Buffy creator Joss Whedon accused by ex-wife of ‘multiple affairs’

JOSS Whedon, creator of Buffy, director of The Avengers and all-round pop cultural feminist icon has been unmasked as an alleged philanderer.

ALL over the world, millions of Buffy fans’ hearts just broke.

Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy, director of The Avengers and all-round pop cultural feminist icon has been unmasked as an alleged philanderer.

Whedon’s ex-wife, architect Kai Cole, published a piece overnight on US site The Wrap which accused the director of “multiple affairs” over their 15-year marriage. According to Cole, the first of these supposed dalliances was on the set of Buffy.

“He hid multiple affairs and a number of inappropriate emotional ones that he had with his actresses, co-workers, fans and friends, while he stayed married to me,” Cole wrote.

“He deceived me for 15 years so he could have everything he wanted. I believed, everyone believed, that he was one of the good guys, committed to fighting for women’s rights, committed to our marriage, and to the women he worked with.

“But I now see how he used his relationship with me as a shield, both during and after our marriage, so no one would question his relationships with other women or scrutinise his writing as anything other than feminist.”

In a heart-wrenching confessional, Cole said that she was only going public with the allegations because she felt “compelled to go on the record and clear up some misconceptions. I don’t think it is fair to me or other women to remain silent any longer.”

Whedon has been hailed as a feminist icon. (Photo by Mike Windle/Getty Images)

Cole said Whedon’s alleged affairs go to the core of the “hypocrisy” of his public image as a feminist writer and hero.

“Until recently, Joss was still letting the illusion of our marriage stay intact. Now that it is finally public, I want to let women know that he is not who he pretends to be. I want the people who worship him to know he is human, and the organisations giving him awards for is feminist work to think twice in the future about honouring a man who does not practice what he preaches.

“Despite understanding, on some level, that what he was doing was wrong, he never conceded the hypocrisy of being out in the world preaching feminist ideals, while at the same time, taking away my right to make choices for my life and my body based on the truth.”

Whedon and Cole met in 1991 and married in 1995, a year before production began on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a seminal TV show centred on a strong female hero and one that has since been hailed as a defining feminist series.

Whedon would go on to create Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse (another series centred on female agency) and Dr Horrible and directing a well-received adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing before going on to find mainstream success as the director of The Avenger s and Avengers: Age of Ultron. He has since been signed by Warner Bros. and DC to helm the upcoming Batgirl movie.

Whedon and Cole separated in 2012 with the divorce finalised last year. They have two children.

Buffy fans will recognise Cole’s voice on a track on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical soundtrack. She originally recorded the demo songs with her husband on the show’s iconic musical episode, “Once More With Feeling”.

A spokesperson for Whedon told The Wrap that Cole’s account “includes inaccuracies and misrepresentations” but that the director would not be commenting out of concern for his children and ex-wife.