Mark Ruffalo on Joss Whedon Backlash: ‘He’s a Deeply Committed Feminist’

The press tour for “Avengers: Age of Ultron” has been quite the conversation-starter about gender politics on and off-screen. Just as fans were recovering from the Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner fiasco, Mark Ruffalo weighed in on all the hubbub during his Reddit AMA.

The ever-affable Ruffalo, who plays Bruce Banner/the Hulk in the series, took to Reddit to discuss water usage, but of course he was asked about the backlash against the film’s director, Joss Whedon. Whedon’s decision to pair Ruffalo’s character with Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow along with other creative decisions he made regarding the super-spy were the subject of much heated social-media discussion. The director deleted his Twitter account on Monday.

When asked for his thoughts on the criticism against Whedon, Ruffalo replied: “I think it’s sad. Because I know how Joss feels about women, and I know that he’s made it a point to create strong female characters.”

Ruffalo went on to defend Whedon’s interpretation of Black Widow, positing that the backlash is unfounded.

“I think it’s a misplaced anger,” Ruffalo said. “I think that what people might really be upset about is the fact that we need more superhuman women. The guys can do anything, they can have love affairs, they can be weak or strong and nobody raises an eyebrow. But when we do that with a woman, because there are so few storylines for women, we become hyper-critical of every single move that we make because there’s not much else to compare it to.”

Ruffalo ended his reply on a positive note, suggesting that conversations about gender in film are important to have. “The fact that this is a debate that’s coming out of this movie is probably a positive thing,” Ruffalo said.

“I just don’t think that people should get personal with Joss, because he really is — of anyone — an advocate for women. He’s a deeply committed feminist,” Ruffalo said of Whedon.

Whedon controversy or no, “Ultron” is expected to pull in a healthy sum for its second weekend in theaters after bowing with the second-biggest opening ever.

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