"Buffy" Actress Charisma Carpenter Says Joss Whedon was Abusive and Harassing on Set: “Joss Was The Vampire”
by Tom Tapp
Feb. 10, 2021


Former "Buffy" and "Angel" actress Charisma Carpenter accused those shows’ creator, Joss Whedon, of abusive and harassing behavior on set. In an Instagram message posted today, the actress says the incidents “triggered a chronic physical condition from which I still suffer.”

Carpenter claims Whedon called her “fat” when she was 4 months pregnant, threatened to fire her and made people vie for his approval on set.




One specific instance she cites is when, in a closed-door meeting after learning of her pregnancy, Carpenter says Whedon “asked me if I was ‘going to keep it.’” The actress says Whedon “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.”

After that meeting, Carpenter says she “felt powerless and alone” but, with a baby on the way, also felt she had no other option so she “swallowed the mistreatment and carried on.” That lack of empowerment, she claims, sucked the joy out of being a new mother. “And Joss was the vampire,” she says.




Carpenter says she was prompted by Justice League actor Ray Fisher’s allegations against Whedon, who directed that film for Warner Bros.

Fisher has been at odds with Warner Bros. since last July, accusing Whedon of abuse during the post-Zack Snyder reshoots of Justice League. A subsequent Warner Bros. investigation said unspecified “remedial action” was taken, and the investigation was concluded.

No other details were revealed.




Carpenter revealed in her Instagram post on Wednesday that she participated in the Warners investigation. She continues: “It troubles and saddens me that, in 2021, professionals still have to choose between whistleblowing in the workplace and job security.

As a single mother whose family’s livelihood is dependent on my craft, I’m scared. Despite my fear about its impact on my future, I can no longer remain silent. This is overdue and necessary. It’s time.”

https://deadline.com/2021/02/buffy-star-charisma-carpenter-joss-whedon-was-abusive-and-harassing-on-set-supports-ray-fisher-1234691282/

I am so sorry to hear this. Angel certainly was never as good in Season 4, when she was sidelined for a number of episodes, and Season 5, when she made only one appearance. Charisma is what held that show together, and once they minimized her character, it was obvious the series was falling apart. I'm glad she's come forward to tell her story. She has always made only partial comments about those last two years.

Sarah Michelle Gellar on Joss Whedon Misconduct Allegations
by Michael Ausiello
February 10, 2021


Titular "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" star Sarah Michelle Gellar is weighing on the scandal enveloping her former boss Joss Whedon.

In the wake of Charisma Carpenter’s stunning allegations that she suffered “toxic” and “hostile” abuse under the Buffyverse auteur, Gellar released her own statement.




“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.

“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 am proud of them for speaking out.”




Shortly after Gellar issued her statement, "Buffy" co-star Michelle Trachtenberg reposted her comments alongside this caption:

“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.”




Amber Benson, who played Tara on "Buffy", echoed Carpenter’s general sentiment, saying on Twitter:

“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.”

https://tvline.com/2021/02/10/sarah-michelle-gellar-joss-whedon-controversy-charisma-carpenter/

It was always rumored since season 4 of Angel began back in 2002 that Joss was unhappy with Charisma being pregnant. He was forced to write her pregnancy into the show and had to redo what he originally planned for her character and others. I don't remember all of season 4 but fans are speaking out in the comments on the news stories and reddit that Cordelia was written that year as if Charisma was being punished. I feel sorry for Charisma. I'm glad she's speaking out but again I'm wondering why does most of the Buffy cast say they won't do a reboot unless Joss is involved? It seems weird that they would want to work with the guy who was abusive behind the scenes again. I've worked with some asses before and God knows I would never want to work with them again. You don't go back to a toxic work environment. Sarah really needs to be careful with what she says because since Buffy ended, all she's done has praised Joss and said there's no Buffy without Joss. She put him on a pedestal so to save face, I think she should sit this one out without looking hypocritical.

It was always rumored since season 4 of Angel began back in 2002 that Joss was unhappy with Charisma being pregnant. He was forced to write her pregnancy into the show and had to redo what he originally planned for her character and others. I don't remember all of season 4 but fans are speaking out in the comments on the news stories and reddit that Cordelia was written that year as if Charisma was being punished. I feel sorry for Charisma. I'm glad she's speaking out but again I'm wondering why does most of the Buffy cast say they won't do a reboot unless Joss is involved? It seems weird that they would want to work with the guy who was abusive behind the scenes again. I've worked with some asses before and God knows I would never want to work with them again. You don't go back to a toxic work environment. Sarah really needs to be careful with what she says because since Buffy ended, all she's done has praised Joss and said there's no Buffy without Joss. She put him on a pedestal so to save face, I think she should sit this one out without looking hypocritical.

I'm glad Sarah, Michelle Trachtenberg, Emma Caulfield, Amber Benson, and Clare Cramer (Glory) have all responded on their social media feeds, and each one seems to support what Charisma has said.

As you say, it did feel as though Charisma was being punished for getting pregnant. She went from the "Leading Lady of Angel" to "Comatose for a Year".

I think Sarah has found a good balance: she praises Joss for being a genius (he was) while also stating that certain people were marginalized and abused. I know Amber felt the same way, at the end, when her character was abruptly killed off as well.

I think Sarah has found a good balance: she praises Joss for being a genius (he was) while also stating that certain people were marginalized and abused. I know Amber felt the same way, at the end, when her character was abruptly killed off as well.

I feel like if Sarah speaks anymore about Joss's behavior, it could blow up in her face. He did after all let her be the one to announce Buffy was ending. Alyson confirmed that when she acknowledge that it was Sarah's interview in Entertainment Weekly on how she found out she was out of a job. Joss and Sarah kept that a secret from the rest of the cast. Even if Joss is a genius, why would you recommend that person to be in charge of projects if they're going to abuse you when working together? It seems off to me that some of the Buffy cast are going to speak up now about Joss being abusive when they've been saying for years they would only be part of the reboot if Joss was in charge. Again, I wouldn't want to work with people who create a toxic environment because it's not productive. I wouldn't recommend those type of workers either because other people would feel the abuse and anxiety when in that work environment.

Amber was actually shown respect from Joss. He wanted to make her permanent but she refused because she wanted to be available for other projects. He pushed off her death another year because he loved the way the Willow / Tara romance was going. He gave Amber a year's notice before even killing Tara off (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZPfOqup6kc). There's some performers who don't even get a notice. They just find out when shooting the episode their character dies in that they're fired. At least Amber was treated better than Charisma in that aspect.

