'Justice League' Actor Ray Fisher Alleges Warner Bros. Lied About Zack Snyder

Ray Fisher is speaking out against Warner Brothers filmmakers and executives involved with Justice League. Fisher has alleged abusive and racist behavior from director Joss Whedon, who stepped in to film reshoots, and executives Geoff Johns, Jon Berg and Toby Emmerich. Fisher is returning to film new scenes for Zack Snyder’s Justice League on HBO Max.

Fisher gave Forbes a new interview, published on Oct. 29, updating the status of his claims and Warner Media’s investigation. The story included comments from a representative of Whedon defending editorial decisions that left Fisher with less screen time. Fisher explained in more detail how he felt the studio misrepresented Whedon’s involvement. 

Ray Fisher supported Zack Snyder’s departure from ‘Justice League’

After finishing principal photography, Snyder had to step away from Justice League to attend to a family tragedy. When Whedon stepped in to complete reshoots and finish the film, Fisher initially supported the decision, believing it to be for Snyder’s best interests.

“You’ve got to understand, Zack stepped away to be with his family, and we wanted to give him space to do that,” Fisher told Forbes. “He and I didn’t speak for about a year after he left.”

Ray Fisher feels Warner Bros. lied about Zack Snyder and Joss Whedon

During the Justice League panel at Comic-Con, Fisher joined his costars in praising Whedon for stepping in. Two years later, he recanted his comments. His interview with Forbes sheds a bit more insight into why he took it back.

“For one thing, the cast and crew were told that Zack had handpicked Joss to finish the film for him,” Fisher told Forbes. “I didn’t find out until after the reshoots that that was a complete lie. I heard whispers and rumblings of things being off behind the scenes, but nothing concrete until much later. They had us go out to San Diego Comic-Con in 2017 and say Zack picked Joss and that Joss was a great guy. I still have the email with those talking points.”

Ray Fisher isn’t worried about future roles

Fisher knows he’s facing backlash, overt or otherwise, for speaking out against a major studio. At this point he’s ready to accept any fallout.

“I’m not worried about the consequences,” Fisher said. “I’m well aware of what’s at stake. If people don’t want to work with me because I’m refusing to tolerate abusive behavior and the coverup culture of old Hollywood, then so be it. If nothing else, I’m going to go out of this business the way I came in; free and of my own volition. Can you dig that?”

Ray Fisher hopes Hollywood will value what he’s risking

Fisher’s Justice League costars had backed him up, including Jason Momoa who slammed an announcement of a Frosty the Snowman project he felt was announced to distract from Fisher’s story. 

“Regardless of how I feel about the folks involved, I’m not interested in people being allowed to dog-pile and scapegoat easy targets,” Fisher said. “I’m not in a fight with Warner Bros. I’m in a fight with a handful of people that are attempting to use Warner Bros. to cover their tracks. All the significant film and tv work I’ve done has been under the WarnerMedia banner. I love what I do and who I’ve been blessed to do it with.”

Fisher does ask fans to consider who has more to gain from the Justice League situation.

“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,” Fisher said. “Or, a handful people in positions of power said and did terrible things in order to maintain that power during a massive corporate merger.”

The future of the ‘Justice League’ case

There is a new investigator into Fisher’s claims and Fisher told Forbes he is still withholding certain details until a later time. Fisher suggests the fact that he can still speak freely says something. 

“In a business as notoriously litigious as Hollywood, the fact that I haven’t received so much as a cease and desist letter should tell you something,” Fisher said. “The people involved know I’m telling the truth. They’re just looking for a way to mitigate blowback for themselves.”

Should Fisher’s claims go to court, the actor is unsure how he might fare.

“WarnerMedia knows I don’t have the financial ability to stand up to them in court,” Fisher said. “Emmerich, Whedon, and the other guys probably do. My guess is that WarnerMedia is looking for the lesser of two lawsuits.”

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