According to BoundingIntoComics:
In what may perhaps be one of the most transparent attempts to smear an actor after they’ve voluntarily left a production, a new rumor claims that Henry Cavill did not leave Netflix’s The Witcher of his own accord, but rather was forcefully removed for being “disrespectful and toxic” in his attempts to keep the series faithful to its Andrzej Sapkowski’s original novels.
These accusations regarding Cavill’s professionalism were first whispered on the December 15th episode of Deux U, a celebrity gossip podcast hosted by the anonymous founder of the entertainment whisper website Deux Moi.
As she closed out the episode following a general conversation with her guest Jerry O’Connell (Justice League Dark: Apokolips War), the show’s anonymous host proceeded to read out a message she had received from a source who purported to know “what really went down” between the streaming giant and the fan-favorite actor. [Time stamp 01:08:00]
“At the beginning of the show,” wrote the source, as relayed by the host and later transcribed by the now-deleted @renfriscreyden Twitter account. “Henry was good to work with. A lot of unusual demands that made people feel like he wasn’t really a team player, but that’s not unusual for a big star. Though in TV, it truly usually doesn’t happen until the second season.”
“But,” they then noted, “in season 2 and 3, something shifted, and he became really impossible for women to work with, which is always a big problem. But even worse here, because the showrunner is a woman.”
“He would try to overrule her and try to get changes made last minute across the board without her knowledge,” said the individual. “Which if you know anything about showrunning, is completely f—ed. The showrunner has to sign off on every miniscule detail down to the buttons on a costume.”
Continuing to paint Cavill as a rampant misogynist, the source added, “Female writers and directors were suddenly completely ignored on set, unable to do their jobs.”
“Every department head was complaining,” they accused. “He started making comments. It wasn’t a sexual thing: he wasn’t grabbing anyone, or being lewd, but it was disrespectful and toxic all the same.”
Further attempting to sell this unflattering portrait of Cavill, the source then went for the laziest and disingenuous of media tactics and attempted to blame the actor’s supposed ‘new attitude’ on the fact that he is “deeply addicted to video games, to the point where it was like working with any other addict.”
“He was distracted, he was late, he was obsessive,” they stated, making reference to the actor’s noted love of CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt video game. “And a lot of people think that the misogyny came from gamer world. Video game bro language is not how you talk to coworkers. And he wouldn’t stop.”
As she closed out the episode following a general conversation with her guest Jerry O’Connell (Justice League Dark: Apokolips War), the show’s anonymous host proceeded to read out a message she had received from a source who purported to know “what really went down” between the streaming giant and the fan-favorite actor. [Time stamp 01:08:00]
Geralt (Henry Cavill) takes up his blade in The Witcher Season 2 Episode 5 “Turn Your Back” (2021) via Netflix
“But,” they then noted, “in season 2 and 3, something shifted, and he became really impossible for women to work with, which is always a big problem. But even worse here, because the showrunner is a woman.”
Continuing to paint Cavill as a rampant misogynist, the source added, “Female writers and directors were suddenly completely ignored on set, unable to do their jobs.”
Further attempting to sell this unflattering portrait of Cavill, the source then went for the laziest and disingenuous of media tactics and attempted to blame the actor’s supposed ‘new attitude’ on the fact that he is “deeply addicted to video games, to the point where it was like working with any other addict.”
Geralt (Henry Cavill) adjust his vision for a low-light setting in The Witcher Season 2 Episode 2 “Kaer Morhen” (2021), Netflix
Playing up the pearl-clutching act too much to be taken seriously, the source then fearmongered, “Someone on the show compared it to watching someone get brainwashed by Qanon.”
“His whole personality shifted,” the source said. “Eventually his disrespect escalated.”
