Is Joss Whedon trash? Kevin Smith has thoughts on the showrunner

More and more information is coming to light on the trash fire that Joss Whedon actually is. The saga continues as Kevin Smith of Jay & Silent Bob fame dishes some dirt on his podcast, FatMan Beyond. 

Joss Whedon was once a beloved creator. Spearheading shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly, he’s considered a forerunner for the geek culture we know and love today. Now, not so much. 

It started when Joss Whedon was pegged by Zach Snyder to replace him as the director of Justice League. Apparently, Snyder and Joss Whedon had a good relationship before the rumors, and Snyder wanted Whedon to take the helm after he left. 

However, in the wake of the Snyder Cut release, allegations about Joss Whedon’s behavior went from glowing to just . . . bad. Whedon has been accused of being a jerk at best, an abusive tyrant at worst. Although more and more celebrities who worked with Whedon are sharing their stories, the details are vague. Here’s what we know so far. 

The Ray Fisher allegations

Ray Fisher, the actor behind Cyborg in Justice League, retracted a statement he made at Comic-Con where he said Joss Whedon was a “great guy” to work with. Fisher replaced it with a Twitter thread about “gross and abusive” behavior from Whedon on set. He didn’t go into details but said producers enabled Whedon’s behavior. 

Fisher ended his tweet with “accountability>entertainment,” damning producers, Warner Bros, and DC for letting Joss Whedon get away with treating actors horribly. However, there was no elaboration, no longer statement, no detailed account of what transpired. Yet more people are coming out, speaking up,  and filling in the gaps. 

Kevin Smith’s response

On his podcast FatMan Beyond, Kevin Smith said he was aware of the abuse allegations that went on behind the scenes of the Joss Whedon reshoots. Smith followed it up with a story. He spoke to people on the set who worked on Rise of Skywalker who had also worked on both versions of Justice League. 

Kevin Smith said they told him that Joss Whedon would talk trash about Snyder’s work constantly and had a negative attitude about the project. While what Smith said seemed to corroborate Fisher’s claims, it is from a secondhand source. 

Trashing Zach Snyder on Justice League set – only the beginning

Kevin Smith’s story comes from Joss Whedon trashing Zach Snyder, the previous director of Justice League, on set. While Smith doesn’t elaborate too much since he heard about it secondhand, again, sources are cropping up to corroborate and fill in the gaps. 

There are stories about Joss Whedon’s behavior that goes beyond typical creator jerkiness. Allegedly, Whedon locked Gal Gadot, the actress who plays Wonder Woman, in a closet. His altercations with actors Jason Momoa and Ben Affleck were so intense that Affleck wanted to stage a walkout. 

Past allegations coming back

Also troubling are infidelity allegations against Joss Whedon. In 2017, Whedon’s ex-wife wrote an essay detailing multiple infidelities, calling Whedon a “fake feminist”. It’s surprising, considering that Whedon calls features strong women in his work and was quick to call out injustice against women in the past. 

Whedon has some defenders

Alan Tudyk, actor and longtime collaborator with Joss Whedon, took to Twitter to defend him. Tudyk claims he does not believe the rumors, as he’s worked with Whedon for seventeen years and can’t imagine him treating people in a bad way. 

What happens next? 

Right now, more and more actors and collaborators are coming forward about Joss Whedon’s alleged bad behavior, so we’ll learn more sooner rather than later. It’s a blow to fans who propped Whedon up as a creative master who wrote compelling female characters and ensemble casts.