Joss Whedon's feminist legacy unraveling has been a long time coming (https://www.vox.com/culture/22277010/joss-whedon-charisma-carpenter-buffy-toxic-workplace-abuse-accusation)

Charisma Carpenter alleging (https://www.primetimer.com/item/Charisma-Carpenter-alleges-Joss-Whedon-quot-abused-his-power-quot-on-the-Buffy-and-Angel-sets-quot-The-disturbing-incidents-triggered-a-chronic-physical-condition-from-which-I-still-suffer-quot-0GSQ4p) Whedon abused his power and created a toxic culture when they worked together on Angel is the latest sign that the geek auteur's feminist cred wasn't all it was cracked up to be. "To a time traveler from 2003, when Buffy aired its final season, all of these accusations against Joss Whedon might seem shocking, even unbelievable," says Constance Grady. "Back then, the conventional wisdom on Joss Whedon was that his feminist credentials were unimpeachable. Whedon, after all, was the man who wrote a whole series from the point of view of the blonde who dies in the first scene of a horror movie, and who dared to make that blonde not just a main character but an action hero. His brand was the brand of strong women kicking a** and taking names. He won awards for his feminism. But in 2021, these accusations against Whedon feel as though they have been a long time coming. Whedon went on to become a celebrated Hollywood director, helming The Avengers in 2012 and Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015, and he has a new TV show, The Nevers, set to premiere on HBO in April. Meanwhile, Buffy the Vampire Slayer remains a beloved TV icon. But Whedon himself and his feminist legacy have been undergoing a long and painful reexamination." Grady points out that "the Whedon fandom’s growing ambivalence regarding his particular version of feminism came into focus with his short-lived 2009 series Dollhouse. Written as a showcase for Eliza Dushku, Dollhouse imagined a technology that wiped people’s minds into blank slates, fashioning them into 'Dolls' onto which could be projected a new identity and new personality. Many of the Dolls were attractive, scantily clad women, and they were programmed by a self-loathing nerdy programmer named Topher who, like most of Whedon’s avatars, dressed in schlubby clothing and spoke in a quippy stream of pop-culture references. As a metaphor for Whedon’s career, Dollhouse was hardly subtle. And as a show, it seemed ideologically torn between decrying the objectification of its heroines and taking a deep, sleazy pleasure in objectifying them...Part of what made Dollhouse so disturbing to some Whedon fans was that it made textual and explicit what had always been deep, deep subtext in Whedon’s other work. Most Whedon shows feature beautiful women who dress up in sexy outfits and kick a**. Most of those women are well-written characters with fully developed personalities, and they all received those personalities courtesy of Whedon’s pen and, sometimes, his camera. In the past, it had been easy to think of the writer-actor relationship in the context of creation and collaboration. And Buffy was so iconic and so beloved that many viewers were eager to do just that. But Dollhouse recast Whedon’s relationship with the actresses who worked for him as an icky, sexualized act of exploitation. It made every gratuitous shot of Buffy in a miniskirt or Firefly’s courtesan Inara in bed with a customer feel just a little bit gross." But it wasn't just Dollhouse that called into question Whedon's feminism. Whedon's 2015 film Avengers: Age of Ultron and the 2017 release of Whedon's unproduced 2004 script for a "god-awful" Wonder Woman movie (https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/06/19/joss-whedon-wonder-woman-script_n_17210508.html) led fans to start reconsidering his work on Buffy and Angel. Whedon's ex-wife Kai Cole calling him a “hypocrite preaching feminist ideals" (http://www.thewrap.com/joss-whedon-feminist-hypocrite-infidelity-affairs-ex-wife-kai-cole-says/) also hurt Whedon's reputation. All this was before Ray Fisher accused Whedon last year of "abusive, unprofessional" behavior on the Justice League set. "So what we’re left with is a man who created one of the most beloved feminist heroes in TV history — and who has been accused by a number of the real women who worked for him, along with at least one actor of color, of creating a toxic workspace and retaliating against an actress who dared to get pregnant," says Grady. "Who’s been accused by his ex-wife of emotional abuse, and of having affairs with his employees. Whose later work seems to largely lack the feminist bona fides of the show that made him famous. Buffy the Vampire Slayer might be immortal. But Joss Whedon’s feminist legacy is not."

ALSO:


Charisma Carpenter's allegations against Joss Whedon are hitting Buffy and Angel fans hard (https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/charisma-carpenter-s-joss-whedon-allegations-are-hitting-buffy-fans-ncna1257490): The allegations shouldn't be surprising following Ray Fisher's statements and his ex-wife Kai Cole calling out the “hypocrisy of being out in the world preaching feminist ideals” in a 2017 essay describing his alleged emotional abuse. "Situations like these involve fans in a few ways. We develop relationships, no matter how one-sided, with the people and stories we watch on screen," says Sage Young. "It can really be heartbreaking to find out that a piece of art that you love was created in an unsafe, unkind environment and that individuals you admire were terrorized in the process. Because of that connection, Buffy and Angel fans have been commenting in droves on the posts of the women who’ve spoken out, offering their condolences and thanking them for their strength. In this case, many who love the show are experiencing a special kind of betrayal. Buffy is a series beloved by fans in part because of its stereotype-busting female characters. It provided pop culture with some of its most visible, well-rounded depictions of teenage girls, who are rarely taken seriously or given much agency on screen. And then there’s deciding how to move forward with the art itself. In light of these accusations, we can safely say that Joss Whedon is not in fact a feminist, or at least not one who understands what the word actually means. That doesn’t mean that Buffy isn’t a feminist show. And the reverse is also true: Whedon can’t be called a feminist — or assumed to be a feminist — simply because he was the driving force behind Buffy. The implosion of a former genre darling like Whedon (HBO 'parted ways' with the showrunner on the upcoming series, The Nevers during the WarnerMedia investigation) is yet more proof that we can’t judge men in these positions of power by their output alone."
The #MeToo movement means that allegations against men like Whedon are less likely to be written off, but will there be lasting change? (https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/laurenstrapagiel/joss-whedon-buffy-allegations-charisma-carpenter): "Executives are just trying to figure out when they’ll be forced to stop pretending everything is business as usual," says Lauren Strapagiel. "If anything has changed in the #MeToo era, it’s that claims of abuse or mistreatment are less likely to be written off as feuds, or rumors, or false accusations for publicity. That’s a step forward, undeniably, but the true reckoning won’t happen until there are lasting consequences. In cases where there’s not a criminal case to be easily made, abusive men may lose a bit of work here and there, but they’ll ultimately be fine. They have their money, their residuals, and the protection of executives who were always willing to overlook their bad behavior. They will get more work. They always do. Buffy was created by Whedon, but it wasn’t just his. The writers, the fans, and the actors made the show what it is. The character Buffy was special to me and so many others because she saved the world, even when it sucked, because someone had to. And if Buffy were a Hollywood executive, instead of a teen girl with super strength, she wouldn’t put up with this s***."
Michelle Trachtenberg says "there was a rule" on the Buffy set that Joss Whedon couldn't be alone with her following an unnamed incident (https://people.com/tv/michelle-trachtenberg-says-rule-buffy-set-joss-whedon-not-be-alone-with-her/)
Buffy and Angel vet Eliza Dushku releases a statement praising Charisma Carpenter's "powerful" message (https://www.eonline.com/news/1237612/buffy-s-eliza-dushku-praises-courageous-charisma-carpenter-amid-joss-whedon-allegations): "My heart aches for you & I'm so sorry you have held this for so long. Your post was powerful, painful, and painted a picture we'll collectively never un-see or un-know," she wrote. "Thank you. I hadn't known it and I won't forget it."
Former Buffy star Anthony Head says he's "gutted" he didn't know about Whedon's alleged abuse (https://people.com/tv/anthony-head-gutted-by-joss-whedon-abuse-allegations/): "I have been up most of the night just running through my memories thinking, 'What did I miss?'" Head said on ITV's This Morning. "This is not a man saying, 'I didn't see it so it didn't happen.' I am gutted. I'm seriously gutted because one of my memories — my fondest memory — was the fact that it was so empowering. Not just with the words in the script, but the family feel of the show...I am really sad that if people went through these experiences."
Prominent TV writer Nell Scovell, creator of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, recalled her offensive Joss Whedon experience (https://twitter.com/NellSco/status/1360062534729031684): "I met Joss once when I interviewed to be a writer on Buffy," Scovell tweeted. "I was pregnant at the time. First thing he said to me: 'Boy, are you fat.' I laughed because it was an interview. But when I read (Charisma Carpenter's) post, I realized it was a pattern. And I didn't get the job."
HBO won't use Whedon's name in marketing The Nevers (https://www.cbr.com/hbo-joss-whedon-scrubbed-from-the-nevers/)

