Here are all the allegations of abusive behavior and professional misconduct raised against Joss Whedon so far. There are few names better known in geek culture nowadays than Whedon's. The multi-hyphenate got his start as a staff writer on the sitcoms Roseanne and Parenthood, beginning in 1989, before carving out a niche for himself as a successful script doctor and movie screenwriter in the 1990s. He only continued to branch out from there and well into the 2000s, creating multiple cult-favorite TV shows, writing for Marvel comic books, and even directing films.

Over that same period of time, Whedon was able to cement his reputation as a self-professed male feminist and writer of quippy dialogue, particularly with his efforts on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series. His career got a major boost into the spotlight when he was selected as the director of the first Avengers movie and its sequel, Age of Ultron, but in the six years since then, Whedon's career and personal reputation have started to take on damage, especially thanks to claims of his on-set behavior after he replaced Zack Snyder as the director of Justice League during the movie's extensive reshoots.

Related: Buffy Controversy Explained: All The Allegations Against Joss Whedon

Since so many of the claims relate to his treatment of women and minorities, there's been a re-evaluation of his previous work and handling of sensitive topics like sexual assault, pregnancy, and infertility, as well as the growing consensus that Whedon making feminism part of his brand shielded him from such criticisms in the past. Then, in May 2017, his old Wonder Woman movie script leaked online and was criticized for being sexist in the way it portrays Diana Prince and focuses more on Steve Trevor's deeds than her own. The public's outlook towards Whedon have only continued to worsen in light of the more recent accusations and allegations raised against him.

Whedon's Ex-Wife Kai Cole Alleges Marital Infidelity

Joss Whedon filming Avengers Age of Ultron

Following their divorce in 2016, Whedon's ex-wife Kai Cole (who collaborated with him on a number of his projects) wrote an essay accusing him of being a "hypocrite preaching feminist ideals." Published by The Wrap in August 2017, the article alleges Whedon admitted to Cole "he hid multiple affairs and a number of inappropriate emotional ones that he had with his actresses, co-workers, fans and friends" while the pair were married, going back to his time as showrunner on Buffy. Cole went on to accuse Whedon of using his relationship to her as a way to protect himself "so no one would question his relationships with other women or scrutinize his writing as anything other than feminist."

In response, a representative for Whedon claimed Cole's essay "includes inaccuracies and misrepresentations," but that Whedon wouldn't be issuing a formal comment "out of concern for his children and out of respect for his ex-wife." This all took place just two months before the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse scandal broke in October 2017, resulting in the #MeToo movement gaining mainstream recognition and further discussion of how Whedon's alleged infidelities reflect on him professionally. Most of this conversation has centered on Cole's claim that Whedon had affairs with multiple women on his TV series and how that constitutes inappropriate behavior due to the power and influence he could exert over their careers. In his most recent interview, Whedon admitted he "did the bad things" alleged by Cole, but suggested some of it was mischaracterized and his other critics were simply exploiting her accusations in bad faith to defame him.

Justice League's Ray Fisher Accuses Whedon of 'Unprofessional' Behavior

Ray Fisher Cyborg Justice League

Three months after Cole's essay was published, Whedon found himself back in the spotlight thanks to Justice League. The filmmaker had overseen reshoots on the DCEU crossover after original director Zack Snyder left the project in March 2017, citing a recent personal tragedy. At the time, it was unknown just how extensive Whedon's reshoots had really been, and the theatrical cut of Justice League opened to disappointing box office returns and unflattering reviews, with critics citing Snyder and Whedon's incompatible directorial styles as its biggest flaw. As more and more information came out about just how substantial the reshoots truly were, fans started petitioning for the release of Snyder's initial rough cut of the movie. Their calls were heeded in May 2020, when HBO Max announced it would stream Zack Snyder's Justice League in 2021.

