Warner Bros has launched an investigation into claims of abusive behavior on the set of the 2017 superhero movie Justice League.
Actor Ray Fisher – who made allegations of ‘unacceptable’ conduct against director Joss Whedon last month – said last night that WarnerMedia had launched an independent probe after ‘five weeks of interviews’ with the cast and crew.
Fisher said the inquiry would ‘get to the heart of the toxic and abusive work environment created during Justice League reshoots’ after Whedon took over from previous director Zack Snyder and made substantial changes to the film.
A source told Variety that no findings had yet been made in the inquiry which also follows allegations against producers Geoff Johns and Jon Berg.
Actor Ray Fisher (pictured left) has made allegations of ‘unacceptable’ conduct on the set of Justice League by director Joss Whedon (right)
Fisher said last night that WarnerMedia had launched an independent probe after ‘five weeks of interviews’ with the cast and crew.
Fisher, who played Cyborg in the Warner Bros movie, has made a serious of allegations against the filmmakers in recent weeks.
On July 1 he alleged that ‘Joss Whedon’s on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable.’
The 32-year-old added that Whedon ‘was enabled, in many ways, by Geoff Johns and Jon Berg’.
Earlier this month, he made a specific claim against Johns – alleging that he had ‘summoned me to his office to belittle and admonish my (and my agent’s) attempts to take grievances up the proper chain of command’.
‘He then made a thinly veiled threat to my career. This behavior cannot continue,’ Fisher claimed.
In a separate Twitter thread he voiced his anger that his barber Wayne Nembhard had not been credited for his work on the set of Justice League.
Today, Fisher announced that an ‘independent third-party investigation’ was being launched into what he called the ‘toxic and abusive work environment’ on the set.
Whedon and Johns have not responded to Fisher’s claims since they were first aired, but Berg told Variety that it was ‘categorically untrue that we enabled any unprofessional behavior’.
Berg told the same publication that Fisher had objected to being asked to say ‘Booyaa’, a phrase associated with his character.
DailyMail.com has approached Warner Bros for comment.
Fisher, who played Cyborg in the Warner Bros movie (pictured), has made a serious of allegations against the filmmakers in recent weeks
Whedon, known for his writing and directing on the Avengers movies, was brought in during post-production to replace Zack Snyder on Justice League.
Warner Bros said at the time that Snyder was stepping away to be with his family following the death of his 20-year-old daughter.
Whedon oversaw extensive reshoots, editing and visual effects on the film – but ratings were lackluster with only 40 per cent of reviews on Rotten Tomatoes giving the movie a positive score.
As a result, fans have long demanded to see Snyder’s unreleased cut of the movie.
Supporters even bought a billboard in New York’s Times Square in October 2019 to promote their cause.
In November, even the film’s stars Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot added to the chorus on Twitter.
Jason Momoa, Henry Cavill, Ezra Miller, Gal Gadot, Ray Fisher and Ben Affleck, pose at the premiere of the film in Los Angeles
In May this year, Warner Bros announced that Snyder’s director’s cut would appear in 2021 on the streaming service HBO Max.
‘I want to thank HBO Max and Warner Brothers for this brave gesture of supporting artists and allowing their true visions to be realized,’ Snyder said at the time.
‘Also a special thank you to all of those involved in the SnyderCut movement for making this a reality.’
The film brought together DC Comics heroes Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and others.
HBO Max, which launched in May, is competing with Netflix, Disney+ and other subscription video services vying for online audiences.
Johns stepped down as president and chief creative officer of DC Entertainment in 2018 to launch a production company.