Michelle Trachtenberg says "there was a rule" on the Buffy set that Joss Whedon couldn't be alone with her following an unnamed incident (https://people.com/tv/michelle-trachtenberg-says-rule-buffy-set-joss-whedon-not-be-alone-with-her/)



There's so many things I want to say about this because allegations like this irritate me. I'll just leave it with this; I hope Michelle is exaggerating with this rumor or making it up. This rumor makes it appear Joss might have tried to be sexual with Michelle, who was a teenager at the time she was filming Buffy. If that's what it is, then my only response is why didn't they go public with that? Joss was able to be alone with other young females after Buffy in work environments. If Joss was inappropriate with Michelle on Buffy, did they really not think he would do it again on another show? Why, since this was an onset rule everyone knew about, would any of the cast want Joss involved in a Buffy reboot working with young females again? This allegation doesn't add up to what the cast has said over the years in interviews about the show and what they want in a reboot. But if it is indeed true, it appears the Buffy cast cares more about maintaining a public image than doing the right thing. That pisses me off. If an adult is being inappropriate with a kid, you put a permanent stop to that and do things to prevent it from happening to other kids. You don't keep it a secret for 20 years and reveal it because the timing feels right.

Michelle's statement... I don't even know what to think. If she wasn't allowed to be alone with him, then there was a reason. And if there was a reason, why did this not come out for two decades?

Joss Whedon isn't the only person who made Buffy: Abuse allegations shouldn't take the show down (https://slate.com/culture/2021/02/joss-whedon-buffy-abuse-allegations-charisma-carpenter-sarah-michelle-gellar.html)

"For me, a longtime Buffy fan, these allegations feel different from other abuses of power by creators and producers revealed over the past few years, and I’ve been trying to figure out why," says Dan Kois of Charisma Carpenter's allegations that the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel creator (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyi-E_dQbDE) was abusive, cruel and created a toxic work environment. "I think it’s because at the height of my love for this show, I prized it not only for its wit and excitement but for its progressivism—for the way it shone like a beacon in the doldrums of turn-of-the-millennium TV, the kind of feminist story that no other series was even trying to tell. In a time when a woman writer could have never gotten this kind of show greenlit, we fans said to ourselves, at least there was Joss—an ally. He empowered his actresses and the women who wrote and produced on his show to tell a thrilling story of a strong, complex young woman who subverted the expectations of a sexist culture. (Whedon has not responded to requests for comment on the allegations.) It wasn’t just that we loved Buffy. We believed that, despite its flaws, the show, like its heroine, was a force for good. So it sucks extra hard to learn, from multiple women who were there, that the set wasn’t a particularly nurturing environment, and that actresses on the show felt cruelly treated by the very visionary whom we fans so thoroughly believed in." Kois says he and his wife recently fulfilled a dream of rewatching Buffy and Angel with their now-teenage daughters, and they all loved both shows and found that they held up. He adds: "To come to terms with Buffy, I think, it’s important for me to be more clear with myself about the circumstances and context of its creation. That it can no longer feel so revolutionary as it once did does not mean that it cannot be meaningful to those who discover it now; it’s just meaningful in different ways. And that its founder was not all that we once thought he was does not take away from the small miracle that is this moving, funny, and stirring show; it’s a testament to the many others who made their way through a difficult environment to ensure that the results would be moving, funny, and stirring."

ALSO:


Firefly writer says Joss Whedon would laugh when he made female writers cry (https://www.thewrap.com/firefly-writer-jose-molina-says-joss-whedon-bragged-about-making-female-writers-cry/): "'Casually cruel' is a perfect way of describing Joss," tweeted (https://twitter.com/JoseMolinaTV/status/1360386433769295873) Firefly writer Jose Molina. "He thought being mean was funny. Making female writers cry during a notes session was especially hysterical. He actually liked to boast about the time he made one writer cry twice in one meeting. #IStandWithCharismaCarpenter."
Where are the white men calling out Whedon? (https://www.themarysue.com/where-are-the-white-men-calling-out-joss-whedon/): "It’s both sad and inspiring to see women standing with (Charisma) Carpenter and (Ray) Fisher," says Jessica Mason. Inspiring because of the bravery it takes to stand in solidarity with others calling out someone they say abused them, and sad because that abuse happened. But as the women stood with Carpenter and Fisher, there was a segment of those who have worked with Whedon that was noticeably silent: the white men who have benefited most from the Whedon brand and fandom. We have to ask ourselves: why is it almost always women and people of color who have to speak up about abuse and sexism? Why was the internet loudly clamoring to hear more from Sarah Michelle Gellar, but not Angel star David Boreanaz? While Aquaman’s Jason Momoa publicly expressed support for Fisher, the rest of the Justice League remains silent. Why are these white guys given the luxury of silence? Even more importantly, will they examine that the extent to which their privilege and gender may have protected them and allowed them to be ignorant?"
Former Buffy showrunner Marti Noxon supports Charisma Carpenter and "the women of Buffy" (https://twitter.com/martinoxon/status/1360354381812563975): "I would like to validate what the women of Buffy are saying and support them in telling their story. They deserve to be heard," she tweeted. "I understand where @AllCharisma, Amber, Michelle and all the women who have spoken out are coming from."
Spike actor James Marsters is "heartbroken" over Carpenter's allegations, admits the Buffy set "was not without challenges" (https://screenrant.com/buffy-vampire-slayer-james-marsters-spike-support-whedon-accusers/): "While I will always be honored to have played the character of Spike, the Buffy set was not without challenges," he wrote on Facebook. "I do not support abuse of any kind, and am heartbroken to learn of the experiences of some of the cast. I send my love and support to all involved."

David Boreanaz Pledges Support for Charisma Carpenter Amid Joss Whedon Abuse Claims
by Denise Petski
Feb. 15, 2021


"Buffy" and "Angel" actor David Boreanaz (currently on CBS' SEAL Team) is the latest to speak out in support of his former co-star Charisma Carpenter, following her allegations of abuse and misconduct by Joss Whedon on the supernatural series.

“I am here for you to listen and support you,” Boreanaz tweeted on Sunday. “Proud of your strength.”

Carpenter replied: “I know you’re there for me, David. I appreciate all you’ve done to demonstrate that support privately as well. Especially since Wednesday … thank you so much.”

https://deadline.com/2021/02/buffy-david-boreanaz-charisma-carpenter-joss-whedon-abuse-claims-1234693897/

There's so many things I want to say about this because allegations like this irritate me. I'll just leave it with this; I hope Michelle is exaggerating with this rumor or making it up. .

And viewpoints like that is why people don't come forward for years.

Michelle was 14ish when she started on the show and was 17 when it ended; under age. I would like to see this allegation investigated and charges brought against Whedon.

