Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill Whedon (/ˈhwiːdən/; born June 23, 1964) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, comic book writer, and composer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television series: the supernatural drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003) and its spinoff Angel (1999–2004), the short-lived space Western Firefly (2002), the Internet musical miniseries Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008), the science fiction drama Dollhouse (2009–2010), the Marvel Cinematic Universe series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–2020), and the science fiction drama The Nevers (2021).
Joss Whedon
- Director
- producer
- screenwriter
- composer
- comic book writer
- film editor
1989–present
-
Kai Cole(m. 1995; div. 2016)
2
- Tom Whedon (father)
- John Whedon (grandfather)
- Jed Whedon (half-brother)
- Zack Whedon (half-brother)
After beginning his career in sitcoms, Whedon wrote the poorly received horror comedy film Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) – which he later adapted into the acclaimed television series of the same name – co-wrote the Pixar animated film Toy Story (1995), and wrote the science fiction horror film Alien Resurrection (1997). After achieving success as a television showrunner, Whedon returned to film to write and direct the Firefly film continuation Serenity (2005), co-write and produce the horror comedy film The Cabin in the Woods (2012), and write and direct the Shakespeare adaptation Much Ado About Nothing (2012). For the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Whedon wrote and directed the ensemble superhero film The Avengers (2012) and its sequel Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). He also co-wrote the DC Extended Universe superhero film Justice League (2017), for which he also served as director for re-shoots, replacing Zack Snyder (who retained directorial credit).
Whedon has also worked as a composer (notably for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical episode "Once More, with Feeling" and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog) and comic book writer, both for comic book continuations of television series he created and for established franchises, such as Astonishing X-Men.
Beginning in July 2020, multiple actors, producers, and writers spoke out against Whedon following the toxic workplace environment he had allegedly created in many of his projects.[2][3]
Early life[edit]
Born in New York City and raised on the Upper West Side as Joseph1 Hill Whedon,[4][5] he would later become a third-generation TV writer[6] as a son of Tom Whedon, a screenwriter for Alice in the 1970s and The Golden Girls in the 1980s, and a grandson of John Whedon, who worked on The Donna Reed Show in the 1950s and The Dick Van Dyke Show in the 1960s, as well as writing for radio shows such as The Great Gildersleeve.[7] His mother, Ann Lee (née Jeffries) Stearns, originally from Kentucky, was an activist and a teacher at Riverdale Country School as Lee Whedon,[8][9] in addition to being an aspiring novelist.[7] Jessica Neuwirth, a former student of Stearns, has often cited her as her inspiration, describing her as a "visionary feminist".[10] His parents both acted, appearing in a play together at the Harvard Radcliffe Dramatic Club.[9] The family would spend vacations reciting Shakespeare.[10]
Whedon is the younger sibling of Samuel and Matthew Whedon and the older sibling of writers Jed and Zack Whedon.[11] Whedon stated that his parents expected constant creativity from their children and were often verbally demeaning and gave them the silent treatment if he and his brothers were not amusing or entertaining, or if they simply disagreed with them. He stated, however, that he was more afraid of his older brothers who constantly bullied him. At the age of 5, a friend (age 4) died by drowning in a pond on the Whedon's upstate property. His parents divorced when he was 9. Whedon cited his childhood trauma as having a direct influence in his relationships, addictions and behaviors into adulthood and has stated that he suffers from complex post traumatic stress disorder.[10]
At a young age, he showed great interest in British television series shows like Masterpiece and Monty Python.[12]
Whedon attended Riverdale Country School in New York City where his mother taught history.[13] Starting at age 15, he spent three years at Winchester College,[14] a boarding school in England. There, taking note of omnipresent bullying, he concluded, "it was clear to me from the start that I must take an active role in my survival".[13] Whedon graduated from Wesleyan University in 1987, where he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters in 2013.[15] There, he also studied under renowned academic Richard Slotkin.[16] It was at Wesleyan he would meet Jeanine Basinger, a film scholar who became his mentor.[10] After leaving Wesleyan, Whedon conceived the first incarnation of Buffy Summers, "Rhonda, the Immortal Waitress".[17]
Accusations of workplace harassment[edit]
In July 2020, Justice League actor Ray Fisher accused Whedon of showing "gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable" behavior toward the cast and crew of the film,[219] going so far as to invite Whedon to sue him for slander if he believed the allegations were untrue.[220] A virtual panel for the 2020 at-home San Diego Comic-Con focusing on Whedon's work was cancelled following Fisher's statements.[221] The following month, it was reported that WarnerMedia had begun an investigation into Whedon's behavior during the production of Justice League.[222] Jason Momoa posted in support of Fisher, writing about "the shitty way [they] were treated" on Justice League reshoots and saying that "serious stuff went down".[223] In December 2020, WarnerMedia announced that its investigation had concluded and that "remedial action" had been taken.[224]
Fisher also claimed that Whedon's exit from the HBO Max series The Nevers was a result of HBO parent company WarnerMedia's inquiry. He said on Twitter that "I have no intention of allowing Joss Whedon to use the old Hollywood tactic of 'exiting'" and claimed, "This is undoubtedly a result of [the investigation]."[225] HBO had announced on November 25, 2020 that the company had "parted ways" with Whedon, and Whedon released his own statement, claiming the departure was due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[226] HBO chief Casey Bloys declined to elaborate on the decision to part ways,[227] but said HBO had received no complaints about Whedon's behavior.[228] Nonetheless, in what Bloys acknowledged was an unusual step, Whedon's name has not been used in marketing for the series,[229][230] though he remained credited in the series itself.
