Henry Cavill Smear Campaign Claims Actor Was Removed From ‘The Witcher’ Because Female Netflix Staff Found His Pushes For Source Material Accuracy To Be “Disrespectful And Toxic”
Spencer Baculi
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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.
Geralt (Henry Cavill) consoles Ciri (Freya Allan) in The Witcher Season 1 Episode 8 “Much More” (2019) via Netflix
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.
Geralt (Henry Cavill) and Ciri (Ferya Allan) take an inventory of their equipment in The Witcher Season 2 Episode 2 “Kaer Morhen” (2021) via Netflix
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.”
Geralt (Henry Cavill) takes up his blade in The Witcher Season 2 Episode 5 “Turn Your Back” (2021) via Netflix
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“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.”
Geralt (Henry Cavill) meets a possessed Ciri (Freya Allan) in battle in The Witcher Season 2 Episode 8 “Family” (2021) via Netflix
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.”
Geralt (Henry Cavill) demands information from Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) in The Witcher Season 2 Episode 7 “Voleth Meir” (2021) via Netflix
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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.”
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.”
Geralt (Henry Cavill) prepares to confront the Strzyga in The Witcher Season 1 Episode 3 “Betrayer Moon” (2019), Netflix
Giving a list of examples as to Cavill’s ‘disrespectful’ behavior, the source detailed, “He would rewrite scenes without even alerting the other actors in the scenes until it was time to shoot. He decided that he didn’t want any romantic scenes at all. No kissing, no shirtless scenes, etc. He wanted complete control of storylines, but really had no idea of the limitations of TV, structure, budget, etc.”
“He formed a weird alliance with one writer who was also a gamer, who eventually got fired after multiple HR complaints were made,” they told Deux Moi. “And after that writer left, Henry did anything he could to hold up production and cause problems.”
Geralt (Henry Cavill) and Ciri (Freya Allan) arrive in Kaer Morhenin in The Witcher Season 2 Episode 2 “Kaer Morhen” (2021) via Netflix
In terms of his exit from The Witcher, the source explained, “Eventually, top brass at Netflix was tired of him costing them money with delays in HR investigations and the showrunner was asked to construct a potential exit for him.”
“Netflix reached out to him personally, and he was given one final warning, and violated that warning with an email he sent to the entire writing staff, right after that meeting,” they concluded. “That was it.”
Geralt (Henry Cavill) takes a swing at the bruxa Vereena (Agnes Born) in The Witcher Season 2 Episode 1 “A Grain of Truth” (2021) via Netflix
As of writing, neither Cavill nor Netflix have publicly commented on the assertions made by Deux Moi’s source, while most fans have written off this anonymous assertion as nothing more than the last gasps of a company desperate to salvage their reputation in the face of a disastrous production decision.
However, the anonymous insider has gained one supporter in YouTuber Jeremy “TheQuartering” Hambly, who on December 17th took to his personal Twitter account to declare, “You may not want to hear this but at least SOME of what was leaked about Henry Cavill on set of the Witcher is in fact true. I have multiple sources ON SET of the witcher and they had been telling me stuff like this for MONTHS.”
Archive Link TheQuartering via Twitter
“I don’t want people to shoot the messenger I REALLY stan for Henry,” he claimed. “I think some of it was mis-understandings/passions etc. BUT you KNOW if I am sticking my neck out on this one, where it would be MUCH easier to just s–t on the other writers I am bringing what I believe truth.”
Archive Link TheQuartering via Twitter
Yet, despite his recent confidence and supposed months long knowledge of The Witcher situation, it should be noted that Hambly was apparently just as confused about Cavill’s firing as everyone else.
“I am starting to think there is something going on with Henry Cavill, like something more than meets the eye,” said the YouTuber on December 15th. “A month ago he’s Geralt AND Superman. Today he is neither. There is something fishy going on.”
Archive Link TheQuartering via Twitter
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