Until the #MeToo movement, it was considered career suicide to speak out against anything publicly. Is that wrong, yes. But, what do you expect in an industry with a 94% unemployment rate? Until Whedon's ex wife wrote her article, https://www.thewrap.com/joss-whedon-feminist-hypocrite-infidelity-affairs-ex-wife-kai-cole-says/, it was primarily and industry secret. Whedon has had an enormous fall from grace, and more people are feeling safe enough to speak out against the way they were treated.

David Boreanaz Pledges Support for Charisma Carpenter Amid Joss Whedon Abuse Claims
by Denise Petski
Feb. 15, 2021


"Buffy" and "Angel" actor David Boreanaz (currently on CBS' SEAL Team) is the latest to speak out in support of his former co-star Charisma Carpenter, following her allegations of abuse and misconduct by Joss Whedon on the supernatural series.

“I am here for you to listen and support you,” Boreanaz tweeted on Sunday. “Proud of your strength.”

Carpenter replied: “I know you’re there for me, David. I appreciate all you’ve done to demonstrate that support privately as well. Especially since Wednesday … thank you so much.”

https://deadline.com/2021/02/buffy-david-boreanaz-charisma-carpenter-joss-whedon-abuse-claims-1234693897/

David Boreanaz and Amy Acker express support for Angel co-star Charisma Carpenter following her Joss Whedon abuse allegations (https://tvline.com/2021/02/15/david-boreanaz-charisma-carpenter-buffy-angel-joss-whedon-controversy/)

"I am here for you to listen and support you. Proud of your strength," Boreanaz tweeted (https://twitter.com/David_Boreanaz/status/1361004209043173378) Sunday. Carpenter responded: "I know you’re there for me, David (https://twitter.com/AllCharisma/status/1361151683787595778). I appreciate all you’ve done to demonstrate that support privately as well. Especially since Wednesday. -Thank you so much." Acker released a statement (https://twitter.com/AmyAcker/status/1361367185415802880) this morning, writing: “I will always be proud of the work we all did on Angel. While I personally had a good and professional experience, it is heartbreaking to hear that not everyone did. I do not condone any actions (https://lebeauleblog.com/2021/02/13/wtf-joss-whedon/) that made anyone feel hurt or uncomfortable, and I offer love and support to everyone who is speaking out to tell their truths.” ALSO: The Whedon Studies Association mulls changing its name, and Buffy and Angel fans are regretting their tattoos, in wake of the Joss Whedon allegations (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/15/arts/television/joss-whedon-charisma-carpenter.html).

And viewpoints like that is why people don't come forward for years.

Please don't ever take something I say out of context. I explained why I said what I said because it's wrong for the adults on that show not to say something to prevent it from happening to other young females. Sarah, Alyson, Nicholas, and countless other adults working on that show apparently knew of this rule and didn't make it public. It may be hard to speak up because of how it'll make you look but that's the risk of doing the right thing. I can't respect their decision to stay quiet for 20 years letting Joss be alone with other young females on other projects to do the same thing to them that he did to Michelle. The reason why I hope Michelle is exaggerating or making it up isn't to silence victims, it's to hope that the cast didn't put their public image before someone's safety. If you read my entire post you quoted, you'll see I said the exact same thing then. I'm more angry at the cast than Joss at this point because you don't let kids get hurt by an adult.


Michelle was 14ish when she started on the show and was 17 when it ended; under age. I would like to see this allegation investigated and charges brought against Whedon.

I've been a mandatory reporter for over 7 years. There's statue of limitations for cases like these. Because they waited 20 years, nothing will happen with this. Now because they stayed quiet, it's very likely Joss did this to another teenager since he got away with what he did to Michelle. He can be charged if the incident is fairly recent.

Buffy's Nicholas Brendon isn't ready to talk about Joss Whedon (https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/buffys-nicholas-brendon-isnt-ready-to-comment-on-joss-whedon/)

“I’m not speaking on Joss yet,” the Xander Harris actor said Monday in a Facebook Live video (https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/buffys-nicholas-brendon-isnt-ready-to-comment-on-joss-whedon/) as he prepared to undergo spinal surgery, in broaching the subject of Charisma Carpenter's abuse allegations against Whedon. “It’s very personal for me, so I’ll speak on that when I’m ready to speak on that because he and I had a relationship. It’s a big part of my life, a very emotional part of my life and I want to give it the proper respect and time that it deserves.”

Buffy's Nicholas Brendon isn't ready to talk about Joss Whedon (https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/buffys-nicholas-brendon-isnt-ready-to-comment-on-joss-whedon/)

“I’m not speaking on Joss yet,” the Xander Harris actor said Monday in a Facebook Live video (https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/buffys-nicholas-brendon-isnt-ready-to-comment-on-joss-whedon/) as he prepared to undergo spinal surgery, in broaching the subject of Charisma Carpenter's abuse allegations against Whedon. “It’s very personal for me, so I’ll speak on that when I’m ready to speak on that because he and I had a relationship. It’s a big part of my life, a very emotional part of my life and I want to give it the proper respect and time that it deserves.”

If anyone shouldn't speak at all, it's Nicky. He's had a checkered past, himself. I wish him much healing with his spinal surgery. Hope he can recover.

I do appreciate David, J, Tony, and James' words. The boys of Buffy are embracing Charisma, and I'm very grateful.

The Buffy stunt coordinator said (https://www.reddit.com/r/buffy/comments/hpr8b6/joss_whedon_branded_egomaniac_by_buffy_stunt/) last year that Joss Whedon (https://buffy-boards.com/threads/buffy-stunt-coordinator-and-double-accused-joss-whedon-of-being-an-egomaniac-and-demanding-they-break-up.76626/) "changed as the show took off. He went from the humble writer who used to turn to me for ways to shoot fight scenes into a real egomaniac (https://metro.co.uk/2020/07/12/egomaniac-joss-whedon-faces-claims-buffy-stunt-double-12942160/) who believed his own hype. Then again, maybe he was always that way and I was simply too naive to see it as he never showed that side to me before."

Joss Whedon reportedly operated the Buffy the Vampire Slayer set like a high school, creating a "cult of personality" around himself with actors who "feared and idolized" him (https://variety.com/2021/tv/features/joss-whedon-buffy-angel-charisma-carpenter-toxic-workplace-1234915549/)

Following Charisma Carpenter's abuse allegations, Variety spoke with 11 people connected with Buffy or Angel, who say Whedon was “both feared and idolized” by the actors on his show. Reporters Adam B. Vary and Elizabeth Wagmeister say their interviews "painted a portrait of Whedon as a talented, collaborative writer-producer with a pattern of inappropriate, imperious and disparaging behavior toward those who worked for him. Whedon created a 'cult of personality' around himself, according to these sources. Those on the inside of Whedon’s circle basked in his attention, praise and friendship; those on the outside got the opposite: scorn, derision and callousness."

Variety's interviews didn't include Whedon, who personally declined comment, and stars Sarah Michelle Gellar (https://screenrant.com/buffy-joss-whedon-sarah-michelle-gellar-severed-relationship/?utm_content=buffer384f1&utm_medium=Social-Distribution&utm_source=SR-TW&utm_campaign=SR-TW), Michelle Trachtenberg, Amber Benson, Eliza Dushku, David Boreanaz and Alyson Hannigan. "Multiple high-placed sources say if there were any complaints about Whedon on the sets of Buffy or Angel, they never rose to the studio level or became an official matter with human resources. Nor did those who spoke with Variety have knowledge of any payouts or settlements regarding Whedon’s alleged behavior while Buffy was in production," report Vary and Wagmeister.

