The Avengers: Age of Ultron director Joss Whedon left Twitter earlier this week after an onslaught of haters relentlessly attacked him.
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Update (May 6): Whedon explains in a new interview why he left Twitter, and he says it has nothing to do with the negativity he’s received!
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Now free to quit Twitter after wrapping his promotional run on Ultron, Whedon tweeted the following message before deleting his account a few minutes later:
The tweet strongly suggests he decided to delete his account because of a flurry of negative activity on his Mentions page. About what? Since Ultron hit theaters across the world in April, moviegoers have been attacking him for various reasons, including Black Widow’s arc, which they say belittled her role.
Below are a sample of the tweets that attacked Whedon. As you can see, many of them focused on Black Widow and tagged his username so they would show up on his Mentions page. Warning: Very graphic language below.
ok so aou was good like the vision was perf but joss whedon can fuck off and when he gets there he can fuck off some more
— pop trash (@YouStoleMyPizza) May 4, 2015
WHY WOULD YOU THINK IT'S OKAY TO PUT A RAPE JOKE IN AOU, OR ANYTHING FOR THAT MATTER WHAT THE FUCK @josswhedon FUCKIN FIGHT ME
— jordan (@bitchhawkeye) May 4, 2015
@josswhedon you ugly ass big bird looking bitch, stop ruining everything you touch.
— ⠀ (@reservoirdoges) May 4, 2015
@browneyedzl i will fuck a joss whedon shaped dildo i dont give a fuck anymore
— julibaloo (@angrysigh) May 4, 2015
We can't even learn her story without it being tied to a man.
Fuck you, Joss Whedon
— Jenny Moeller (@altidsoevnig) May 4, 2015
@MarvelUK @MarkRuffalo Let's throw a shutout to @josswhedon for being racist sexist and misogynist! (:
— Annie Compton (@FailFleet) May 4, 2015
@josswhedon block me ugly
— corbin barnes (@weallburn) May 4, 2015
@josswhedon fuck you for screwing Natasha and steves characterization and don't START me on Bruce/Natasha where tf did that come from fuck u
— alexis (@lappelduv1de) May 4, 2015
@josswhedon u are an asshole fuck u
— tony stark // exams (@boyprincesss) May 4, 2015
Fuck you, @josswhedon. You fucked up the only female superhero that @Marvel has allowed us to have. The Black WIdow isn't a fucking damsel.
— Mari (@distortionrock) May 3, 2015
no but did you guys noticed the rape joke in aou i'll fucking kill joss whedon
— fiamma murdock (@WANDAXVISION) May 3, 2015
Off to see Age of Ultron, Even though @josswhedon is an asshole
— Devon S. (@Smelkshake) May 3, 2015
@josswhedon turn on your location so I can beat your ugly ass !
— corbin (@steeIbeams) May 3, 2015
And you disregarded your own work with Avengers? That's counterintuitive and frankly it's really fucking stupid. @josswhedon
— sydney ranae (@hey_squid) May 3, 2015
I love your work but you're a piece of shit. Just say you support culling. @josswhedon
— Mindbender (@TheDrMindbender) May 3, 2015
@josswhedon ur movie is shit and you should feel bad. I'm glad you're out of this franchise. deserves better. U can't write a story for shit
— Beau Pirrone (@amphiluke) May 3, 2015
what the actual fuck did you do to natasha @josswhedon
— ☆ kayla ☆ (@willaraaas) May 3, 2015
@josswhedon i hope satan eats your asshole
— clint barton val (@PlETROMAXIMOFFS) May 2, 2015
i can't wait to punch @josswhedon in the face, bye bye asshole!!!!
— isabel (@robertdadniro) May 2, 2015
Joss took so much away from Nat w/ the whole monster thing and the whole Bruce thing… she's worth more than that, asshole @josswhedon
— Wanda Maximoff k8 (@xoTauriel_) May 2, 2015
FUCK JOSS WHEDON HONESTLY FUCK THAT FEDORA LOVING WOMAN FRIDGING OOC WRITING PIECE OF SHIT
— connie (@THORVISlON) May 2, 2015
rt if you think joss whedon should stick a burning stick up his asshole
— heather//aou trash (@dreamyadler) May 2, 2015
Just saw Age of Ultron… holy fucking fuck. But mostly, fuck you Joss Whedon.
— Adria (@adriarose_) May 4, 2015
@josswhedon fight me in the cineplex parking lot you son of a bitch
— ciaran (@khrismmm) May 2, 2015
I'm gonna kick @josswhedon 's ass
— SMH (@sophenya) May 2, 2015
@BarackObama hey mr president please sign this petition to doxx joss whedon's ass https://t.co/FhfAEWq6R2
— aou sucks ass (@QUICKSORTS) May 1, 2015
Wow.
Responding to the growing story, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn took to his official Facebook page on Tuesday afternoon to voice his support for his fellow Marvel helmer. “My plea to all of you — and this is nothing new — is that we all try to be a little kinder, on the Internet and elsewhere. And, honestly, that includes being kind to the people who are tweeting this nonsense,” he wrote. “Imagine being a guy, like Joss Whedon, who has committed his life to fandom and to creating the best characters he possibly can, characters he loves, and has spent two years of his life working on a movie, and then has to wake up to this shit on Twitter.”
One thing is for sure: Celebrities like Whedon should try to eliminate the negativity on Twitter by not looking at their Mentions page — it’s a quick and easy way to silence the haters. (I wish I could instead say “I’m sure Whedon can rejoin Twitter because everyone will follow Gunn’s advice,” but the haters will never stop hating, will they?)
Whedon is the latest to quit Twitter over hateful tweets, but he won’t be the last. I personally think Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is on track to quit Twitter at some point in the future. She frequently takes a lot of heat over her political views and even gets into discussions with people. Why she actually takes these people to task is beyond me, but I do love how active she is on Twitter.
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