Ray Fisher has revealed a few specific complaints and allegations regarding on-set practices during the shooting of 2017’s Justice League.
Ray Fisher, the actor who portrays Cyborg in the DC Extended Universe of films, has followed up his recent stinging criticism of Joss Whedon and several of Justice League’s production team with more details regarding his allegations.
Having previously accused Whedon and several of the 2017’s film’s production team of being guilty of ‘gross and abusive’ practices, before refusing to co-operate with an official investigation because he questioned its independence, Fisher has now offered up specific allegations in an interview with Forbes.
The actor has claimed that “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. Decision-makers that participated in those racist conversations were Geoff Johns, Jon Berg, and current Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairman Toby Emmerich.”
Fisher goes on to develop his claims in detail, citing the cutting of several characters who were black from the film, the significant cutback in screen time for his character and a specific incident where he claims Whedon ordered a black actor’s skin colour to be digitally altered because he didn’t care for its tone.
The trio of Warner Bros executives that Fisher named have not as of yet responded to the allegations.
Fisher goes on to state that “the fact that I’m having to advocate for myself in this way is equal parts freeing and frustrating. 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.”
The actor also briefly mentioned other issues such as alleged unsafe working conditions and threats towards performers, and has promised to reveal all after the investigation is complete. His co-star, Jason Momoa, who plays Aquaman has already spoken out in support of Fisher.
It’s certain that this is far from the last we’ve heard of this story, whilst it’s also very possible that the characters to which Fisher was referring will be reinstated in Zack Snyder’s upcoming recut of the film. Whatever happens next, the direct and specific nature of these claims will warrant a response from those implicated.
A representative for Whedon has already responded to the allegation of skin tone changing, stating “as is standard on almost all films, there were numerous people involved with mixing the final product, including the editor, special effects person, composer, etc. with the senior colorist responsible for the final version’s tone, colors, and mood. This process was further complicated on this project by the fact that Zack shot on film, while Joss shot on digital, which required the team, led by the same senior colourist who has worked on previous films for Zack, to reconcile the two.”
We’ll bring you more as it continues to unfold.
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