"According to sources, after Whedon created Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 1997, he was largely left alone, operating on a tight budget with little oversight, thanks to a steady stream of strong media buzz and rich key-demo ratings. The show shot at a relatively remote location on soundstages in Santa Monica where executives were not regularly roaming around, and the production operated much like an indie film. Insiders say the combination of Whedon’s lack of experience running a television show, the financial pressures of delivering an action-and-effects-heavy hourlong dramedy, a cast largely populated with young and eager actors, and the absence of regular supervision contributed to an environment ripe for a chaotic, highly competitive, toxic workplace.

Many people who spoke with Variety described the set as operating like high school, with Whedon making everyone aware of who was in and who was out. Another major factor contributing to the messy nature of the Buffy set: Stories of Whedon engaging in affairs with women working on the show quickly spread, according to three independent sources. As the executive producer and showrunner, Whedon was the boss, including of the women with whom he engaged in relationships. The alleged behavior contributed to a toxic workplace and heightened competition on set, blurring the lines between personal and professional demeanor for the cast — dynamics that continued long after Whedon’s purported affairs ended." Variety points out Buffy and Angel had "grueling schedules, shooting 22 episodes a season, often at night. Actors requiring elaborate makeup could end up clocking 21-hour days, and shoots sometimes did not wrap until 4 a.m. It was common for production on a Friday to bleed into Saturday morning, wiping out any chance for the cast and crew to enjoy a full weekend off. The practice even had a name: Fraterdays. In that high-pressure production environment, the Buffy set was often aggressively adult, with inappropriate and cutting jokes flying behind the scenes.

One source with detailed knowledge of the production recalls Trachtenberg’s mother expressing frustration because the set atmosphere was inappropriate for a young teenager. Whedon was 'both feared and idolized' by the actors on the show, says a person who was part of the team overseeing Buffy during its run. He could be fulsome with his attention with one of his favorites, and 'sharp-tongued' when he was displeased."

Joss Whedon became "pop culture’s ultimate feminist man" because Buffy the Vampire Slayer arrived as an "oasis in a wasteland" (https://theattic.jezebel.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-joss-whedon-and-the-myth-of-the-h-1846288271)

As Whedon's reputation as a feminist takes another hit with the recent Charisa Carpenter's abuse allegations, Kelly Faircloth looks back at why he was seen as a champion for women in the first place. Buffy, says Faircloth, "was a landmark of late 1990s popular culture, beloved by many a burgeoning feminist, grad student, gender studies professor, and television critic for the heroine at the heart of the show, the beautiful blonde girl who balanced monster-killing with high school homework alongside ancillary characters like the shy, geeky Willow. Buffy was very nearly one of a kind, an icon of her era who spawned a generation of leather-pants-wearing urban fantasy badasses and women action heroes. Buffy was so beloved, in fact, that she earned Whedon a similarly privileged place in fans’ hearts and a broader reputation as a man who championed empowered women characters. In the desert of late ’90s and early 2000s popular culture, Whedon was heralded as that rarest of birds—the feminist Hollywood man. For many, he was an example of what more equitable storytelling might look like, a model for how to create compelling women protagonists who were also very, very fun to watch. But Carpenter’s accusations appear to have finally imploded that particular bit of branding, revealing a different reality behind the scenes and prompting a reevaluation of the entire arc of Whedon’s career: who he was and what he was selling all along."

As Faircloth notes, Buffy premiered in March 1997, when the landscape for strong female stories was dismal. "It was the conflicted era of girl power, a concept that sprang up in the wake of the successes of the second-wave feminist movement and the backlash that followed," says Faircloth. "Young women were constantly exposed to you-can-do-it messaging that juxtaposed uneasily with the reality of the world around them. This was the era of sh*tty, sexist jokes about every woman who came into Bill Clinton’s orbit and the leering response to the arrival of Britney Spears; Rush Limbaugh was a fairly mainstream figure. At one point, Buffy competed against Ally McBeal, a show that dedicated an entire episode to a dancing computer-generated baby following around its lawyer main character, her biological clock made zanily literal...Against that background, Buffy was a landmark. Besides the simple fact of its woman protagonist, there were unique plots, like the coming-out story for her friend Willow." But over the past decade, Whedon's reputation as a feminist began to wane in the aftermath of Dollhouse and with his ex-wife's Kai Cole's cheating allegations. "Whedon garnered a reputation as pop culture’s ultimate feminist man because Buffy did stand out so much, an oasis in a wasteland," says Faircloth. "But in 2021, the idea of a lone man being responsible for creating women’s stories—one who told the New York Times, 'I seem to be the guy for strong action women'—seems like a relic. It’s depressing to consider how many years Hollywood’s first instinct for 'strong action women' wasn’t a woman, and to think about what other people could have done with those resources. When Wonder Woman finally reached the screen, to great acclaim, it was with a woman as director. Besides, Whedon didn’t make Buffy all by himself—many, many women contributed, from the actresses to the writers to the stunt workers, and his reputation grew so large it eclipsed their part in the show’s creation. Even as he preached feminism, Whedon benefitted from one of the oldest, most sexist stereotypes: the man who’s a benevolent, creative genius."

Charisma Carpenter "overwhelmed" by support following her Joss Whedon abuse allegations (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/charisma-carpenter-how-to-be-an-ally-of-victims-of-abuse-guest-column)

In a Hollywood Reporter essay, Carpenter writes of the response she's received since detailing last month her abuse allegations on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel sets: "Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been overwhelmed by phone calls, emails, public comments and DMs of support in response to an open letter that I had posted on social media about my personal experience with an abuse of professional power," Carpenter writes. "The truth is that while the inundation of comments and calls were rooted in good intentions, some still fell short. It dawned on me that many may not know how to be an ally or to best support a survivor of trauma. I’m regrettably all too familiar with experiencing physical and mental abuse. I was terrorized at the hands of an abusive family member when I was a child. And I’ve had a gun held to my head at point blank range while barely escaping rape. And based on the open letter I wrote, you now know about the psychological abuse I endured while acting on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. I shared my experiences about my former boss, Joss Whedon, so that we may identify a very real problem that is still happening 20 years later. My open letter is not just trauma unpacking or dumping. It’s a wake up call. And a call to action. It was written in a concerted effort to foster change."

Here is Charisma speaking about the abuse. Powerful interview. Well worth the listen.

HmFduFwB97o

Wonderful new (but brief) interview with Charisma, where she talks about her fear of revealing the abuse she suffered because a good part of her income these days comes from fan conventions. She also says she never dreamed she'd get the social media support of her fellow cast-mates that she did (which is both sad and wonderful at the same time).

rSd62eorQ7Y

Joss Whedon Breaks Silence on "Toxic" Workplace Allegations made Last February
by Matt Webb Mitovich
January 17, 2022


Joss Whedon has broken his silence on the many allegations, made almost a year ago, about his behavior as a showrunner on series such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel".

Speaking for the first time since these claims (as well as allegations about his behavior as the Justice League superhero movie’s fill-in writer/director) were made, Whedon admitted to New York magazine that he was not “civilized” during his earliest days as a TV showrunner.