Related: Justice League: Joss Whedon's Racism Accusation Fallout Explained

About a month later, Ray Fisher (who played Cyborg in Justice League) tweeted out a retraction of a previous occasion in which he praised Whedon for his work on Justice League. Shortly after, he posted another tweet alleging Whedon had engaged in "gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable" behavior during the Justice League reshoots. Fisher has since explained the lack of specific details regarding his accusation, saying "I am still very much under contract and I am still very much under Non-Disclosure Agreement. So I've got to be very careful about what I say and how I say it, otherwise I can get sued into oblivion." Despite this, others have lent credibility to Fisher's claim, with Kevin Smith saying a special effects employee who worked on Justice League told him Whedon did "a fair amount of trashing [Snyder's] version of the movie" on-set, and to many of the crew members who'd previously worked with Snyder on the film no less.

Whedon only recently spoke up about Fisher's claims, denying them and casting his own criticisms at Fisher's motivations and acting talent. Justice League producer Jon Berg, whom Fisher named as an enabler of Whedon's behavior (along with then-DC Entertainment CCO Geoff Johns), initially issued a statement saying it's "categorically untrue that we enabled any unprofessional behavior," but Fisher has since said Berg reached out to say he was sorry the actor had an "appalling experience."

Buffy's Stunt Team Claims Whedon Was Abusive On-Set

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Among the first to speak out about their previous experiences with Whedon since Fisher raised his allegations are Sophia Crawford and Jeff Pruitt, a now-married couple who met and started dating while serving as, respectively, Sarah Michelle Gellar's stunt double and a stunt coordinator for Buffy the Vampire Slayer from seasons 1-4. In an interview with MetroUK published July 2020, Pruitt said his working relationship with Whedon was "great" at the start of Buffy, but increasingly deteriorated as the show became more and more of a success and the latter began to exert more creative control. By the time season 4 rolled around, Pruitt had become "fed up" and told the series' producers he was planning to leave to go work on other projects, adding "The producers told me that Joss reacted as if I was having an affair or something behind his back."

Pruitt was then asked to return for Buffy season 5 and agreed to, but only before Whedon met with Crawford about her own continued involvement with the show. According to Crawford, "I was called into the office and I was given an ultimatum. And they said to me, “Come back to the show, but you need to leave Jeff, or don’t come back.” And so I basically started crying. And I said “F you. That’s horrible, bye.” Pruitt similarly departed the show after he continued to butt heads with Whedon both publicly and on-set, alleging to Metro "Joss told both Sophia and I that 'no one will ever hire you again after this.' He never says to anyone that he’ll see to it you never work in this town again. He is very careful. He only insinuates that no one will ever hire you again if you don’t please him." Whedon has yet to comment on either Crawford or Pruitt's accusations against him.

James Marsters Reveals Whedon's Disturbing Response to Spike's Popularity

Buffy Spike

Introduced as a supporting villain in Buffy season 2, the bleach blonde, punk-rock, snarky British vampire Spike would go on to become one of the show's more popular characters and briefly returned in season 3 before becoming a recurring player from season 4 on. He was so beloved the architects of the Buffy-verse even resurrected him after his death during the Buffy series finale and made him a main character on the show's spinoff, Angel, for its fifth and final season. However, that was a far cry from Whedon's original plan for the character to serve as a short-term villain and nothing more.

Related: Age of Ultron Is Everything Wrong With Joss Whedon Storytelling

In a recent episode of the Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast, Spike actor James Marsters revealed Whedon's unsettling reaction to his character's surprise popularity, saying "I remember he backed me up against a wall one day and he was just like, ‘I don’t care how popular you are, kid, you’re dead. You hear me? Dead. Dead!'" Marsters assured Rosenbaum Whedon wasn't joking around, either, and "was angry at the situation." The actor presented Whedon's response as being understandable at the time, but it takes on a different meaning in light of the other allegations against him. It's also led to a conversation about the types of behavior that were tolerated and accepted in the movie and television industry in the past, but are now rightly deemed as being unacceptable and inappropriate conduct for the workplace.

