Last year, things came to a head with Joss Whedon. What had long been rumored came out into the open. It started with the way Whedon treated Ray Fisher on Justice League. Then the women of Whedon’s world began telling their stories – Charisma Carpenter, Michelle Trachtenberg, various female writers and women who worked on the set of Whedon’s productions, all with variations on the same theme. Whedon is a toxic a–hole, an emotionally manipulative POS, a bully and someone who thinks nothing of threatening and demeaning women in professional settings. Earlier this year, Whedon sat down for a narcissistic New York Magazine profile where he blamed everything on loving women too much and Gal Gadot’s bad English. The profile was pathetic and it reaffirmed that everything we heard last year was accurate.
Enter Nathan Fillion. Fillion has worked with Whedon several times, including on the cult favorite Firefly. Fillion barely said anything for or against Whedon last year, when Fillion’s female coworkers were speaking out. And now this. Fillion chatted with the Inside of You podcast and he spoke about Whedon, starting out with Whedon’s awful New York profile:
Wheden was the subject of New York Magazine profile that was published in January and detailed the many allegations against him. The writer-director denied insulting Gal Gadot while making “Justice League,” saying, “I don’t threaten people. Who does that? English is not her first language, and I tend to be annoyingly flowery in my speech.”
“I read that article, and nowhere in there at any point in time did he mention ‘Firefly.’ I had an entirely – that was not my experience with that man,” Fillion said on the podcast, where he described Whedon as “funny, self-deprecating, incredibly talented” and “maybe a little haunted.”
Fillion added, “I mean, listen by his own admission that guy’s a work in progress and I appreciate that…I would work with Joss again in a second. I would work with him again in a second.”
The actor went on to say that he has spoken in loose terms with Whedon about continuing “Firefly,” the cult space Western drama that ran for one season on Fox in 2002 and was then revived for the 2005 feature film “Serenity.” Fillion said, “We talk, we joke, we fantasize.” As for continuing “Firefly” without Whedon because of the allegations, the actor said, “It would be heartbreak. How can you?”
Fillion absolutely didn’t care enough about A) his coworkers or B) women enough to actually listen to what people were saying about Whedon and how horrible he is. Fillion basically skimmed the Whedon profile and came to the conclusion that Whedon is totally fine, all of those bitches were complaining for no reason! How tone-deaf and, frankly, unprofessional. It’s not required for Fillion to suddenly become an anti-Whedon activist, but to show so little concern for your coworkers within the industry? To be so tunnel-visioned? It’s disgusting and really bad form. Fillion is one of those “it didn’t happen to me therefore it never happened” guys. Incidentally, this makes me believe that Stana Katic was right to hate Fillion for years. There were many rumors about how badly he treated her on Castle.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- Director Joss Whedon and actor Elizabeth Olsen attend “Meet the Filmmakers: Avengers: Age of Ultron” in the Regent’s street Apple store in London. Credit: Euan Cherry/Photoshot,Image: 512116648, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Florida: +1 239 689 1883 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Euan Cherry / Avalon
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- 175413, Nathan Fillion 05/10/2018 The World Premiere of ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ held at Hollywood, CA Photo by Izumi Hasegawa / HNW / PictureLuxNORTH AMERICAN USE ONLY Photograph: © Joseph Martinez, PictureLux, PacificCoastNews. Los Angeles Office (PCN): +1 310.822.0419 UK Office (Avalon): +44 (0) 20 7421 6000,Image: 515194838, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – DIRECT SALES ONLY – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: PictureLux, PacificCoastNews / Avalon
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- LOS ANGELES, CA, USA – JANUARY 23: Screenwriter Joss Whedon arrives at the Los Angeles Art Show 2019 Opening Night Gala held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on January 23, 2019 in Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 535184142, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289 – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For querie, Model Release: no, Credit line: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency / Xavier Collin / Avalon
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- Actor Nathan Fillion arrives at ABC Television’s TCA Winter Press Tour 2020 held at The Langham Huntington Hotel on January 8, 2020 in Pasadena, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 562896660, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289 – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon
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- Joss Whedon attends the premiere of 20th Century Fox’s ‘Bad Times at the El Royale’ at TCL Chinese Theatre on September 22, 2018 in Hollywood, California.,Image: 563826921, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: MSU Studio / The Photo Access / Avalon
Nathan Filion is said to have called Stana Katic a c*nt on the set of Castle and treated her poorly. He and Whedon seem to treat their co-workers the same. These are terrible men who don’t care about anything but what THEY want.
Yep. I heard he was awful to her.
I read over on Pajiba that alledgedly he kept making her cry on set. What an arsehat. I think we can’t expect emotion or empathy from this one here.
I had read the same comments about his treatment of Stana Katie on Castle, and I believed every word of it. I guess someone like him is going to stand up for Whedon when he is a cut from the same cloth. They have no issue with treating women poorly and actively disparaging someone’s character. They can both FO and disappear.
I clicked on this one just to make sure someone had said this. Birds of a feather, and whatnot, but I will not forget how he treated Stana Katic.