“I yelled, and sometimes you had to yell,” he said. “This was a very young cast [on Buffy], and it was easy for everything to turn into a cocktail party.”




Regarding the very specific claims laid out by Charisma Carpenter, Whedon admitted he was “not mannerly” but claimed he “did not call her fat” during her pregnancy.

“Most of my experiences with Charisma were delightful and charming,” he countered.




In the wake of Carpenter’s detailed account, and as multiple cast members from both shows shared their support online, Michelle Trachtenberg wrote on Instagram, “This must. Be known, that as a teenage actress at the time, There was a rule. Saying. [Joss is] not allowed in a room alone with Michelle again.”

New York reported that while Whedon “had no idea what [Trachtenberg] was talking about” in her cryptic message, a "Buffy" insider claimed that “an informal rule did exist” stemming from a closed-door meeting between the two that had left Trachtenberg “shaken.”

https://tvline.com/2022/01/17/joss-whedon-responds-toxic-workplace-allegations-buffy-angel/

Joss Whedon Breaks Silence on "Toxic" Workplace Allegations made Last February
by Matt Webb Mitovich
January 17, 2022


Joss Whedon has broken his silence on the many allegations, made almost a year ago, about his behavior as a showrunner on series such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel".

Speaking for the first time since these claims (as well as allegations about his behavior as the Justice League superhero movie’s fill-in writer/director) were made, Whedon admitted to New York magazine that he was not “civilized” during his earliest days as a TV showrunner.

“I yelled, and sometimes you had to yell,” he said. “This was a very young cast [on Buffy], and it was easy for everything to turn into a cocktail party.”




Regarding the very specific claims laid out by Charisma Carpenter, Whedon admitted he was “not mannerly” but claimed he “did not call her fat” during her pregnancy.

“Most of my experiences with Charisma were delightful and charming,” he countered.




In the wake of Carpenter’s detailed account, and as multiple cast members from both shows shared their support online, Michelle Trachtenberg wrote on Instagram, “This must. Be known, that as a teenage actress at the time, There was a rule. Saying. [Joss is] not allowed in a room alone with Michelle again.”

New York reported that while Whedon “had no idea what [Trachtenberg] was talking about” in her cryptic message, a "Buffy" insider claimed that “an informal rule did exist” stemming from a closed-door meeting between the two that had left Trachtenberg “shaken.”

https://tvline.com/2022/01/17/joss-whedon-responds-toxic-workplace-allegations-buffy-angel/

Cliffs:
- Claims that he has CPTSD + attempts a vaguely sympathetic backstory framing himself as a soft and feminine child.

- Blames his ex-wife for all the allegations and people are just cashing in on her claims.

- Says that he and Charisma Carpenter had a "delightful and charming" working relationship and suggests that all the issues were down to her fumbling lines. Has some regrets over how he treated her when she was pregnant. From his perspective, no truth to any of her other claims.

- According to him (https://variety.com/2022/film/news/joss-whedon-gal-gadot-ray-fisher-justice-league-charisma-carpenter-buffy-angel-1235155756/), there was no rule preventing him from being alone with Michelle Trachtenberg. Michelle Trachtenberg refuses to elaborate on her claims. On-set sources say that it was rule instituted by an adult in her circle after he called her into his office by himself when she was 16 and she was left "shaken". Nobody knows what went down precisely in the private meeting.

- Implies that Gal Gadot isn't credible because English isn't her first language (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10411733/Joss-Whedon-says-Gal-Gadot-misunderstood-set-English-not-language.html).

- No mention of Jason Momoa's claims or Joss assaulting James Marsters.

- Colleagues make allegations of assault, humiliation and mistreatment. Cynthia Bergstrom (Buffy costume designer) says he dug his nails into her arms because Sarah Michelle Gellar didn't want to wear a slutty outfit.

- The article makes a point to showcase Zack Snyder in a poor light.

Wonderful new (but brief) interview with Charisma, where she talks about her fear of revealing the abuse she suffered because a good part of her income these days comes from fan conventions. She also says she never dreamed she'd get the social media support of her fellow cast-mates that she did (which is both sad and wonderful at the same time).

rSd62eorQ7Y

Charisma Carpenter: Joss Whedon "is still unable to be accountable and just apologize" (https://tvline.com/2022/01/18/charisma-carpenter-responds-joss-whedon-defends-toxic-workplace-allegations/)

Carpenter posted a statement on Twitter (https://twitter.com/AllCharisma/status/1483538263260348416) today following Whedon's New York magazine (https://www.vulture.com/article/joss-whedon-allegations.html) cover story, in which he addressed (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10411733/Joss-Whedon-says-Gal-Gadot-misunderstood-set-English-not-language.html) allegations (https://www.looper.com/736435/joss-whedon-finally-responds-to-justice-league-criticism/) that he was cruel toward her on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel sets. Saying "#IStandWithRayFisher," Carpenter added: "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 still unable to be accountable and just apologize."

Joss Whedon Breaks Silence on "Toxic" Workplace Allegations made Last February
by Matt Webb Mitovich
January 17, 2022


Joss Whedon has broken his silence on the many allegations, made almost a year ago, about his behavior as a showrunner on series such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel".

Speaking for the first time since these claims (as well as allegations about his behavior as the Justice League superhero movie’s fill-in writer/director) were made, Whedon admitted to New York magazine that he was not “civilized” during his earliest days as a TV showrunner.

“I yelled, and sometimes you had to yell,” he said. “This was a very young cast [on Buffy], and it was easy for everything to turn into a cocktail party.”




Regarding the very specific claims laid out by Charisma Carpenter, Whedon admitted he was “not mannerly” but claimed he “did not call her fat” during her pregnancy.

“Most of my experiences with Charisma were delightful and charming,” he countered.




In the wake of Carpenter’s detailed account, and as multiple cast members from both shows shared their support online, Michelle Trachtenberg wrote on Instagram, “This must. Be known, that as a teenage actress at the time, There was a rule. Saying. [Joss is] not allowed in a room alone with Michelle again.”

New York reported that while Whedon “had no idea what [Trachtenberg] was talking about” in her cryptic message, a "Buffy" insider claimed that “an informal rule did exist” stemming from a closed-door meeting between the two that had left Trachtenberg “shaken.”

https://tvline.com/2022/01/17/joss-whedon-responds-toxic-workplace-allegations-buffy-angel/

Joss Whedon seems to see himself like a flawed hero (https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/joss-whedon-vulture-interview)

