Ray Fisher: The Truth Behind the Drama (video)

[The Laughing Fish]

I saw this video from the YouTube channel Nerdy in Many Ways discussing Ray Fisher's allegations of abuse behind the scenes of Josstice League, and explains in detail why they believe Fisher is telling the truth. The video also goes in depth to clear up misconceptions over the whole dispute, including the analysis of the timeline throughout production of JL and comparison with Fisher's accusations and why he is at odds with DC Films president Walter Hamada.

The startling thing about the reshoots is they went ahead so the executives could get their annual bonuses? Outrageous.

[The Laughing Fish]

Fisher first spoke out about racial discrimination in an interview with Forbes last year (whose writer was suspiciously let go a few days after the article was published), and now he has tweeted this:



If anyone is wondering what the hell Fisher is talking about in regards to Cyborg's penis, he is referring to this shot in Josstice League.



As you can see, most of Victor Stone's lower body and groin remains intact. This is is a blatant retcon from his cameo appearance in BvS, where his body is shown to be dismembered.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRj7n7CqsX8&feature=youtu.be

If Ta-Nehisi Coates is really this woke guy people think he is then I'd expect him to quit the new Superman project. I can't imagine he'd tolerate working for a studio getting accused of this.

But the biggest takeaway for me is the confirmation that even the cast and crew were deceived about the circumstances surrounding Whedon's involvement. This was already covered in the video I uploaded, but to read this statement by any actor is quite damning.

As for the accusations of racism? It doesn't surprise me. Hollywood loves to virtue signal, but they hardly put their money where their mouths are when it comes to social issues. Unless their parent company starts to keep them in check, I expect WB Pictures to double down on their announcements of diverse DC projects, such as a gender-bending Plastic Man (which nobody asked for), the Jaime Reyes Blue Beatle project, more castings similar to the Latina actress playing Supergirl in The Flash. While trying to use the media to sweep this issue under the rug, as well as undermining ZSJL, of course.

[The Laughing Fish]

This was already covered in the video I uploaded

I meant to say shared. I'm not the guy who created the video, he's way more eloquent than I am.

[thecolorsblend]

I've never doubted what Fisher has claimed. I've simply wanted him to share specifics. I don't know why he didn't get specific before. Maybe he wanted to give WB the chance to handle this before he leveled career-ending accusations against others? Ultimately, I'm not sure that Fisher has achieved full victory on this. Most of those people had already suffered significant career damage as a result of Josstice League and in handling this matter the way he has, I suspect Fisher has killed his own career in the crib.

Is it worth it to him that his career is over before it even started if he can shine a light on an issue this important? The answer seems to be yes. However, I can't help thinking that Fisher could've survived this on a career level while still publicly naming the guilty parties. There were better ways to handle this and Fisher didn't have to nuke his own career prospects.

Still, the fact that he did nuke his own career tells me a lot. Fisher was one of the few successful elements of Josstice League. People didn't enjoy the movie in general but they did seem to enjoy him playing the character. The fact that Fisher was willing to go to such extraordinary lengths to destroy the one minor success he's ever had says a lot about how serious he is. He made a pretty big sacrifice, even if I think it never needed to come to that. He deserves a lot of respect for not taking the easy way out on this.

It's one thing to stand up for the right thing. It's another thing to stand up for the right thing when you pay the price Fisher has. Again, I don't think he needed to burn down his own career to do this. But the fact that he was willing to burn his career down matters. A lot.

And frankly, it gives his claims credibility that they might not otherwise have.

[The Laughing Fish]

I've never doubted what Fisher has claimed. I've simply wanted him to share specifics. I don't know why he didn't get specific before. Maybe he wanted to give WB the chance to handle this before he leveled career-ending accusations against others?

From what I remember reading one of his explanations on social media, Fisher was concerned that the first investigator he was speaking to was acting on behalf of WB Pictures, who seemed to have an agenda for covering up for the accused. Him going public was a call for WarnerMedia to start a proper investigation and look into the matter thoroughly. Before that, WB Pictures were doing things independently.

As for why didn't he go into specifics before, he mentioned that a lot of incidents that happened on set affected other people, and he didn't want to speak on their behalf because it wasn't his story to tell. It's possible that the investigation was ongoing at the time, and he would've sorted out legal advice about what to say, and what not to say, as long as nothing jeopardised the investigation.

Sadly, there is a strong chance these efforts may have been in vain. Aside from throwing Whedon under the bus, WarnerMedia has so far failed to hold the others accountable, and WB have removed Cyborg from The Flash; blatantly punishing Fisher for speaking out. A complete disgrace, and it has shattered my enthusiasm for the film knowing it could very well be hijacked in the same way Suicide Squad and Justice League were. But Fisher knew he risked getting outcast from the studio and remains undeterred from speaking out.

