WarnerMedia Responds After Ray Fisher Doubles Down on Racism Claims
Written by SOURCE on February 28, 2021
WarnerMedia has publicly disputed Ray Fisher’s latest allegations against DC Films president Walter Hamada.
On Saturday, the 33-year-old actor reiterated his claim that Hamada had tried to interfere with an investigation into alleged misconduct during Justice League reshoots. Fisher, who played Cyborg in the superhero film, previously accused director Joss Whedon of creating a toxic work environment during the 2017 production. Warner Bros. ordered a third-party investigation into the matter and claimed Fisher had refused to cooperate during the probe. Fisher denied the allegation via Twitter back in September.
“Do ya’ll remember that time Walter Hamada and @wbpictures tried to destroy a Black man’s credibility, and publicly delegitimize a very serious investigation, with lies in the press? But hey, Black Superman…” Fisher tweeted Saturday, referencing the report that Ta-Nehisi Coates had been tapped to write a Black-led Superman film. “As I’ve said from the start: Walter Hamada ATTEMPTED to interfere with the JL investigation. He was unsuccessful in doing so because I did not allow him to. Having the investigator make a statement claiming there was no interference is purposely misleading and desperate.”
WarnerMedia responded to Fisher’s claims in a statement to Deadline. The company said there was no evidence of interference with the Justice League investigation and insisted Warner Bros. never lied to the press.
“Once again there are false statements being made about our executives and our company surrounding the recent Justice League investigation,” WarnerMedia’s statement read. “As we have stated before, an extensive and thorough third-party investigation was conducted. Our executives, including Walter Hamada, fully cooperated, no evidence was found of any interference whatsoever, and Warner Bros. did not lie in the press. It’s time to stop saying otherwise and move forward productively.”
Katherine B. Forrest, a former federal judge who oversaw the Fisher investigation, backed WarnerMedia’s claims in a separate statement.
“I am disappointed by continued public statements made suggesting that Walter Hamada in any way interfered with the Justice League investigation. He did not.” Forrest said. “I interviewed him extensively on more than one occasion and specifically interviewed him concerning his very limited interaction with Mr. Fisher. I found Mr. Hamada credible and forthcoming. I concluded that he did nothing that impeded or interfered with the investigation. To the contrary, the information that he provided was useful and advanced the investigation.”
Whedon, who replaced Justice League’s original director Zack Snyder, has also denied Fisher’s allegations; however, he has since been been accused of abusive and inappropriate behavior by various actors from different projects.