The disgraced Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel creator's New York magazine cover story profile (https://www.vulture.com/article/joss-whedon-allegations.html) suggests that he sees himself as the kind of flawed hero whose stories he made his name telling. The "profile illustrates, in despairing detail, a man who too often didn’t rise to the moment," says Tim Grierson. "I’ve known enough people who worked on sets to appreciate that they can be challenging, volatile crucibles, places where stress and ego combine to forge rude and erratic behavior. But the stories recounted about Whedon threatening to have individuals blackballed — or, worse, allegedly hurting a costume designer by digging his nails into her arm while he was making a point — just seem egregious, a pattern of a**holish conduct by someone who couldn’t handle stress and took it out on those around him. In the article, Whedon owns up, somewhat, but then insists he’s been misunderstood, claiming that his detractors have used 'every weaponizable word of the modern era to make it seem like I was an abusive monster. I think I’m one of the nicer showrunners that’s ever been.' It’s a shocking statement but, weirdly, it does square with a classic superhero narrative in which the good guy is shunned by the populace, who have no idea what he’s done for them. Perhaps the most famous example of this is in The Dark Knight, a movie Whedon had nothing to do with. That film concludes with Batman letting the world think he’s the true villain so that Harvey Dent’s sterling image won’t be tarnished and the citizens of Gotham can still believe in something. It’s an act of self-sacrifice that’s noble and tragic, but also speaks to something deeply self-pitying about our conception of heroes: I’m doing all this good in the world, and you don’t even appreciate it. That seems to be the mindset Whedon carries into these interviews with (New York's Lila) Shapiro, along with an eye toward a redemption arc, another thing we love from our fictional heroes...The (New York) article is a warning about our willingness to be seduced by people who seem to represent something honorable or enlightened. All those Buffy fans saw in Whedon a guy who was like them, heartened by the fact that he reflected their passions and, in turn, made them seem cool. Feminists saw an ally — a powerful man in Hollywood interested in telling women’s stories. And when we find heroes, we want them to stay that way — so much so that it’s hard to accept any evidence to the contrary. We don’t mind if Iron Man or Buffy is flawed, just so long as we know that, in the end, they’ll do the right thing. But Whedon, from all appearances, didn’t do the right thing — and he still hasn’t."

Joss Whedon's feminist legacy unraveling has been a long time coming (https://www.vox.com/culture/22277010/joss-whedon-charisma-carpenter-buffy-toxic-workplace-abuse-accusation)

Charisma Carpenter alleging (https://www.primetimer.com/item/Charisma-Carpenter-alleges-Joss-Whedon-quot-abused-his-power-quot-on-the-Buffy-and-Angel-sets-quot-The-disturbing-incidents-triggered-a-chronic-physical-condition-from-which-I-still-suffer-quot-0GSQ4p) Whedon abused his power and created a toxic culture when they worked together on Angel is the latest sign that the geek auteur's feminist cred wasn't all it was cracked up to be. "To a time traveler from 2003, when Buffy aired its final season, all of these accusations against Joss Whedon might seem shocking, even unbelievable," says Constance Grady. "Back then, the conventional wisdom on Joss Whedon was that his feminist credentials were unimpeachable. Whedon, after all, was the man who wrote a whole series from the point of view of the blonde who dies in the first scene of a horror movie, and who dared to make that blonde not just a main character but an action hero. His brand was the brand of strong women kicking a** and taking names. He won awards for his feminism. But in 2021, these accusations against Whedon feel as though they have been a long time coming. Whedon went on to become a celebrated Hollywood director, helming The Avengers in 2012 and Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015, and he has a new TV show, The Nevers, set to premiere on HBO in April. Meanwhile, Buffy the Vampire Slayer remains a beloved TV icon. But Whedon himself and his feminist legacy have been undergoing a long and painful reexamination." Grady points out that "the Whedon fandom’s growing ambivalence regarding his particular version of feminism came into focus with his short-lived 2009 series Dollhouse. Written as a showcase for Eliza Dushku, Dollhouse imagined a technology that wiped people’s minds into blank slates, fashioning them into 'Dolls' onto which could be projected a new identity and new personality. Many of the Dolls were attractive, scantily clad women, and they were programmed by a self-loathing nerdy programmer named Topher who, like most of Whedon’s avatars, dressed in schlubby clothing and spoke in a quippy stream of pop-culture references. As a metaphor for Whedon’s career, Dollhouse was hardly subtle. And as a show, it seemed ideologically torn between decrying the objectification of its heroines and taking a deep, sleazy pleasure in objectifying them...Part of what made Dollhouse so disturbing to some Whedon fans was that it made textual and explicit what had always been deep, deep subtext in Whedon’s other work. Most Whedon shows feature beautiful women who dress up in sexy outfits and kick a**. Most of those women are well-written characters with fully developed personalities, and they all received those personalities courtesy of Whedon’s pen and, sometimes, his camera. In the past, it had been easy to think of the writer-actor relationship in the context of creation and collaboration. And Buffy was so iconic and so beloved that many viewers were eager to do just that. But Dollhouse recast Whedon’s relationship with the actresses who worked for him as an icky, sexualized act of exploitation. It made every gratuitous shot of Buffy in a miniskirt or Firefly’s courtesan Inara in bed with a customer feel just a little bit gross." But it wasn't just Dollhouse that called into question Whedon's feminism. Whedon's 2015 film Avengers: Age of Ultron and the 2017 release of Whedon's unproduced 2004 script for a "god-awful" Wonder Woman movie (https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/06/19/joss-whedon-wonder-woman-script_n_17210508.html) led fans to start reconsidering his work on Buffy and Angel. Whedon's ex-wife Kai Cole calling him a “hypocrite preaching feminist ideals" (http://www.thewrap.com/joss-whedon-feminist-hypocrite-infidelity-affairs-ex-wife-kai-cole-says/) also hurt Whedon's reputation. All this was before Ray Fisher accused Whedon last year of "abusive, unprofessional" behavior on the Justice League set. "So what we’re left with is a man who created one of the most beloved feminist heroes in TV history — and who has been accused by a number of the real women who worked for him, along with at least one actor of color, of creating a toxic workspace and retaliating against an actress who dared to get pregnant," says Grady. "Who’s been accused by his ex-wife of emotional abuse, and of having affairs with his employees. Whose later work seems to largely lack the feminist bona fides of the show that made him famous. Buffy the Vampire Slayer might be immortal. But Joss Whedon’s feminist legacy is not."

ALSO:


