Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot has shed more light on her squabble with director Joss Whedon during re-shoots of the 2017 DC superhero film Justice League.
The Israeli actress had earlier told The Hollywood Reporter that she had issues with Whedon, saying then that she "handled it in a timely manner".
Now, in a new interview with Israel's N12 News, Gadot has laid out the extent of the on-set acrimony.
“What I had with Joss basically is that he kind of threatened my career and said if I did something he would make my career miserable,” said Gadot, reiterating that she “handled it on the spot”.
Gadot's claim comes a month after The Hollywood Reporter published a detailed interview with her Justice League co-star Ray Fisher, who spoke about Whedon's toxic behaviour on set. The situation even led to an investigation by WarnerMedia, the parent company of Warner Bros, the producer of the film.
Several complaints by stars, including Gadot, about changes in the movie's script, allegedly led to the fracas.
Whedon pushed Gadot to record lines she didn't like, threatened to harm her career and disparaged Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins, a source told The Hollywood Reporter.
A witness on the production, who later spoke to investigators, was quoted by the website saying that after one clash, “Joss was bragging that he’s had it out with Gal. He told her he’s the writer and she’s going to shut up and say the lines and he can make her look incredibly stupid in this movie.”
Other allegations against Joss Whedon
Whedon, best known as the creator of hit TV shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, was brought in after Justice League director Zack Snyder stepped down during post-production following his daughter's death in 2017.
Warner Bros then announced two months of re-shoots with Whedon at the helm. Snyder retained director credits while Whedon was credited as co-writer of the finished film.
Fisher, who plays Cyborg, first aired his disappointment in 2020 when he tweeted: "Joss Whedon's on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional and completely unacceptable."
In February, actress Charisma Carpenter, who played Cordelia Chase in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, posted her support of Fisher via a lengthy statement on Twitter.
Using the hashtag #IStandWithRayFisher, Carpenter alleged that she’s still suffering from “the disturbing incidents [which] triggered a chronic physical condition”. "For nearly two decades, I have held my tongue and even made excuses for certain events that traumatise me to this day," the actress wrote.
This led to a number of Buffy stars speaking out in support of Carpenter, including Sarah Michelle Gellar, who played the titular character in the series.
Fisher's allegations also led to an internal investigation, with WarnerMedia later stating to The Hollywood Reporter that "remedial action" was taken, without elaborating.
Justice League, featuring an ensemble cast – including Gadot as Wonder Woman, Fisher as Cyborg, Henry Cavill as Superman, Ben Affleck as Batman and Jason Momoa as Aquaman – was supposed to be Warner Bros' tentpole film. But it received mixed reviews when it released in November 2017, and performed well below box office expectations.
In March, a different version of the film, called Zack Snyder's Justice League, was released on HBO Max and in cinemas, and was well-received by fans. Snyder's version, with an additional 2,650 visual effects and new scenes featuring Jared Leto's Joker, now sits with a 71 per cent score on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. The original has a 40 per cent rating.
