Actor Ray Fisher is once again calling for WarnerMedia to release the findings of its investigation into the reshoots on “Justice League,” following remarks made by WarnerMedia Studios CEO Ann Sarnoff in an interview with Variety about the company’s evaluation of reshoot director Joss Whedon’s conduct on set.
“Apparently some folks at @WarnerMedia think that a room full of executives saying ‘we can’t an angry Black man at the center of the movie’ (and then reducing/removing all Black and POC from that movie) isn’t racist. Odd,” Fisher, who played Cyborg in the 2017 film, began in a series of tweets Monday, a few days after HBO release original “Justice League” director Zack Snyder’s 4-hour version of the movie.
He continued: “The investigator hired by @WarnerMedia was brought on to help the company assess and evade legal liabilities. Continually touting her status as a FORMER federal judge in an attempt to sway public opinion is obvious and desperate. She is now simply a lawyer. As I’ve said — people will attempt to shift blame completely to Joss Whedon for the Justice League reshoots.”
Fisher was referring to Katherine Forrest, the former U.S. district judge who was brought in to lead the “Justice League” investigation. Sarnoff told Variety that Forrest “said that the cuts made in the Joss Whedon version of Justice League’ were not racially motivated” and that WarnerMedia took Fisher’s allegations “very seriously, so we hired one of the top investigators out there and gave her a tremendous amount of leeway.”
Fisher then singled out producers former WarnerBros. executives by name, as he has repeatedly done since going public with his complaints last year. “Toby Emmerich, Geoff Johns, and Jon Berg share in that responsibility; with Johns working directly with Joss on restructuring the script based on the execs’ convos,” the actor said.
“Furthermore: ‘There really was nothing that Walter did against Ray, in fact he offered him a role in the Flash movie.’ AND ‘Walter happens to be a person of color, so he knows what that feels like.’ are the absolute definition of tone deaf,” Fisher added, referring specifically to Sarnoff’s comments to Variety about Fisher’s claims against DC Films president Walter Hamada.
“Perhaps we’ve lost the plot a little bit which is that Toby and Walter were part of the green-lighting that allowed Zack [Snyder]’s vision to come to life, which includes sharing the full story about Ray’s character,” Sarnoff told Variety, discussing Hamada’s involvement in “Justice League” and the newly released “Snyder Cut” of the film. “There really was nothing that Walter did against Ray, in fact he offered him a role in the ‘Flash’ movie. Walter was promoted recently. I am fully supportive of Toby and Walter and their visions. I truly believe they are great executives. Walter happens to be a person of color, so he knows what that feels like. He is bringing in diverse voices at an accelerated pace, more than anyone has in the past.”
Fisher concluded his thread: “Final thought for now: Rather than trying to convince people on what the Justice League investigation DIDN’T find — how about you start telling them what it DID? The public is a lot smarter than what you’re giving them credit for. The proof is there. More soon. A>E”
WarnerMedia declined TheWrap’s request for comment Tuesday.
On Tuesday morning, Fisher tweeted “I bet they did…,” along with a a screenshot of a line in Variety’s story about his statements the previous night, which said: “WarnerMedia declined Variety’s request for comment on Fisher’s tweets.”
WarnerMedia launched its investigation last year after Fisher publicly accused Whedon of “gross, abusive, unprofessional” behavior on the set of “Justice League” after he took over production from original director Zack Snyder due to a family emergency. Fisher said Whedon’s behavior was enabled by then-DC Entertainment president Johns and by Berg, former co-president of production at Warner. Berg left the company in December 2017 as part of a “restructuring,” while Johns stepped down seven months later. In September, Fisher began to criticize Hamada — who in January renewed his deal with the studio through 2023.
By late November, Whedon announced he was exiting “The Nevers,” a passion project that was ordered to series at WarnerMedia’s HBO in 2018. Two weeks later, WarnerMedia announced that it had concluded its investigation into Fisher’s accusations and had taken unspecified “remedial action” against unidentified individuals.
Since then, Fisher has continued his Twitter campaign against the studio and its leadership.
I bet they did…
A>E pic.twitter.com/qk2EyKQWUE
— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) March 23, 2021
See Fisher’s Monday night thread below.
Apparently some folks at @WarnerMedia think that a room full of executives saying “we can’t an angry Black man at the center of the movie” (and then reducing/removing all Black and POC from that movie) isn’t racist.
Odd.
1/5
— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) March 23, 2021
The investigator hired by @WarnerMedia was brought on to help the company assess and evade legal liabilities.
Continually touting her status as a FORMER federal judge in an attempt to sway public opinion is obvious and desperate.
She is now simply a lawyer.
2/5
— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) March 23, 2021
As I’ve said—people will attempt to shift blame completely to Joss Whedon for the Justice League reshoots.
Toby Emmerich, Geoff Johns, and Jon Berg share in that responsibility; with Johns working directly with Joss on restructuring the script based on the execs’ convos.
3/5
— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) March 23, 2021
Furthermore:
“There really was nothing that Walter did against Ray, in fact he offered him a role in the Flash movie.”
AND
“Walter happens to be a person of color, so he knows what that feels like.”
are the absolute definition of tone deaf.
4/5
— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) March 23, 2021
Final thought for now:
Rather than trying to convince people on what the Justice League investigation DIDN’T find—how about you start telling them what it DID?
The public is a lot smarter than what you’re giving them credit for.
The proof is there.
More soon.
A>E
5/5
— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) March 23, 2021
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