Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast speak out against ‘toxic’ creator Joss Whedon

Stars of the hit show Buffy are today speaking out against director Joss Whedon in a series of bombshell statements.

Stars of the iconic 90s TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer have today spoken out against the show’s creator director Joss Whedon, accusing him of fostering a “toxic environment” during the show’s seven seasons on air.

Actress Charisma Carpenter, who starred in both first three seasons of Buffy and another four seasons of the spin-off series Angel, was the first from the franchise to come forward, issuing a detailed statement on social media today.

She joined others including actor Ray Fisher and even Whedon’s own ex-wife who’ve spoken out against him in the past.

“For nearly two decades, I have held my tongue and even made excuses for certain events that traumatised me to this day,” Carpenter began.

Charisma Carpenter (far right) and Sarah Michelle Gellar (front) have both released public statements today.

“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 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.”

The show’s star Sarah Michelle Gellar has voiced her support for her former colleagues.

“Back then, I felt powerless and alone. With no other option, I swallowed the mistreatment and carried on. After all, I had a baby on the way, and I was the primary breadwinner of my growing family. Unfortunately, all this was happening during one of the most wonderful time in new motherhood. All that promise and joy sucked right out. And Joss was the vampire.”

Carpenter’s statement was retweeted by fellow Buffy actor Amber Benson, who had the recurring role of Tara for three seasons of the show.

“Buffy was a toxic environment and it starts at the top. Charisma 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,” she wrote, adding the hashtag “#IStandWithCharismaCarpenter.”

Whedon was previously hit with abuse allegations after working on Justice League. Picture: Getty

And Buffy herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar, then voiced her support for her co-stars while slamming 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,” she wrote on Instagram.

She said that as she is more focused on “raising my family and surviving a pandemic currently … I will not be making any further statement at this time. But I stand with all survivors of abuse and am proud of them for speaking out.”

Amber Benson: “Buffy was a toxic environment.”

Michelle Trachtenberg: “What (Whedon) did was very bad.”

Actress Michelle Trachtenberg, who played Dawn Summers across 66 episodes of Buffy, shared Gellar’s post along with several comments of her own. Thank you @sarahmgellar for saying this. I am brave enough now as a 35 year old woman.... To repost this. Because. This must. Be known. As a teenager. With his not appropriate behavior,” she wrote.

“You. Are my rock!! What he did was very bad. But we win. By surviving! We know what he did. Behind. The. Scenes.”

Both Carpenter and Benson included the hashtag #IStandWithRayFisher with their statements, in reference to the Justice League actor who last year spoke out against Whedon for his behaviour while directing the film.

Actress Clare Kramer, who played the character of Glory in 13 episodes of Buffy, tweeted her support for her former co-stars:

For what it’s worth, I believe and stand with @allcharisma, @ray8fisher, @amber_benson and others who have the strength to come forward with their truth. A lot of this industry needs a reset..... #IStandWithCharismaCarpenter#IStandWithRayFisher

— Clare Kramer (@ClareKramer) February 10, 2021

And Fisher threw his support behind Carpenter, calling her “one of the bravest people I know”:

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.

“It is time.”

A>E#IStandWithCharismahttps://t.co/XcT8OnAfbV

— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) February 10, 2021

RELATED: The Ray Fisher / Joss Whedon saga explained

Ray Fisher (far left) accused Whedon of “completely unacceptable” behavior on the set of Justice League, and got support from his co-stars.

Fisher accused the director of “gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable” behaviour on the set of the 2017 movie. Co-stars including Jason Momoa spoke out in his defence. “Serious stuff went down. It needs to be investigated and people need to be held accountable,” he wrote.

A few weeks after those posts, during a fan convention online panel, Fisher went further: “Obviously I put out some pretty strong words and some strong comments about Joss Whedon, and every single one of those words, every single one of those comments, is true.

“It’s taken me two and a half years to get all the information I need to be able to build something that’s strong enough so people can’t dismiss it.”

Fisher’s allegations led to an investigation into Whedon’s behaviour by Warner Media - an investigation Carpenter today revealed she participated in.

Whedon is yet to publicly respond to today’s allegations.

Whedon’s ex-wife, architect Kai Cole, accused the director of “multiple affairs” over their 15-year marriage in a piece written in 2017. According to Cole, the first of these supposed dalliances was on the set of Buffy.

Whedon’s ex-wife Kai Cole spoke out against him after their split. Picture: Getty

“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.”