A-list writer/director Joss Whedon is in hot water.
Whedon was brought on to finish reshoots and the post-production on The Justice League after director Zack Snyder took bereavement leave to mourn the tragic suicide of his daughter, but helming a film is the least of Whedon’s troubles at the moment.
Whedon’s ex-wife posted a scathing rebuke that exposed the liberal, self-proclaimed “feminist” as a massive hypocrite.
Kai Cole, Whedon’s ex, published a letter that ripped Whedon for having multiple affairs and being a fake feminist.
Not long after the letter was released, a long-running Whedon fan site shut down.
From Entertainment Weekly:
After 15 years, “Whedonesque” is shutting down.
The popular Joss Whedon fan site announced Monday it is “closing down” and will become a read-only site “at some stage” in the future. The site was a discussion board hub for all things related to The Avengers director and Firefly showrunner, who has inspired a passionate and loyal fan community that few writer-producers in Hollywood can match.
Recently, Whedon — who has supported and espoused feminist causes and created strong female characters throughout his career — has been under fire among some fans after his ex-wife, Kai Cole, wrote a guest blog for The Wrap alleging her former husband is a “hypocrite preaching feminist ideals.”
The two were married in the 1990s, separated in 2012 and finalized their divorce in 2016. Cole accused her ex of a “secret affair” on the set of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and claimed Whedon “hid multiple affairs and a number of inappropriate emotional ones that he had with his actresses, co-workers, fans, and friends.” Cole said she wrote the blog “to let women know that he is not who he pretends to be.” Whedon issued a statement saying the blog “includes inaccuracies and misrepresentations,” but also that he won’t comment “out of concern for his children and out of respect for his ex-wife.”
Whedonesque owners were asked by readers if the site was shutting down because of “the issue” or for another reason. While no exact reason was given for the closure, one owner, Caroline van Oosten de Boer, didn’t deny it might have been a factor, but stated, “I have been toying with closing down the site for various reasons for the last five years or so.”
On social media, van Oosten de Boer also tweeted about the site shut down (and alluded to Cole’s accusations):
Caroline 🍜 on Twitter
‘Trust the art, not the artist,’ is a thing I stopped saying when I copped on it was probably an artist who coined the phrase.
Critics of Whedon will jump all over this just as they did after the release of The Avengers: Age Of Ultron.
In the film, Whedon came under scrutiny from feminists because of Black Widow’s storyline; they were angered because the hardened assassin basically went “astray” because of her inability to have children.
Feminists were also ired by a joke included in the film about “primae noctis,” a dubious medieval practice tantamount to rape.
Cole’s confessional included quotes from apologetic letters Whedon wrote to her, so it appears she might have the truth on her side.
Whedon’s boilerplate response doesn’t resolve any lingering questions, which could be damaging on future press junkets.
Whedon is in a tough spot. Perhaps he’ll tweet more virtue-signaling hyperbole about Donald Trump like this to keep the wolves at bay:
Joss Whedon on Twitter
This is simple: Trump cannot CANNOT be allowed a term in office. It’s not about 2018. It’s about RIGHT NOW