Charisma Carpenter's allegations against Joss Whedon are hitting Buffy and Angel fans hard (https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/charisma-carpenter-s-joss-whedon-allegations-are-hitting-buffy-fans-ncna1257490): The allegations shouldn't be surprising following Ray Fisher's statements and his ex-wife Kai Cole calling out the “hypocrisy of being out in the world preaching feminist ideals” in a 2017 essay describing his alleged emotional abuse. "Situations like these involve fans in a few ways. We develop relationships, no matter how one-sided, with the people and stories we watch on screen," says Sage Young. "It can really be heartbreaking to find out that a piece of art that you love was created in an unsafe, unkind environment and that individuals you admire were terrorized in the process. Because of that connection, Buffy and Angel fans have been commenting in droves on the posts of the women who’ve spoken out, offering their condolences and thanking them for their strength. In this case, many who love the show are experiencing a special kind of betrayal. Buffy is a series beloved by fans in part because of its stereotype-busting female characters. It provided pop culture with some of its most visible, well-rounded depictions of teenage girls, who are rarely taken seriously or given much agency on screen. And then there’s deciding how to move forward with the art itself. In light of these accusations, we can safely say that Joss Whedon is not in fact a feminist, or at least not one who understands what the word actually means. That doesn’t mean that Buffy isn’t a feminist show. And the reverse is also true: Whedon can’t be called a feminist — or assumed to be a feminist — simply because he was the driving force behind Buffy. The implosion of a former genre darling like Whedon (HBO 'parted ways' with the showrunner on the upcoming series, The Nevers during the WarnerMedia investigation) is yet more proof that we can’t judge men in these positions of power by their output alone."
The #MeToo movement means that allegations against men like Whedon are less likely to be written off, but will there be lasting change? (https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/laurenstrapagiel/joss-whedon-buffy-allegations-charisma-carpenter): "Executives are just trying to figure out when they’ll be forced to stop pretending everything is business as usual," says Lauren Strapagiel. "If anything has changed in the #MeToo era, it’s that claims of abuse or mistreatment are less likely to be written off as feuds, or rumors, or false accusations for publicity. That’s a step forward, undeniably, but the true reckoning won’t happen until there are lasting consequences. In cases where there’s not a criminal case to be easily made, abusive men may lose a bit of work here and there, but they’ll ultimately be fine. They have their money, their residuals, and the protection of executives who were always willing to overlook their bad behavior. They will get more work. They always do. Buffy was created by Whedon, but it wasn’t just his. The writers, the fans, and the actors made the show what it is. The character Buffy was special to me and so many others because she saved the world, even when it sucked, because someone had to. And if Buffy were a Hollywood executive, instead of a teen girl with super strength, she wouldn’t put up with this s***."
Michelle Trachtenberg says "there was a rule" on the Buffy set that Joss Whedon couldn't be alone with her following an unnamed incident (https://people.com/tv/michelle-trachtenberg-says-rule-buffy-set-joss-whedon-not-be-alone-with-her/)
Buffy and Angel vet Eliza Dushku releases a statement praising Charisma Carpenter's "powerful" message (https://www.eonline.com/news/1237612/buffy-s-eliza-dushku-praises-courageous-charisma-carpenter-amid-joss-whedon-allegations): "My heart aches for you & I'm so sorry you have held this for so long. Your post was powerful, painful, and painted a picture we'll collectively never un-see or un-know," she wrote. "Thank you. I hadn't known it and I won't forget it."
Former Buffy star Anthony Head says he's "gutted" he didn't know about Whedon's alleged abuse (https://people.com/tv/anthony-head-gutted-by-joss-whedon-abuse-allegations/): "I have been up most of the night just running through my memories thinking, 'What did I miss?'" Head said on ITV's This Morning. "This is not a man saying, 'I didn't see it so it didn't happen.' I am gutted. I'm seriously gutted because one of my memories — my fondest memory — was the fact that it was so empowering. Not just with the words in the script, but the family feel of the show...I am really sad that if people went through these experiences."
Prominent TV writer Nell Scovell, creator of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, recalled her offensive Joss Whedon experience (https://twitter.com/NellSco/status/1360062534729031684): "I met Joss once when I interviewed to be a writer on Buffy," Scovell tweeted. "I was pregnant at the time. First thing he said to me: 'Boy, are you fat.' I laughed because it was an interview. But when I read (Charisma Carpenter's) post, I realized it was a pattern. And I didn't get the job."
HBO won't use Whedon's name in marketing The Nevers (https://www.cbr.com/hbo-joss-whedon-scrubbed-from-the-nevers/)


Joss Whedon is a misogynist who sold himself as a feminist, and the industry bought it (https://defector.com/we-dont-need-joss-whedons-cover-story/)

"All of us operate according to a narrative we have adopted for ourselves," says Saraya Roberts in response to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel creator's recent New York magazine cover story profile (https://www.vulture.com/article/joss-whedon-allegations.html). "Depending on who you ask, that narrative can be closer to the truth or … not. Usually, it’s somewhere in between. But for people like Whedon, for people like Louis C.K., even for people like Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby, their narratives about themselves are not only false, but foisted upon everyone else. As these men acquire more and more power, that forced autobiography becomes so ingrained that the growing pile of actions pointing to the contrary becomes easier and easier to ignore. The internet didn’t raise up Whedon; the internet raised up an idea of Whedon that he actively fostered, that his power allowed him to proliferate. And the modern internet did not pull him down, it pulled down the idea it had bought into along with everyone else. This is not about the complicity of fandom or the celebrity machine, it is about the complicity of the wider culture in the stories powerful people tell, a genre which runs on the famously patronizing adage, 'Do as I say, not as I do.' The Whedon story opens with academics deifying the sci-fi filmmaker as the founder of a new faith, having subverted centuries of oppression by creating a blonde cheerleader from the valley who kills vampires. If that sounds facetious, it’s because it’s supposed to—academics, of all people, should know better than anyone that the origin story of subverted stereotypes is usually found in the very marginalized communities that have experienced the repercussions of those stereotypes. This happens long before the inevitable white male nerd comes along and—with the help of multiple people, including the woman who discovered him—casts himself as the male embodiment of female empowerment, the savior of women in a world full of men like him." Roberts adds: "Whedon is a misogynist who sold himself as a feminist, and the industry bought it. And then that image was sold on. Now, despite not copping to much of the behavior he is accused of, Whedon claims he has a condition (complex PTSD, the same condition, New York notes, that his ex has) that explains all of it. This is a man casting about for absolution without acknowledging the reason it is necessary. People may not be buying Whedon’s line anymore, but the media is still willing to put him on a cover, and that says something...Whedon knows he still has the power to draw a crowd. Too savvy to lean on silence, he speaks over his actions and says, 'I’m terrified of every word that comes out of my mouth,' knowing full well that his audience will still be hanging on to every single one."

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Joss Whedon's downfall has felt crushing and inevitable (https://variety.com/2022/tv/columns/joss-whedon-allegations-buffy-legacy-1235157632/): "Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the reason I first started thinking critically about television," says Caroline Framke. So, she adds, "watching Whedon and the cult of faux-feminist personality around him collapse with every new allegation of sexual harassment and workplace abuse has felt both crushing and inevitable. The more I learn about the entertainment industry and world surrounding it, the more I know to be wary of people who spend much of their time trying to prove their progressive bonafides. The more I interact with men who insist they’re the 'nice' ones — as Whedon does to accidentally devastating effect in the New York piece — the more it’s clear they’re not. The more I see people deflect blame onto everyone else’s inability to understand him — as Whedon continues to do with all things “Justice League,” including suggesting that Gal Gadot literally couldn’t understand him — the more I suspect they’re the ones to blame." Looking back at Whedon's Buffy, Angel, Firefly and Dollhouse, Framke says, "the more I see worrying patterns. I see jealous boyfriends and damsels in distress that go against everything Buffy was supposed to be about. I see women express their sexuality before suffering terribly for it. I see countless women trying to be independent and strong on their own terms only to have needy men consume them for the thrill of it. With the benefit of some distance from the show that was briefly my entire life, it’s simply become more obvious that the Buffy character for which Whedon felt the most sympathy wasn’t Buffy, but Xander, the former dork desperate to prove he’s just as tough and virile as any vampire trying to suck the life out of a world Xander sees as rightfully his. This, at least, Whedon admits more freely now. According to the New York report, not even coming from a wealthy family with a Hollywood legacy and getting to run his own show at 31 years old could convince Whedon that he was anything but a Xander-ish dweeb. He came to understand his fixation with bedding and discarding beautiful women as some screwed up power play in which his only chance at evening the playing field was to degrade anyone he perceived as a threat, whether that be his employees, girlfriends, or wife."
How to love a problematic fave like Buffy in the aftermath of Joss Whedon's downfall (https://www.dailydot.com/dot-recs/how-to-love-a-problematic-fave/)

Joss Whedon's response to the allegations is so out of touch that it feels like he's in another galaxy. :(