I am 47, I was sucked into the Whedonverse, wholly. From what I can infer from various interviews, Joss Whedon, Nathan Fillion, and David Boreanaz have made the lives of countless women miserable, in a professional environment. All three of them still have thriving careers, I just don’t get it.
These men will continue to rally around each other and continue to be employed and hired over and over. If these men were women though, well…… It’s so exhausting at this point.
It makes me sad, because I liked Nathan Fillion, but yeah, the evidence points to reprehensible jerk.
The real heartbreak.
Seriously! Sometimes it’s hard to separate a person from the character and I adored him in Firefly. 😞
man, I feel exactly the same. I thought he was one of the good ones.
Like flock to like, not surprised he likes Whedon and doesn’t think twice about wanting to working with him again.
Didn’t happen to me, so it didn’t happen. Ah, the luxury. Ah, the privilege.
Peas in pods. Two of them. Or maybe Fillion learned his bad behavior from Whedon. Or perhaps Fillion didn’t notice the grossness because he was too busy being gross himself. The company they keep.
I used lo like him and follow him on twitter because of Firefly. But then heard about the rumours too about his shitty behaviour on Castle and with Stana so yeah… unfollowed and not surprised at all about his views
I remember one of the females who played a cop on “The Rookie” leaving due to being sexually harassed, not by him, but another costar and no one did anything. It seems wherever he goes,‘toxicity follows.
wasnt there an ‘internal investigation’ that – surprise surprise – found nothing and then they made it out that she was being ‘difficult’ ?
And I believe he’s a producer on that show, and bears some responsibility.
He seemed like a good guy back when he first got famous, but he has been revealed to be the opposite. Not one bit surprised he’s sticking up for abusive Whedon.
This 💯.
Fillion forgot to add the words bully to Whedon’s description.
Not to mention, he himself is also a POS to costars!
Of course he stands by JW. NF is a total prick.
“NF is a total prick”
which is something he’s apparently been able to hide as I and so many others thought he was a good guy.
if you don’t mind me asking, are you basing this on what’s been reported or are you speaking from personal experience? I mean, I’d believe it if it were personal because of what HAS been reported.
Whedon sounds like one of those who hasn’t grown past being the nerd kid who is desperate the approval of the popular kids. If he sees you as a peer or a superior, he puts on the charm. But if he sees you as an underling in his hierarchy, you are prey.
And Nathan Fillion, sigh. I will always have an undying love for Firefly and Captain Tightpants, but he’s clearly an asshat cut from the same cloth.
Stories about him are coming out of The Rookie as well.
Black actors with screen credits left in droves after the 1st season.
I think you’re mistaken.
I watch the show and only Afton Williamson, who made the accusations about sexual harassment and discrimination, and Demetrius Grosse, one of the people accused, left after season one. Titus Makin left at the end of the third season. But Richard Jones and Mekia Cox, remained, Arjay Smith joined in the third season, and last season Tru Valentino joined the cast.
I used to be a huge fan of both of them, loved Firefly. Doctor Horrible was a hi-larious distraction during the writer’s strike. And then I saw Whedon’s Shakepeare thing and thought … hmm this dude might not be as cool as I thought he was (that series with Eliza Dushku was also ‘off’ to me with the portrayal of female characters)
And as the BTS details of the Whedon-verse have spilled out, it all just seems like a giant pile of entitled nerd-bro-dude ick. I don’t want to rewatch anything now because I fear the telltale signs are going to become obvious and tarnish my old memories.
IMO the telltale signs do jump out now, especially on Angel, where you can basically see Whedon falls in love with Amy Acker and what happens to Charisma as a result. It becomes so obvious what Charisma was going through.
You know what, “falls in love” is bad wording on my part. Becomes obsessed with, is more to the point. And that really has nothing to do with Amy, and I don’t want to imply that it did.
The Amy Acker ‘thing’ was a big part off what was off about Whedon’s MAAN. AD as Benedict to her Beatrice was WAY too old (10 years old IRL and sorry AD fans but he seemed older and kind of gamey in this film) and came across as an idealized self-insert for Whedon. Having the lead couple be so off instead really well matched equals/peers overwhelmed by and annoyed by their attraction to each other pulled me out of the story and let the other things that didn’t land in the film really stand out. But the AD/AA portrayals and pairing was where most of the ewww came from.
Same here. On the plus side, decluttering my home is made easier every time a creator is shown to be terrible and I ditch all my collectibles, DVD’s, comic book and novel tie-ins, cosplay components, art prints, signed photos, etc, from their now tarnished property.
Well that kills anything Nathan puts out now. All i will see is a total asshole. I didn’t know about Stana Katic but can’t watch castle the same anymore. She is a great actress for sure to not let it show on set.
Wow. I knew nothing about NF’s bad behavior before this, and always liked him, but now I’m officially done with him. Gross.
If I have learned anything from the Johnny Depp / John Mulroney tragicomedies (and I truly wish that weren’t the case) it’s to be aware of the overlap between entertainment and parasocial relationships, or whatever they’re calling it.
