Buffy’s Charisma Carpenter, Michelle Trachtenberg accuse Joss Whedon of misconduct

Sarah Michelle Gellar also distances herself from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator

Buffy’s Charisma Carpenter, Michelle Trachtenberg accuse Joss Whedon of misconduct 1

Joss Whedon has once again found himself in hot water following a string of misconduct allegations made against him by Buffy the Vampire Slayer actresses Charisma Carpenter and Michelle Trachtenberg.

On Wednesday, Carpenter took to social media to share her truth about working with Whedon on Buffy and its subsequent spinoff Angel to show her support to Ray Fisher, who previously accused Whedon of “abusive” and “unprofessional” behavior on the set of the 2017 superhero movie Justice League.

In a lengthy post, Carpenter claimed that Whedon “abused his power on numerous occasions” while they were working together on the sets of Buffy and Angel.

“While he found his misconduct amusing, it only served to intensify my performance anxiety, disempower me, and alienate me from my peers,” continued Carpenter, who played the role of Cordelia Chase in both series. “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.”

Read Carpenter’s entire statement in her Instagram post below:

 

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A post shared by CHARISMA CARPENTER⚡️ (@karazma)

Shortly after Carpenter’s accusations against Whedon went viral, Sarah Michelle Gellar, the actress who played the titular vampire slayer on the WB/UPN show, shared an Instagram post distancing herself from Whedon, who created the series. And though Gellar didn’t mention Carpenter’s name in her post, she did write the following: “I stand with all survivors of abuse and am proud of them for speaking out.”

 

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A post shared by Sarah Michelle (@sarahmgellar)

Trachtenberg, who appeared as Dawn Summers on Buffy, reposted Gellar’s statement and thanked her for standing with all survivors of abuse. Trachtenberg then ended her caption by accusing Whedon of inappropriate behavior, writing: “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….very. Not. Appropriate. So now. People know. What Joss. Did.”

Amber Benson, who portrayed Tara Maclay on Buffy, also commented on Carpenter’s statement, tweeting: “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.”

When reached out by Deadline for a comment on the recent misconduct allegations made against Whedon, reps for the writer-director had no comment.

Source: Deadline