Gal Gadot says Joss Whedon threatened her career

Gal Gadot is opening up more about her “experience” with Joss Whedon while working on Justice League. The Wonder Woman star expanded on her previous comments about the director over the weekend, specifically revealing that he had threatened her career.

In an interview with Israeli news outlet N12 on May 8, Gadot revealed the director threatened her during an exchange that went down after she pushed back on some of the new dialogue Whedon had written during reshoots on the big-budget superhero film.  

“He kind of threatened my career and said if I did something he would make my career miserable. I handled it on the spot,” she said, adding that Whedon also disparaged Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins at the time.

The Hollywood Reporter previously spoke to an unnamed source from production on Justice League who corroborated Gadot’s claims. At the time the person revealed that, “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.”

According to the publication, Gadot wanted the character to, “Flow from one movie to the next” and she had questioned why Diana Prince was more aggressive in the rewrites. (Whedon took over directorial duties on Justice League after original director Zack Snyder exited due to a family tragedy. Snyder later remade the film, which is now available to stream on Crave.)

This isn’t the first time Gadot has spoken out about working with Whedon. Previously she stood by Justice League actor Ray Fisher, who called out the director for abusive behaviour on set and took WarnerMedia to task for not supporting him in the wake of those allegations. (WarnerMedia said “remedial action” had been taken following an investigation last December but what that action was is unclear.)

“I’m happy for Ray to go out and speak his truth,” Gadot told the L.A. Times last December. “I wasn’t there with the guys when they shot with Joss Whedon — I had my own experience with [him], which wasn’t the best one, but I took care of it there and when it happened. I took it to the higher-ups, and they took care of it. But I’m happy for Ray to go up and say his truth.”

Fisher and Gadot aren’t the only actors to recently divulge what working with Whedon was really like. In February former Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel star Charisma Carpenter detailed abuse allegations against her former boss, claiming he was responsible for alienating her from co-workers and that he abused his power.

“Last summer, when Ray Fisher publicly accused Joss of abusive and unprofessional behaviour toward the cast and crew during reshoots on the Justice League set in 2017, it gutted me. Joss has a history of being casually cruel,” Carpenter wrote in a passionate social media post. “He has created hostile and toxic work environments since his early career. I know because I experienced it first-hand. Repeatedly.”

Whedon has denied all allegations at time of press. It’s unclear what the writer and director is doing now, following his exit last fall from his newest HBO TV series, The Nevers, which debuted in April following a COVID-related delay. In a statement last November, Whedon announced he was stepping away from the show, saying it was too challenging to shoot in the middle of a pandemic.

“The level of commitment required moving forward, combined with the physical challenges of making such a huge show during a global pandemic, is more than I can handle without the work beginning to suffer,” Whedon said at the time. “I am genuinely exhausted and am stepping back to martial my energy towards my own life, which is also at the brink of exciting change.”

BEFORE YOU GO: TikToker Nivine Jay goes viral after sharing a video Ben Affleck sent her on Instagram

[video_embed id='2195046']BEFORE YOU GO: TikToker Nivine Jay goes viral after sharing a video Ben Affleck sent her on Instagram[/video_embed]