the impression that his productions had an atmosphere of quirky fun in which actors didn’t have to worry about being disrespected by the one in charge of the show.
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In recent years, however, statements from the actors involved in those productions paint precisely the opposite picture. Instead, Whedon comes across as presiding over toxic environments and directing abuse at the people coming together to bring his projects to life.
And that impression was recently supported by Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot, who had her own run-in with Whedon after he took over for Zack Snyder on Justice League .
Whedon’s alleged workplace misconduct first came to light on July 1, when Cyborg actor Ray Fisher spoke out against the director on Twitter.
As he wrote , “Joss Wheadon’s on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable.”
According to E! , the months that followed would see Buffy The Vampire Slayer actresses Charisma Carpenter and Amber Benson confirm that this was the case on that show as well.
For her part, Carpenter said Whedon abused his power when dealing with her repeatedly, while Benson said Buffy ‘s production was a toxic environment that started at the top.
And during a recent interview with N12 News in Israel, Gal Gadot recounted her own experience with Whedon.
According to The Hollywood Reporter , she had reportedly had issues with the way Whedon revised Wonder Woman for the movie, which included certain lines and making her more aggressive than she had been in the 2017 Patty Jenkins film.
As N12’s Yuna Leibzon said to Gadot, “He even said you should just be pretty and say your lines. You weren’t going to let him get away with it.”
In response, Gadot agreed and elaborated on the matter, saying, “What I had with Joss basically is that he kind of threatened my career and said if I did something he would make my career miserable. I handled it on the spot.”
That part of the interview is available in this clip, which has English subtitles.
As E! reported, Gadot’s response to this encounter was to report his behavior to “higher-ups” at WarnerMedia, who Fisher noted a lack of response from in his case.
When she first mentioned this response, she had not gone into details about her meeting with Whedon and simply said it “wasn’t the best one.”
h/t: E!
