In a tweet posted Wednesday, Buffy the Vampire Slayer actress Charisma Carpenter accused show creator Joss Whedon of abuse of power, saying the director created a hostile work environment, derided her appearance and religionâand that he was especially cruel when he found out she was pregnant.
âWhedon was the vampire,â Carpenterâwho played Buffy frienemy Cordelia Chase on the show and its spinoff Angel from 1997 to 2004âcharged in the damning statement.
â charisma carpenter (@AllCharisma) February 10, 2021
âFor nearly two decades, I have held my tongue and even made excuses for certain events that traumatize me to this day,â Carpenterâs post, titled âMy truth,â begins. âJoss Whedon abused his power on numerous occasions while working together on the sets of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. While he found his misconduct amusing, it only served to intensify my performance anxiety, disempower me, and alienate me from my peers. The disturbing incidents triggered a chronic physical condition from which I still suffer. It is with a beating, heavy heart that I say I coped in isolation and, at times, destructively.â
Carpenter says Whedon turned particularly nasty in 1999, shortly after she moved to Angel and he found out she was pregnant.
In the statement, Carpenter refers to Whedonâs âongoing, passive-aggressive threats to fire me [âŚ] And callously calling me âfatâ to colleagues when I was 4 months pregnant, weighing 126 pounds.â
According to Carpenter, Whedon thought her pregnancy could harm the show.
âJoss intentionally refused multiple calls from my agents making it impossible to connect with him to tell him the news that I was pregnant,â she continues. âFinally, once Joss was apprised of the situation, he requested meeting with me. In that closed-door meeting, he asked me if I was âgoing to keep itâ and manipulatively weaponized my womanhood and faith against me. 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.â
Carpenterâs dismissal was about as welcome among fans as killing off Cordelia at the end of Angelâs fourth season, which went over so well that Carpenter had to be brought back for a guest spot in season five to explain it.
Despite feeling âpowerless and alone,â Carpenter writes that she put up with Whedon because she had âno other optionâ as the âprimary breadwinnerâ for her family.
âUnfortunately,â she says, âall this was happening during one of the most wonderful time[s] in new motherhood. All that promise and joy sucked right out. And Joss was the vampire.â
The post is hashtagged #IStandWithRayFisher, for the actor who accused Whedon of abusive behavior on the set of Justice League last summer and was then fired before he could reprise his role as Cyborg in The Flash.
Carpenter says she recently participated in the investigation into Fisherâs charges âbecause I believe Ray to be a person of integrity who is telling the truth.â
Shorty after Carpenter made her feelings known, Buffy herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar, addressed her former co-starâs allegations on her Instagram, saying:
âWhile I am proud to have my name associated with Buffy Summers, I donât want to be forever associated with Joss Whedon. 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 am proud of them for speaking out.â
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Michelle Trachtenberg, who played Buffyâs little sister Dawn, also came out against Whedon on Instagram, with an even more disturbing accusation.
âThank you @sarahmgellar for saying this. I am brave enough now as a 35 year old womanâŚ.To repost this. Because. This must. Be known. As a teenager. With his not appropriate behaviorâŚ.very. Not. Appropriate.â
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Amber Benson, who played Willowâs girlfriend and fellow witch, Tara Maclay, spoke out more plainly on Twitter Wednesday.
âBuffy was a toxic environment and it starts at the top,â she wrote. â@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. #IStandWithRayFisher #IStandWithCharismaCarpenterâ
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. #IStandWithRayFisher #IStandWithCharismaCarpenter https://t.co/WJAmDGm76C
â Amber Benson (@amber_benson) February 10, 2021
Parker also stood with Carpenter, posting, âCharisma Carpenter is one of the bravest people I know. I am forever grateful for her courage and for her lending her voice to the Justice League investigation. Read her truth. Share her truth. Protect her at all costs. âIt is time.ââ
Charisma Carpenter is one of the bravest people I know.
I am forever grateful for her courage and for her lending her voice to the Justice League investigation.
Read her truth.
Share her truth.
Protect her at all costs.
âIt is time.â
A>E#IStandWithCharisma https://t.co/XcT8OnAfbV
â Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) February 10, 2021
Meanwhile, Seth Green, who played werewolf and Willow boyfriend Oz early on, may or may not have been commenting on the situation about 45 minutes after Carpenterâs post went up.
âA healthy release of emotion, positive or negative, has always helped me process and move on.â
A healthy release of emotion, positive or negative, has always helped me process and move on https://t.co/1Wzut8gRhA
â Seth Green (@SethGreen) February 10, 2021
Reps for Whedon have declined media requests for comment.
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