Just over a week after it was reported that he would be written out of DC’s Ezra Miller-fronted The Flash, Ray Fisher has addressed the situation on Twitter.
The actor has alleged that Justice League director Joss Whedon engaged in abusive behavior and DC Films president Walter Hamada enabled Whedon and others. Now Fisher sayhs he “strongly disagreed with their decision.” He confirmed that he received official confirmation from the studio regarding his removal from the project, and that his role of Cyborg won’t be recast.
“Despite the misconception, Cyborg’s involvement in The Flash was much larger than a cameo—and while I do mourn the lost opportunity to bring Victor Stone back to the screen, bringing awareness to the actions of Walter Hamada will prove to be a much more important contribution to our world,” the 33-year-old continued. He reiterated his decision to not work with any production associated with Hamada, and his claim that the executive had actively tried to “undermine” the Justice League investigation into the on-set behavior of Whedon, who took over for Zack Snyder as director.
"His dangerous and enabling actions during the investigation process must be called to account," Fisher added. As for the investigation, he said that on July 7, 2020 he had an extensive phone call with Hamada and "made multiple attempts to have him escalate my claims of misconduct against Joss Whedon, Geoff Johns, and Jon Berg." Instead, he "disparaged Joss Whedon and Jon Berg in an attempt to cover for Geoff Johns," Fisher claimed.
"When I alerted Walter that Geoff was, in fact, a major contributor to the issues experienced—including blatant racism—Walter tried, but to no avail, to get me to reveal the names of witnesses and other specifics that could be used to forewarn Geoff of the claims being brought against him."
Fisher has been heavily critical of Warner Bros. since July 2020, and when an investigation was launched into the abusive behavior on the set of Justice League, a number of his co-stars including Jason Momoa backed him up. Warner later closed the investigation and said "remedial action" was taken, but Fisher has insinuated otherwise. Whedon also stepped away from his HBO show The Nevers, but implied it had more to do with his personal life than the allegations against him.
In a statement released on Thursday, Warner Bros. once again backed Walter Hamada.
"I believe in Walter Hamada and that he did not impede or interfere in the investigation," said WarnerMedia CEO Ann Sarnoff in a statement via Hollywood Reporter. "Furthermore, I have full confidence in the investigation’s process and findings. Walter is a well-respected leader, known by his colleagues, peers, and me as a man of great character and integrity. As I said in Walter's recent deal extension announcement, I’m excited about where he’s taking DC Films and look forward to working with him and the rest of the team to build out the DC Multiverse."