Whedon Fires Charisma Carpenter From Angel Following Her Pregnancy

Charisma Carpenter Angel

A haughty cheerleader-turned member of the Scooby Gang (the nickname for the characters who assisted Buffy in her slayer duties), Cordelia Chase was a recurring character on the early seasons of Buffy. She would go on to become a main player on its spinoff, Angel, which picked up after Cordelia had graduated from Sunnydale High (along with Buffy and her pals) and moved to Los Angeles. When Cordelia actor Charisma Carpenter became pregnant in real life, the character became possessed by a supernatural being in season 4, who then manipulated events to be born into her own new body. Cordelia later fell into a coma after giving birth and was ultimately killed during Angel's 100th episode in season 5.

In previous interviews, Carpenter said she had no idea whether she would be coming back after season 4 until she "got a phone call from somebody in the press, which really sucked." She went on to add she felt Whedon "was, honestly, mad" at her for becoming pregnant, which led to Whedon writing Carpenter's character out of the series. At the same time, Carpenter has framed Whedon's behavior in a sympathetic light, explaining "I think he was mad at me and I say that in a loving way, which is - it’s a very complicated dynamic working for somebody so many years, and expectations, and also being on a show for eight years, you gotta live your life. And sometimes living your life gets in the way of maybe the creator’s vision for the future. And that becomes a conflict, and that was my experience."

However, in February 2021, Carpenter provided details on Whedon's abuse. In an image tweet accompanied by "My truth. #IStandWithRayFisher", she outlined her experience working on Buffy, how Whedon created a "hostile and toxic working environment" and more information on the strain put on her during her pregnancy. She went on to state she had participated in the WarnerMedia investigation coming out of Ray Fisher's allegations.

Many Buffy stars supported Carpenter, including the show's lead, Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Joss Whedon Responded To Abuse Allegations In 2022 Interview

Joss Whedon and Justice League Snyder Cut

After years of silence, Whedon finally responded to some of the many complaints against him, and his responses drew general criticism from most of the internet for failing to demonstrate an actual understanding of why there was outrage over the alleged offenses or remorse for their potential impact on other people. In some of his answers, he outright admitted to incriminating behavior (without seeming to understand that it was actually incriminating), while in others he made claims about situations that are wildly inconsistent with since-revealed records, the Joss Whedon and Ray Fisher investigation details, and testimony from other people involved.

In the cases of Charisma Carpenter and Ray Fisher, Whedon suggested the two actors were driven by a "malevolent force," seemingly referring to a theory that they were being manipulated by Zack Snyder to get revenge on Whedon for taking over Justice League. Both Fisher and Carpenter took offense to the suggestion that neither of them has any agency and are instead being driven by another man's supposed personal agenda, fabricating multiple complaints and spearheading an internal WarnerMedia investigation to do so.

Related: Justice League: The Snyder Cut’s Biggest Differences From 2017

When it comes to his on-set affairs, Whedon said he was "powerless" to resist his urges to pursue the younger women working for him on Buffy, and that he was concerned he'd “always regret it” if he didn't have sex with them. He says he “lived in terror” of the affairs being discovered, but didn't apologize or seem to have any concern for the women he had relationships with — or the abuse on the Buffy set.

To defend himself against other claims from the set of Justice League leveled at him by Ray Fisher and Gal Gadot, Whedon said Fisher was a bad actor and Gal Gadot's complaint that he threatened her career was a product of her not being as proficient at English as him, to which Gadot responded: "I understood perfectly." These particular answers are especially wild considering Fisher's performance in Zack Snyder's Justice League was one of the most universally praised elements, and Gadot has proven herself a more than capable English speaker in interviews over the years, suggesting Whedon was simply hoping people would believe him because of her accent, which doesn't help alleviate Fisher's allegations of racism against him.

Overall, the interview only made Whedon look even worse than before. He was already removed from his HBO Max show, The Nevers at the conclusion of WarnerMedia's investigation into Fisher's Justice League complaints, and it doesn't appear as if he has any other credited work scheduled in the near future. If he hoped the interview would be the star of his comeback story, he was sorely mistaken, and it may be some time before we see much more from Joss Whedon.

Next: Joss Whedon's Response to Justice League Abuse Claims is Even Worse