I'll say it again, everyone who was affected by what happened behind the scenes of Josstice League may need to come forward publically if they want to hold the other accused parties accountable. WarnerMedia appears to have drop the ball big time.

Is it worth it to him that his career is over before it even started if he can shine a light on an issue this important? The answer seems to be yes. However, I can't help thinking that Fisher could've survived this on a career level while still publicly naming the guilty parties. There were better ways to handle this and Fisher didn't have to nuke his own career prospects.

As you know, Hollywood is a cesspool. That industry protects abusers and shuns those who won't play by their rules. Fisher likely saw through the bullsh*t and had enough of it all. And he stated multiple times that he doesn't care about his career, even once recalling the times how some people taunted him about going back to work in the food services industry if he keeps burning bridges. He responded that there's no shame in working in the food industry, because workers are doing a noble duty in getting people fed.

You'll be hard-pressed to find any other actor to make such a positive comment.

He deserves a lot of respect for not taking the easy way out on this.

100%.

[The Laughing Fish]

In my opinion, Victor and Silas Stone were the hearts and souls of ZSJL. Miller's Flash comes a close second.

Fisher's Cyborg may have been conflicted, but that never stopped him from showing compassion to help others. Joe Morton's Silas using his own scientific expertise to save his son's life may have have fueled further tension, but he had integrity and was selfless. Him giving Victor a second chance in life was important for the sake of mankind, as well as giving him a sense of purpose after his accident. ZSJL explored their relationship and their characters with utmost respect, whereas Josstice League didn't bother.

Shame on WB Pictures for undermining such a good arc back in 2017.

[thecolorsblend]

In my opinion, Victor and Silas Stone were the hearts and souls of ZSJL. Miller's Flash comes a close second.

Fisher's Cyborg may have been conflicted, but that never stopped him from showing compassion to help others. Joe Morton's Silas using his own scientific expertise to save his son's life may have have fueled further tension, but he had integrity and was selfless. Him giving Victor a second chance in life was important for the sake of mankind, as well as giving him a sense of purpose after his accident. ZSJL explored their relationship and their characters with utmost respect, whereas Josstice League didn't bother.

Shame on WB Pictures for undermining such a good arc back in 2017.

Yep. Their arc is a father and a son utterly unable to communicate with each other but slowly coming back to one another, only for the father to sacrifice his life just to buy his son time.

Somebody involved with Josstice League looked at that and said "Yeah, thanks but no thanks, we're going in a different direction".

Racially motivated or not, that decision says everything you need to know about their priorities. I can see cutting Barry saving Iris. I don't like it. But the logic adds up. You have to move the story along and Barry saving Iris doesn't do that. But cutting the Vic/Silas material to the bone as they did shows such skewed and disordered priorities that I am now convinced (if I wasn't before) that Snyder is the only person equipped to tell that story in an effective way.

[The Laughing Fish]

Racially motivated or not, that decision says everything you need to know about their priorities. I can see cutting Barry saving Iris. I don't like it. But the logic adds up. You have to move the story along and Barry saving Iris doesn't do that. But cutting the Vic/Silas material to the bone as they did shows such skewed and disordered priorities that I am now convinced (if I wasn't before) that Snyder is the only person equipped to tell that story in an effective way.

As a matter of fact, Snyder was very collaborative and allowed Fisher to give his input on how Cyborg could be portrayed on screen.

You Ray, are the heart of my movie. @ray8fisher

I don't praise Chris Terrio and @ZackSnyder for simply putting me in Justice League.

I praise them for EMPOWERING me (a black man with no film credits to his name) with a seat at the creative table and input on the framing of the Stones before there was even a script! #BORGLIFE

https://twitter.com/zacksnyder/status/1269400053744975873?lang=en

In contrast, Whedon apparently abused people on set over the rewrites. When it comes to production, it seems the difference between Whedon and Snyder is night and day.

It's certainly strange that the reshoots had removed so many characters of different ethnicities. Ryan Choi, Iris West, Elinore Stone, Harry Lennix as Martian Manhunter, cutting down Cyborg and Silas...while a pointless Russian family that nobody cares about took their place. The same goes for that thief played by Holt McCallany in Josstice League's butchered Batman and the Parademon scene.

Speaking of Ryan Choi, it turns out Snyder pitched WB to have the character appear in his solo Atom movie, with a Chinese cast.

https://epicstream.com/news/NobelleBorines/Zack-Snyder-Pitched-Ryan-Choi-Atom-Spin-Off-After-Justice-League

If you ask me, WB's recent announcements of the Black Superman and a Latina actress playing Supergirl in The Flash is a desperate PR move to cover up the allegations of racially motivated misconduct.

