Should Joss Whedon Get Canceled for Being Mean?
Joss Whedon is clearly not a great guy. Is that enough to ruin his life? | Image: AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere, File
- Director Joss Whedon is the latest Hollywood name to face the firing squad.
- Justice League Cyborg star Ray Fisher claims he was “abusive” and “unprofessional.”
- At some point, we have to figure out where cancel culture crosses a line. Is Joss Whedon that line?
The Avengers director Joss Whedon is the latest Hollywood big wig to face public Twitter execution.
Ray Fisher, star of Justice League Cyborg, called out Whedon on Twitter today.
Whedon sounds like a lousy person.
But is that enough to cancel the man’s entire career? Of course, Twitter says, “yes.” But Twitter is rarely the voice of reason.
Ray Fisher Speaks Up
Ray Fisher sparked the Joss Whedon fire on Wednesday. In several tweets, he explained just how much he despised working with the director.
He described Whedon’s treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League as, “gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable.”
Fisher dropped a loud hint about his feelings on Monday. Whedon took over for Justice League director Zack Snyder when he stepped back due to a family tragedy.
In a clip posted to Twitter, Fisher calls Whedon, a “great guy.” But the caption reads: “I’d like to take a moment to forcefully retract every bit of this statement.”
The body language of both Fisher and co-star Jason Momoa makes it seem like that statement was being forcefully retracted in real-time.
But Ray Fisher isn’t the only person who despises Joss Whedon.
Kai Cole Said Whedon Is Fake Feminist
Joss Whedon’s ex-wife Kai Cole published a searing takedown of the famed director in 2017. She quotes Whedon as saying,
When I was running ‘Buffy,’ I was surrounded by beautiful, needy, aggressive young women. It felt like I had a disease, like something from a Greek myth. Suddenly I am a powerful producer and the world is laid out at my feet and I can’t touch it.
She said Whedon cheated on her multiple times. Cole saw him as a hypocrite for touting feminist ideals. He is, she claims, “not who he pretends to be.”
And she said that he used their marriage “as a shield” to hide his misuse of power.
It’s not the first time he’s been accused of being anti-feminist. He fired Charisma Carpenter from Buffy the Vampire Slayer after she got pregnant.
Not good.
Should Joss Whedon Be Canceled?
There’s no reason not to believe the claims from Fisher and Cole. But even if they’re true, what they’re essentially saying is that Joss Whedon is a mean, wounded, hypocritical person.
That is highly disappointing.
But, as far as we know, he never broke the law. He didn’t assault anyone, like many of the other Hollywood stars in the cancel bucket.
Hopefully, we get more details on the “abuse” that Fisher mentioned. But, for now, let’s assume it wasn’t outright physical abuse.
Is this enough to end the man’s career?
Twitter has been trigger happy. Cancel culture is reaching a fever pitch. In many cases, it’s fully warranted. But at some point, we have to define what deserves a ‘cancellation’ and what deserves a forceful correction.
If we’re canceling every hypocrite in Hollywood, there may never be another movie made again. But if we’re canceling every hypocrite on Twitter, there won’t be anyone left to cancel them.
At the very least, this situation deserves the one thing Twitter hates more than anything: a civil conversation.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of CCN.com.