I do not know Nathan; I simply enjoy his acting. And face. Body, definitely. The idea of all those things in my immediate personal space, sure. And I will clearly not give up my rich fantasy life in which Malcom Reynolds continues to thrive.
But this. Mal is awesome, but Nathan? Dangerously tone-deaf AT BEST.
I met Fillion at DragonCon twice. First time was right after Firefly was cancelled/Serenity and he was absolutely charming. Second time was right before Castle aired and he was dismissive and impatient. I paid to see him and ugh…I was kinda done with him at that point. Hearing how he treated Stana, I completely lost interest in Castle. Haven’t followed him in years. I actually had him muted on Twitter. Stanning for that misogynistic creep Whedon, yeah…wasn’t surprised.
I met him at Dragoncon too in 2002 I think. Not sure if Firefly was coming out or had just been cancelled, at that point I only knew him from 2 Guys a Girl and a Pizza place (lol, throwback) but he was very nice then, talked to us like 5-10 minutes, didn’t charge for pics, but did seem very down to earth and hardworking…. it was right about the first time he was being “recognized” so it was I guess novel to him. Sad to see he ended up this way, gonna add him to the “Ugh, This F*cker” list
He was on the entire last season of buffy-i call BS he is unaware of any issues
Oh, you’re right! I’d completely forgotten about that
I’ve watched the interview on youtube and this is a pretty harsh take on a few minutes of a pleasant, light-weight, hour-long conversation. NF was directly asked about Whedon and he answered honestly that he didn’t see any issues on the set of Firefly / Serenity. At no time did he say “and so it didn’t happen” as has been suggested above. How could he comment on Justice League (which he wasn’t a part of) or Charisma-era Buffy (which he also wasn’t part of) or on what happened in the writers’ room? Sure, he could have given a better answer and we might all like him to denounce Whedon, but in the end he (NF) isn’t responsible for Whedon’s behaviour.
Ugh.
Nathan Fillion is ride or die for Joss Whedon. If you’ve seen his interviews over the years, you’ll know he worships the ground that he walks on. Firefly was his “breakout” role and he is eternally grateful to Joss Whedon for giving him his big break.
I didn’t watch Firefly but I was a huge fan of Castle and Stana Katic and Nathan’s chemistry on the show. Loved Detective Beckett! I knew things were off when they tried to continue the show when they announced Stana Katic’s departure from the show abruptly at the end of the last season. Nathan put out a very disingenuous sounding statement “wishing Stana well” but the whole thing sounded like a giant FU to his costar and co-lead which shocked me after 7-8 seasons of them working together on TV. They also fired the only female actor of color on the show too so it was overall a really bad look.
ABC saw the light though and realized there was no point to doing the show without Stana and just a few days after they announced Stana was leaving, Castle was cancelled. If you’ve ever seen the final scenes of Castle, the sloppy hasty editing is plain as day. Both Castle and Beckett are shot and bleeding on the ground—it was very clear they were hoping to continue the show without Stana by killing off her character. In the next scene, Castle and Beckett are alive and chasing after small kids in their apartment to give them a very last minute and rushed “happy ending.” It was a very disappointing finale to what was an otherwise really great show. When the show got cancelled all the stories came out about how tense things were between Stana and Nathan and I immediately believed Nathan was the difficult one, not Stana. So for him to defend his bestie Whedon—it takes one to know one.
What was Filion’s beef with Katic? I came late to the party on that feud. Thanks!
I don’t know if anyone knows what the beef was?
I do concur that if you didn’t experience that BS (because of being a white male and whatnot), it’d be hard to testify to such and you might feel conflicted about denouncing someone that you experienced as a good person. It doesn’t sound like he disagreed with anyone who spoke out against him as far as I can tell.
I used to have this great therapist for awhile and years later I was told she did some jerky behavior. I never experienced that at all, so I really have no idea what to make of it.
Anyway….used to like NF, feeling sad that there’s now jerkiness rumors about.
He sticks up for everybody who is a white dude. I have long believed his “good guy” happy-go-lucky “live and let live” vibe is probably concealing some very ugly beliefs about… people who aren’t white dudes
interesting thread. I had heard rumors about stania being a pill for years, but they were always very vague. sort of dutchess Meghan style. she was “mean”. Great guy Nathan Fillion had to defend the helpless crew from her villainy. sounds alot like the blackmailing many women get. and Fillion didn’t just say he never witnessed whedon problems on firefly, he said he would work with him again in a heartbeat. so F Fillion.
I have followed Nathan since his One Life to Live days. This is such a bummer. I truly thought he was ‘one of the good guys’ but clearly not. They are more than happy to throw blinders on if it means the person who is problematic can create great content for them.
I’ve read nothing but bad things about this dude and Joss.
This is an example of water seeking its own level.
Terrible people defend each other bc no one else will.
The fact these two walk around in their own bubble thinking it’s them and not me make them a sad hollow shell of a human being