Buffy star Charisma Carpenter’s savage response to Joss Whedon

Disgraced Buffy director Joss Whedon defended himself in a new in-depth interview – but one of his accusers is hitting back.

Former Buffy and Angel actress Charisma Carpenter has publicly hit back at Joss Whedon after his recent in-depth interview about the allegations against him, publicly labelling the writer and director “tyrannical” and “narcissistic.”

Buffy creator Whedon’s career imploded early in 2021 when Carpenter issued a detailed statement accusing him of misconduct and abuse of power during her time working on the show and its later spin-off, Angel.

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Charisma Carpenter and Joss Whedon.

Carpenter’s accusations followed earlier claims from Justice League actor Ray Fisher and even Whedon’s own ex-wife, who claimed he’d had “multiple affairs” with actresses he was working with through their marriage.

But Carpenter’s statement was the tipping point – soon, many other stars were speaking out in support of her and against Whedon, who maintained a public silence as the accusations against him mounted.

Until this week, when the New Yorker published a lengthy interview with Whedon in which he hit back at those who’d accused him of misbehaviour.

He dubbed Justice League actor Ray Fisher a “malevolent force” and a “bad actor in both senses” whose complaints about him could not be trusted.

Fisher was first to publicly respond:

Joss Whedon had nearly two years to get his story straight.

He’s likely spent tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of dollars on PR, crisis management, and coaching.

And his response to the allegations is: “They all misunderstood and/or are out to get me—also my mom is sexy” ???

— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) January 18, 2022

Whedon also refuted Carpenter’s claims of bullying and misconduct, acknowledging that while he was “not mannerly” with her on occasion, “most of my experiences with Charisma were delightful and charming,” he said. “She struggled sometimes with her lines, but nobody could hit a punch line harder than her.”

He also suggested Carpenter and other stars had only been influenced to make their allegations because of Fisher’s original statements against him.

Carpenter hit back in a series of statements on social media.

“#IStandWithRayFisher, the ‘malevolent force’ and ‘bad actor in both senses’ who poisoned my feeble mind with trendy buzzwords and corrupt ideas about my experiences with a former tyrannical narcissistic boss who is unable to be accountable and just apologise,” she wrote.

Whedon blamed his clash with Gal Gadot on a language barrier. Picture: Clay Enos

She also addressed another of Whedon’s eyebrow-raising claims during his interview, this one about Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot. Gadot claimed that Whedon had threatened her during their time working together on Justice League – but he insisted the Israeli-born star’s poor English skills were to blame.

“English is not her first language, and I tend to be annoyingly flowery in my speech,” he said. Gadot responded to this claim, saying she “understood perfectly” his alleged threat to torpedo her career if she didn’t agree to say lines he’d written for her character.

Carpenter backed up the multilingual actress: “I believe Gal Gadot not only understands career threats in English but also in Hebrew and Arabic. Possibly French, Spanish and Italian too.”

In her original statement against Whedon, Carpenter explained that she had stayed silent for two decades about events that had “traumatised me to this day.”

Carpenter (right) circa 2000 in the Buffy spin-off Angel.

“Joss Whedon abused his power on numerous occasions while working 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.”

Carpenter accused the director of berating her when she got a tattoo, of accusing her of getting “fat” when she became pregnant, and threatening to fire her several times.

She claimed that Whedon “manipulatively weaponised 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.”

Originally published as Buffy star Charisma Carpenter’s savage response to Joss Whedon