Director Joss Whedon reportedly threatened Gal Gadot‘s career while conducting reshoots on 2017’s superhero team-up film, Justice League. The Wonder Woman actor took the matter to the top, and said that it was addressed there and then.
Whedon has been accused of ‘abusive’ behaviour on the sets of the film, by actor Ray Fisher, who appeared as Cyborg. His co-star Jason Momoa, who played Aquaman in the film, seemingly corroborated Fisher’s claims in an Instagram post.
A report cited sources as saying that the actor and the filmmaker clashed when Whedon ‘pushed Gadot to record lines she didn’t like, threatened to harm Gadot’s career and disparaged Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins’. She reportedly demanded a meeting with the studio’s then-chairman Kevin Tsujihara.
“I had my issues with [Whedon] and Warner Bros handled it in a timely manner,” she said in a statement, reacting to the developments. Whedon was brought in as a replacement for original director Zack Snyder, after Snyder was forced to depart production because of a family tragedy. Whedon, known for directing Marvel’s The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron, was tasked with reshooting several portions of the film.
This isn’t the first time that she has spoken about the reported clashes. She had said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times in December, “I wasn’t there with the guys when they shot with Joss Whedon — I had my own experience with [him], which wasn’t the best one, but I took care of it there and when it happened. I took it to the higher-ups and they took care of it. But I’m happy for Ray to go up and say his truth.”
An investigation was conducted by Warner Bros following Fisher’s allegations, and was concluded without any details being revealed. THR also quoted a witness who took part in the investigation as saying, “Joss was bragging that he’s had it out with Gal. He told her he’s the writer and she’s going to shut up and say the lines and he can make her look incredibly stupid in this movie.”
Previously, reporter Grace Randolph added to the allegations and said that Gal Gadot refused to shoot a comedic scene in which The Flash lands on her body, and Whedon persisted by bringing in a body double to shoot the scene instead. “I doubt we’ll ever get specifics from Ray Fisher re Joss Whedon, but here’s one I was the first to report: Gal Gadot didn’t want to film this scene, so Whedon did it w/ a stunt double. That’s why you can’t see her face,” Randolph wrote.
