Firefly writer Jose Molina revealed that showrunner Joss Whedon enjoyed making the show’s female writers cry. Whedon has long been celebrated as a progressive, feminist television writer, beginning with his groundbreaking cult classic Buffy the Vampire Slayer. His star continued to rise though the 2000s, leading to his helming the first two Avengers films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, in recent years he has become a more controversial figure. Not only has his work been scrutinized for problematic themes, his personal life came under question when his ex-wife Kai Cole revealed years of infidelity and inappropriate relationships with his cast and employees, starting on the set of Buffy.
The most recent round of accusations against Joss Whedon sparked over his behavior on the set of Justice League, which he took over after the original director, Zack Snyder, departed the project. Complaints of racism from Cyborg actor Ray Fisher led to a formal investigation into Whedon’s actions. On Wednesday, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel actress Charisma Carpenter revealed she had participated in the investigation, providing new details about the abuse of power she experienced from Whedon, particularly involving her pregnancy around Angel season 5. Since then, multiple Buffy-verse actors have come forward with support or their own accusations of Whedon fostering a toxic work environment.
Now, those claims of a toxic work environment have migrated to another popular cult classic created by Joss Whedon: Firefly. The series only lasted one season, but looms large in Whedon’s canon as many fans consider it gone too soon. However, it was obviously not immune to the kind of abuses that the Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast and crew experienced. Writer Jose Molina confirmed that Whedon was "casually cruel" behind the scenes of Firefly. He wrote on Twitter: "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."
Before Molina’s statement, the cast and crew of Firefly had kept relatively quiet on these revelations concerning Whedon’s character. (None of the female writers referenced here have yet come forward about their experience.) It’s possible that with only 14 episodes, the series' run was too short for Whedon to wreak too much havoc, although Molina’s tweet would suggest otherwise. One prominent member of the Firefly family did speak up on Whedon’s behalf during the Justice League investigation. Alan Tudyk, who played Hoban Washburne, tweeted in July 2020: "Wasn’t there, but I have known Joss for 17 years, I honestly can’t even imagine it and I have a pretty good imagination," according to CBR. The tweet has since been deleted.
The deterioration of Joss Whedon’s positive public image has proceeded slowly, but has clearly picked up momentum in recent weeks. It also seems that the Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator is finally facing professional consequences. In November, he stepped down from the HBO series The Nevers, citing exhaustion. The next month, WarnerMedia (the parent company of HBO and DC) revealed that "remedial action" had been taken as a result of the Justice League investigation. While the nature of the "remedial action" is unclear, it’s certainly possible those two facts are connected. Whether there will be further consequences for Whedon’s actions on Buffy, Angel, and Firefly remains to be seen.
Source: Jose Molina/Twitter