Joss Whedon Called a ‘Hypocrite Preaching Feminist Ideals’ By Ex-Wife

Kai Cole says the director’s feminism is directly contradicted by his alleged infidelity.

August 21, 2017 1:32 pm
Kai Cole and director Joss Whedon .
Kai Cole and director Joss Whedon attend Fox's 'Glee' spring premiere soiree held at Bar Marmont on April 12, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

An essay by Joss Whedon’s ex-wife claims that the director’s conduct in his personal life contradicts the public persona he is beloved and awarded for.

“Joss admitted that for the next decade and a half (after filming “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), he hid multiple affairs and a number of inappropriate emotional ones that he had with his actresses, co-workers, fans and friends, while he stayed married to me,” Kai Cole recounted in The Wrap.

“Despite understanding, on some level, that what he was doing was wrong, he never conceded the hypocrisy of being out in the world preaching feminist ideals,” Cole said, in part. “I now see how he used his relationship with me as a shield, both during and after our marriage, so no one would question his relationships with other women or scrutinize his writing as anything other than feminist.”

Cole said she went public with details about Whedon’s alleged infidelity because she wants the world to understand that he is not who he “pretends to be.”

“I want the people who worship him to know he is human, and the organizations giving him awards for his feminist work, to think twice in the future about honoring a man who does not practice what he preaches.”

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