[The Laughing Fish]

WarnerMedia Studios CEO Ann Sarnoff said some incendiary things in the latest Variety hit piece, from condemning "fan toxicity" (as if she's in any position to lecture anybody about toxicity given recent Warner-related productions have come under fire for toxic workplaces i.e. JL reshoots, Ellen and Casey Stern) to dismissing Ray Fisher's allegations in order to defend Walter Hamada.

Ray Fisher has accused Warner Bros. executives of racially biased behavior and of trying to impede an investigation into alleged misconduct on the set of "Justice League." Did your investigation corroborate any of his claims of racism on the part of your employees?
No. Our investigator, Judge Katherine Forrest, has issued statements specifically about [DC Films president] Walter Hamada, saying that there was no evidence of interference by Walter in the investigation. She said that the cuts made in the Joss Whedon version of "Justice League" were not racially motivated. We took it very seriously, so we hired one of the top investigators out there and gave her a tremendous amount of leeway.

Ray Fisher has previously stated that because of a non-disclosure agreement he can't share specifics about the abusive behavior he endured on the set of "Justice League." Is there an NDA that would prevent him from publicly sharing all the details of what transpired on "Justice League"?
Not that I know of. No.

[Editor's note: A spokesperson for Fisher responded to Variety's request for comment with the following statement, "Mr. Fisher is no longer under NDA and will comment further when appropriate to do so."]

Walter Hamada has been on the receiving end of a lot of fan criticism. What was his involvement in the production of "Justice League"?
Walter had nothing to do with "Justice League." He was not running DC Films in 2017 when "Justice League" was completed and released. He wasn't put in charge of DC Films until the following year. About a year ago, Walter, [Warner Bros. Pictures Group head] Toby Emmerich, me, [former WarnerMedia chairman] Bob Greenblatt, [former HBO Max content chief] Kevin Reilly, and [HBO Max original programming head] Sarah Aubrey sat around the table with Zack and greenlit the Snyder cut. That cut includes Ray Fisher's entire story as Cyborg, which is something that he had been disappointed had been cut from the Justice League movie three years ago. Perhaps we've lost the plot a little bit which is that Toby and Walter were part of the green-lighting that allowed Zack's vision to come to life, which includes sharing the full story about Ray's character. There really was nothing that Walter did against Ray, in fact he offered him a role in the Flash movie.

Walter was promoted recently. I am fully supportive of Toby and Walter and their visions. I truly believe they are great executives. Walter happens to be a person of color, so he knows what that feels like. He is bringing in diverse voices at an accelerated pace, more than anyone has in the past.

https://variety.com/2021/film/news/zack-snyder-justice-league-suicide-squad-ray-fisher-warnermedia-1234935580/

Here is Ray Fisher's response.

Apparently some folks at @WarnerMedia think that a room full of executives saying "we can't an angry Black man at the center of the movie" (and then reducing/removing all Black and POC from that movie) isn't racist.

Odd.

The investigator hired by @WarnerMedia was brought on to help the company assess and evade legal liabilities.

Continually touting her status as a FORMER federal judge in an attempt to sway public opinion is obvious and desperate.

She is now simply a lawyer.

As I've said—people will attempt to shift blame completely to Joss Whedon for the Justice League reshoots.

Toby Emmerich, Geoff Johns, and Jon Berg share in that responsibility; with Johns working directly with Joss on restructuring the script based on the execs' convos.

Furthermore:

"There really was nothing that Walter did against Ray, in fact he offered him a role in the Flash movie."

AND

"Walter happens to be a person of color, so he knows what that feels like."

are the absolute definition of tone deaf.

Final thought for now:

Rather than trying to convince people on what the Justice League investigation DIDN'T find - how about you start telling them what it DID?

The public is a lot smarter than what you're giving them credit for.

The proof is there.

More soon.

A>E

https://twitter.com/ray8fisher/status/1374165899079528448

[The Laughing Fish]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/ray-fisher-opens-up-about-justice-league-joss-whedon-and-warners-i-dont-believe-some-of-these-people-are-fit-for-leadership

WB is a dumpster fire. It doesn't matter if whether or not the changes to Cyborg's character were racially motivated, the studio's efforts to smear Fisher's name is downright despicable. Before we can think about restoring the Snyderverse, I think it's much more important for AT&T to get rid of those crooks Emmerich, Hamada, Johns and Sarnoff and clean house. I realise that might be asking too much for a Hollywood studio, but the place as it currently is can't last. The unnamed source claiming Snyder was manipulating Fisher to get back into the DCEU is disgusting.

I couldn't stand Johns using his spokesperson to make excuses to deny any intentional wrongdoing. If Johns wants to be taken seriously, he should speak for himself, or better yet, take Fisher to court if he feels truly aggrieved with his accusations.