Henry Cavill Kicked From The Witcher For Being Sexist?

A new rumor suggests that Henry Cavill was fired from The Witcher for being sexist and "toxic."

By Britta DeVore | Updated

henry cavill witcher

With DC Studios deciding to dump Henry Cavill as Superman and move in a different direction for the Man of Steel storyline, times have been tough for the Enola Holmes actor, but buckle up because they’re about to get even worse. According to a new rumor making its way through the ever-churning mill, a source allegedly close to the set of the one-time Cavill-led fantasy series The Witcher, says that the star did not leave of his own volition, but instead was fired due to his “toxic” behavior while on set.

The claims were initially put forth by the anonymous host of the podcast Deux U who runs the entertainment gossip site, Deux Moi. It was at the tail end of the December 15th episode, which saw Sliders star Jerry O’Connell as the special guest. The host began to read a statement from someone who claimed to be close to the book-turned-Netflix-series, spilling the tea on “what really went down” while filming.

The claims paint Henry Cavill in an incredibly dark light, suggesting that the actor pushed against the female showrunner in hopes of steering the storyline to better mirror the novels penned by Andrzej Sapkowski. 

henry cavill

The whistle-blower says that at first Henry Cavill was a typical diva-like star, who made “a lot of unusual demands” that alienated him from the rest of the cast and crew in his pursuit to stand out. Noting that this type of behavior wasn’t “unusual for a big star,” the source went on to say that it was considered to be odd for the series at the time, considering it was in its first season. But as time marched on, Cavill’s bad attitude began to really take over with the unnamed leaker alleging that the actor soon became “impossible for women to work with.”

They went on to say that this was obviously “a big problem” made even more troubling because the series is run by a woman – Lauren Schmidt Hissrich. Allegedly, Henry Cavill would make comments and remarks that would question Schmidt Hissrich’s authority and creative direction, going so far as to “try to get changes made last minute across the board without her knowledge.” Not only is this a major headache for any production, but it also puts the showrunner’s vision directly into question, as the source explained, the leader needs to “sign off on every minuscule detail down to the buttons on a costume.”

And according to the insider, Schmidt Hissrich wasn’t the only female dealing with Henry Cavill’s alleged behavior, as other writers and directors on the show were being “completely ignored on set” with the actor constantly believing that he knew best. While the disturbing actions weren’t sexual, the informant claimed that the environment quickly became “toxic” with the star acting completely “disrespectful” to everyone around him. By the end of his time on the series, it was alleged that Cavill had “every department head” up in arms because of his abusive treatment. 

So, if this is the true story and not Henry Cavill’s version of events, what was the final straw? According to the source, after being given a slap on the wrist by the “top brass at Netflix” who were fed up with the actor’s attitude, Cavill was eventually let go after penning and sending an email to the “entire writing staff” following his “final warning.” With their word against the actors and neither Cavill nor Netflix reaching out with a comment at this time, it seems as though the anonymous source’s information will stay floating around the rumor mill.