Standing with her cast. Sarah Michelle Gellar took to Instagram following claims made by Buffy the Vampire Slayer stars Charisma Carpenter and Amber Benson against the series’ creator, Joss Whedon.
“While I am proud to have my name associated with Buffy Summers, I don’t want to be forever associated with the name Joss Whedon,” the actress, 43, wrote via Instagram on Wednesday, February 10. “I am more focused on raising my family and surviving a pandemic currently so I will not be making any further statements. At this time, but I stand with all survivors of abuse and I’m proud of them for speaking out.”
On Wednesday, Carpenter, 50, shared a lengthy statement via Twitter alleging that Whedon, 56, “abused his power” during the series.
“Like his ongoing, passive-aggressive threats to fire me, which wreaks havoc on a young actor’s self-esteem. And callously calling me ‘fat’ to colleagues when I was four months pregnant, weighing 126 lbs,” she wrote. “He was mean and biting, disparaging about others openly, and often played favorites, putting people against one another to compete and vie for his attention and approval. He called me in for a sit-down meeting to interrogate and berate me regarding a rosary tattoo I got to help me feel more spiritually grounded in an increasingly volatile work climate that affected me physically.”
The Veronica Mars alum later claimed that Whedon “refused multiple calls from my agents making it impossible to connect with him to tell him the news that I was pregnant.” When she did share, he requested a meeting and then allegedly “asked me if I was ‘going to keep it’ and manipulatively weaponized my womanhood and faith against me.”
She claimed, “He proceeded to attack my character, mock my religious beliefs, accuse me of sabotaging the show, and then unceremoniously fired me the following season once I gave birth.”
Benson, 44, reposted her message, adding, “Buffy was a toxic environment and it starts at the top. @AllCharisma is speaking truth and I support her 100%. There was a lot of damage done during that time and many of us are still processing it twenty plus years later.”
The allegations were posted with the hashtag #StandWithRayFisher, referencing Ray Fisher, the actor who spoke out against Whedon after Justice League, accusing the director of “gross, abusive, unprofessional and completely unacceptable” behavior.
Whedon has not yet responded to the claims.
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