Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon is denying allegations that he threatened Gal Gadot‘s career on the Justice League set. “I don’t threaten people. Who does that?” Whedon said in an interview published by New York Magazine on Monday (January 17th).
In April 2021, The Hollywood Reporter shared a story in which Whedon allegedly “threatened to harm Gadot’s career and disparaged Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins.” When Gadot brought up creative concerns, Whedon reportedly told her to “shut up and say the lines,” and said he would “make her look incredibly stupid in this movie.”
Whedon blamed the dispute on a language barrier, even though Gadot speaks fluent English. “English is not her first language, and I tend to be annoyingly flowery in my speech,” he told New York Magazine.
Gadot told the magazine via email that she “understood perfectly.”