Joss Whedon routinely courts online controversy with his incessant tweets about politics and feminism. The director of The Avengers and Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a proud male feminist ally who never misses an opportunity to toe the progressive line by attacking women who stray from the cause.
Today, Whedon posted a glib tweet about Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and Ivanka Trump’s husband. He called Kushner a “Voldemort in training,” and equated Ivanka with a “Pekingese” —i.e. a breed of small, yappy dog.
Hey, keep your eyes on this fucking prize too. He's a Voldemort in training, & unlike the Pekingese he married under, can play the long game pic.twitter.com/SNsuYdqlIp
— Joss Whedon (@joss) January 24, 2017
Whedon did not explicitly call Ivanka a dog, but the implication is clear with the reference to a specific breed, and his audience was quick to note this. Whedon has every right to speak his mind, of course—no matter how dehumanizing his language. But freedom of expression goes both ways, and Twitter was quick to call out the director’s insinuation that Kushner married a dog.
@joss Equating Ivanka to a dog? Careful Joss, your progressivism is showing.
— TheMig (@TheMig29) January 24, 2017
https://twitter.com/AndyFrogman/status/823915520747454464
@joss Just so we're on the same page here. You just called Ivanka a dog because you don't agree with Trump. Classy.
— Ryan (@rylandes) January 24, 2017
The tweet comes not long after Whedon was called out for sniping at actress Nicole Kidman, who had said she believed in democracy. For that comment, he branded her a Trump supporter.
The proud male feminist compared Kidman to a Lady Penelope doll with a photoshopped image. At the time when Kidman was being made fun of by the progressive left, many mocked her for her “plastic” appearance.
— Joss Whedon (@joss) January 13, 2017
In 2015, Whedon was exiled from Twitter by his fanbase following the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron, after militant feminists accused him of creating sexist, misogynistic portrayals of women through Black Widow. Following a period of silence, Whedon told BuzzFeed that he didn’t leave because of progressives, but because he wanted to rediscover his creative spark.
He returned shortly before election day in 2016 to launch a pro-Hillary SuperPAC and PSA encouraging voters to support her against Trump. And when that failed, Whedon lost his cool and wrote a series of tweets about how Trump “CANNOT be allowed a term in office,” while accusing the President of raping a 13-year-old.
Whedon often boasts of his friendship with Feminist Frequency creator Anita Sarkeesian. Perhaps he can earn enough feminist brownie points to undo his recent attacks on women.
Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter and on Facebook.