Gal Gadot told the Los Angeles Times in December 2020 that her experience with Whedon had not been "the best" but that she had taken it "to the higher-ups and they took care of it".[231] Grace Randolph later reported that Whedon had asked Gadot to film a sexually charged scene in Justice League, but that Gadot had refused and a body double was used in her place.[232][233]
In February 2021, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel actress Charisma Carpenter alleged that Whedon had "abused his power on numerous occasions", calling him a "vampire" and "casually cruel". In a tweeted statement, Carpenter said that Whedon had called her "fat" and asked her "if [she] was going to keep it" upon learning of her pregnancy, mocked her religious faith, and repeatedly threatened to fire her, which he ultimately did. Carpenter also revealed that she had participated in WarnerMedia's Justice League investigation.[234]
Buffy co-stars Amber Benson and Michelle Trachtenberg corroborated Carpenter's allegations. On social media, Benson wrote: "Buffy was a toxic environment and it starts at the top. [Carpenter] is speaking truth". Trachtenberg wrote that "we know what he did" and alleged that his behavior toward her when she was a teenager was "Very. Not. Appropriate." Trachtenberg later stated on social media that there was a rule on set preventing Whedon from being in a room alone with her.[235] Buffy star Sarah Michelle Gellar also lent her support and distanced herself from Whedon.[236][237] Jose Molina, a writer on Firefly, also spoke out against Whedon's behavior saying that "casually cruel" was a "perfect" description and that "He thought being mean was funny. Making female writers cry during a notes session was especially hysterical. He actually liked to boast about the time he made one writer cry twice in one meeting."[238] Other Buffy and Angel costars voiced their support for the alleged victims including David Boreanaz, James Marsters, Anthony Stewart Head, Eliza Dushku, J. August Richards, and Amy Acker.[239][240][241] Marsters said, however, that he thought that Whedon's intensity toward the Buffy cast was because "he put an enormous amount of pressure on himself ... trying to accomplish something that was a very high bar".[242]
In April 2021, in light of Fisher's accusations, Gadot told The Hollywood Reporter that "I had my issues with Whedon and Warner Bros handled it in a timely manner."[243] A knowledgeable source stated that Gadot "had multiple concerns with the revised version of the film, including 'issues about her character being more aggressive than her character in Wonder Woman. She wanted to make the character flow from one movie to the next,'" the report said. "The biggest clash, sources say, came when Whedon pushed Gadot to record lines she didn't like, threatened to harm Gadot's career and disparaged Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins."[244] The following month, Gadot added that Whedon "threatened" her career during the reshoots, saying, "if I did something, he would make my career miserable and I just took care of it instead."[245] In October of that year, Gadot went on to say that she was "shocked" by the way Whedon spoke to her, adding, "You're dizzy because you can't believe this was just said to you. And if he says it to me, then obviously he says it to many other people."[246]
In January 2022, Whedon claimed Gadot "misunderstood" him due to English not being her first language and called Fisher a "bad actor in both senses". He also said he had never worked with "a ruder group of people" than the rest of the Justice League cast.[247] Gadot responded to this by stating that she "understood perfectly" and would not work with Whedon again in the future.[248]
In October 2023, screenwriter Zak Penn wrote in the book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios that during the process of writing the script for The Avengers and finding a director for the project, "All the other directors we had been talking about, Joss wasn't on the list. I heard he was going to rewrite the script himself. He didn't even want to meet with me - which, by the way, I always call the writer I'm replacing. I feel like that's courtesy." When Penn reached out to Whedon personally, "He said to me, 'No, it's not awkward for me. I'm rewriting you.' It became pretty apparent that he had less than zero interest in, in any way, having me involved with the movie." Penn also called Whedon, "a d*ck" as well as "a bad person."[249]
