WarnerMedia Stands By Walter Hamada After New Ray Fisher Accusations

WarnerMedia is sticking by Walter Hamada even as the DC Films president faces a new and continued attack from Ray Fisher, the actor who played Cyborg in 2017’s failed blockbuster Justice League.

The company released a statement backing Hamada’s integrity on Thursday, a day after Fisher put out his own comments on Twitter in which he accused the exec of undermining an investigation into misconduct that is alleged to have occurred during the reshoots of Justice League.

“I believe in Walter Hamada and that he did not impede or interfere in the investigation,” said WarnerMedia chair and CEO Ann Sarnoff in a statement. “Furthermore, I have full confidence in the investigation’s process and findings. Walter is a well-respected leader, known by his colleagues, peers, and me as a man of great character and integrity. As I said in Walter’s recent deal extension announcement, I’m excited about where he’s taking DC Films and look forward to working with him and the rest of the team to build out the DC Multiverse.”

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The dispute between Fisher and Warners dates back to July 1, 2020, when the actor alleged on Twitter that writer-director Joss Whedon had been abusive on the set of Justice League. Whedon had taken over the film after Zack Snyder stepped down because of a family tragedy. Fisher further claimed that producers Geoff Johns and Jon Berg, who were co-presidents of Warners division DC Films, enabled Whedon’s alleged behavior. Whedon, Johns and Berg had no comment.

The two parties have sparred via Twitter and company counter-statements since then, even as an investigation was launched in August and went into the fall. Things got tenser when on Sept. 4, Warner Bros. released a statement claiming Fisher was not cooperating with the third-party investigators looking into those allegations. Fisher denied this in a statement of his own and later found backing from Justice League co-star Jason Momoa.

It is unclear when the investigation was officially concluded but on Nov. 24, Whedon announced he was stepping away from The Nevers, a show he had created for WarnerMedia division HBO. WarnerMedia announced the conclusion of the investigation Dec. 11 saying “remedial action” had been taken.

Far from staying quiet, Fisher re-opened an offensive against Hamada at the turn of the new year and continued Wednesday, accusing the executive of trying to “cover” for Johns.

“I maintain that Walter Hamada is unfit for a position of leadership – and I am willing, at any point, to submit to a polygraph test to support my claims against him,” Fisher wrote in a lengthy Twitter post. “I don’t know how many instances of workplace abuse Walter has attempted to cover in the past, but hopefully the Justice League investigation will be the last.”

WarnerMedia issued a separate statement apart from Sarnoff that summed up its side of the proceedings. It said its “extensive” investigation was “conducted by an outside law firm, led by a former federal judge who has assured WarnerMedia that there were no impediments to the investigation” and that the company was moving on from giving Fisher the chance to reprise his Cyborg role in an upcoming Flash movie, “given his statement that he will not participate in any film associated with Mr. Hamada”; and that it remains in business with Johns, who is an executive producer on shows such as Stargirl, Batwoman, and Doom Patrol, among others.