After issuing a series of veiled critiques at director Joss Whedon and Warner Bros. executives for alleged unfair treatment during the reshoots of “Justice League,” actor Ray Fisher, who played Cyborg, has further elaborated on his allegations.
Speaking with Forbes, Fisher said that Warner Bros. film boss Toby Emmerich and other executives participated in “racist conversations” during the reshoots and editing.
“What set my soul on fire and forced me to speak out about Joss Whedon this summer was my becoming informed that Joss had ordered that the complexion of an actor of color be changed in postproduction because he didn’t like the color of their skin tone,” Fisher said. “Prior to Justice League’s reshoot process, blatantly racist conversations were had and entertained — on multiple occasions — by former and current top-level executives at Warner Bros. Pictures,” he further alleged. “Decision-makers that participated in those racist conversations were Geoff Johns, Jon Berg, and current Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairman Toby Emmerich.” Due to these conversations, Fisher determined that race played a factor in Whedon’s decision to cut the roles or minimize parts given to minority actors: Zheng Kai, Joe Morton, Karen Bryson, and Kiersey Clemons. “I always suspected that race was a determining factor for the way that things went down, but it wasn’t until this past summer that I was able to prove it,” Fisher said.
To those who doubt his claims, Fisher said that people should consider if it’s plausible that he would torpedo his whole career on a lie.
“You really have to ask yourself, what’s more plausible — that I would purposely torpedo my career by making statements about powerful figures in Hollywood, that, if untrue, could be easily refuted. OR a handful people in positions of power said and did terrible things in order to maintain that power during a massive corporate merger,” said Fisher.
In July of this year, Fisher publicly accused Whedon of “gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable” behavior while on set.
“Joss Wheadon’s on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable. He was enabled, in many ways, by Geoff Johns and Jon Berg. Accountability>Entertainment,” Fisher tweeted in early July.
“During the LA reshoots for Justice League, Geoff Johns 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,” he then tweeted in August.
In late August, WarnerMedia launched an investigation into Fisher’s claims against Whedon, Johns, and Berg.
In September, Fisher publicly escalated the fight when he tweeted that Warner Bros. tried to make a deal with him to save Geoff Johns.
“So you can better understand how deep this goes: After speaking out about Justice League, I received a phone call from the President of DC Films wherein he attempted to throw Joss Whedon and Jon Berg under the bus in hopes that I would relent on Geoff Johns. I will not. A>E,” the actor tweeted.
Warner Bros. then issued a lengthy response to Fisher’s tweet, saying that the company has reached out to the actor multiple times in order to have him speak with a “third party investigator” — a request that Fisher allegedly declined on more than one occasion.
Fisher immediately shot back, saying that he met with the investigator during a Zoom call on Aug. 26 and cut the meeting off early so that he could discuss it with his legal team.
“He tried to keep me on the line, but I told him I would need to consult my team before proceeding,” said Fisher.
Actor Jason Momoa, who played Aquaman, has publicly backed Fisher’s claims.