Ray Fisher accuses DC Films executives of “racially discriminatory conversations” on Justice League set
Ray Fisher accuses DC Films executives of “racially discriminatory conversations” on Justice League set
By Emily Mullen
The Zack Snyder’s Justice League actor is known for his portrayal of Cyborg in the DC Extended Universe.
Just days ahead of Zack Snyder’s Justice League becoming a streaming reality on HBO Max, actor Ray Fisher has released a statement detailing the racism he experienced on the film set, by several executives.
“Prior to the Justice League reshoots of 2017, racially discriminatory conversations were had and entertained—on multiple occasions—by Warner Bros. Pictures executives: Toby Emmerich, Geoff Johns, and Jon Berg,” his statement released on Twitter reads. “Had I been aware of those conversations in realtime, I would have addressed them in realtime. However—it wasn’t until the summer of 2020 that individuals who were in those meetings felt comfortable sharing with me what they had witnessed firsthand.”
“When it comes to matters involving race, I always try to give the benefit of the doubt to those who may be ignorant of their own biases. But when you have studio executives (particularly Geoff Johns) saying, ‘We can’t have an angry Black man at the center of the movie’—and then those executives use their power to reduce and remove ALL Black people from that movie—they are no longer entitled to any belief associated with doubt,” he continued.
Fisher added that “they choose the cowardly route of gaslight — complete with extremely problematic requests such as asking me to ‘play Cyborg like Quasimodo’; and forcing a scene to be reshot so they could highlight the existence of Cyborg’s penis.”
This statement comes nearly a week after the actor took to Twitter to criticise Warner Bros. for ignoring his complaints while approaching filmmaker Ta-Nehisi Coates about “Black Superman”.
The actor who plays Cyborg in the film has been at odds with Warner Bros. since last summer when he alleged mistreatment by director Joss Whedon, who took over for Zack Snyder following his departure from the original project.
Warner Bros. have not responded for comment on Fisher’s March 2 statement.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League premieres worldwide on March 18 on HBO Max.
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