At actor Ray Fisher's request, James Gunn explains the intention behind his liking of an Alan Tudyk tweet defending disgraced creator Joss Whedon in 2020. Once the beloved creator and director behind projects such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Avengers, Whedon's star has diminished greatly in recent years following accusations of racism and abusive behavior. The allegations stretch back as far as 2017, when his ex-wife Kai Cole published an essay accusing him of performative feminism while he engaged in numerous affairs.
However, it was only in 2020 that the conversation around Whedon's poor behavior was raised to a higher volume. Fisher, who starred in the DCEU's Justice League as Cyborg, came forward that summer with claims that Whedon was unprofessional and abusive on the set of the film's reshoots. Many came to his defense and shared stories of their own, including Gal Gadot and Buffy the Vampire Slayer actress Charisma Carpenter. However, there were some who initially expressed support for Whedon, such as Firefly alum Alan Tudyk. He tweeted out that he "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."
Gunn liked Tudyk's tweet at the time, sparking some controversy from those who saw this as the Guardians of the Galaxy director sharing his own support for Whedon. He hadn't addressed it, but this past weekend, after he clarified another tweet he liked, Fisher reached out to Gunn requesting an explanation. "You got it," Gunn wrote before mentioning how Tudyk later apologized for commenting on a situation he didn't understand. Ultimately, Gunn said reacted in the same way, as he explained, "I read what Alan said & I thought, 'Damn, he’s right.' It was something I knew nothing about & I shouldn’t have liked the tweet."
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Since Gunn posted this tweet, Whedon has come under fire once more for a new interview he gave to NY Magazine. The interview was published with the intention of giving Whedon's side of the Justice League situation, but it so far seems to have instead prompted fans to show their support for Fisher. Whedon described Fisher as a bad actor in Justice League, which is what allegedly led to him cutting down Cyborg's role. As Fisher has been the leading voice against Whedon online, the attack on his talent was another strike against Whedon from some fans' perspective.
The age of social media has made it harder and harder to discern a person's true intentions, as a simple like can seemingly hold numerous implications. This is true of Gunn's situation; he reacted with his gut instinct, which ultimately had little knowledge of the situation. That doesn't mean Gunn is a bad person, or that he should be condemned for a misguided like. Having been briefly fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 over past tweets, Gunn probably knows better than anyone how the internet can misconstrue things. Still, it's nice to see he's willing to address past missteps in a respectful way.
Source: James Gunn/Twitter