Joss Whedon Unconvincingly Quits Batgirl Development

Joss Whedon quitting Batgirl seems more like taking cover until the #MeToo storm passes:

Industry sources add that even as Whedon faced story issues, in today's cultural entertainment environment, a male filmmaker may have faced greater public scrutiny if he were to have tackled a movie with such feminist importance such as Batgirl or Wonder Woman, much like a white filmmaker would have seen backlash taking on the Black Panther movie.

Once again, this recalls Whedon's Twitter sabbatical of three years ago (he's baaack). The Hollywood Reporter story recalls his success with Buffy The Vampire Slayer, so once again, we're left guessing at the real story: was it his treatment of the Black Widow character in Age of Ultron? Or his estranged wife's lengthy accusation of him as a serial philanderer? At some point, you have to wonder if there will be anyone left standing once every possible objection to a man directing a story with a woman in it. Because it certainly will not end there; there's a lot of intersectional nonsense to mine yet.