Following multiple statements and releases from former Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast members about the behavior and treatment they endured from series creator Joss Whedon another voice from the series has spoken up. In a tweet, former Buffy showrunner Marti Noxon (who took over executive producer duties from Whedon for the sixth and seventh seasons of the series) also spoke out in support of cast members Charisma Carpenter, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Amber Benson. Noxon wrote: “I would like to validate what the women of Buffy are saying and support them in telling their story. They deserve to be heard. I understand where @AllCharisma, Amber, Michelle and all the women who have spoken out are coming from.”
Videos by ComicBook.com
These latest accusations against Whedon began after Charisma Carpenter, who starred on both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, released an extended statement confirming incidents that happened on set of both shows and how Whedon eventually fired her from the series after she became pregnant. Carpenter also confirmed that she was among the many people interviewed by WarnerMedia during their investigation into accusations made by Ray Fisher regarding Whedon’s conduct on the set of the Justice League reshoots.
“[H]e asked me if I was ‘going to keep it,’ and manipulatively weaponized my womanhood and faith against me,” Carpenter wrote, recalling a private meeting between her and Whedon after she revealed she was pregnant. “He proceeded to attack my character, mock my religious beliefs, accuse me of sabotaging the show, and then unceremoniously fired me following the season once I gave birth….Unfortunately, all this was happening during one of the most wonderful time[s] in new motherhood. All that promise and joy sucked right out. And Joss was the vampire.”
Series star Sarah Michelle Gellar stepped up to support Carpenter with a brief statement of her own, adding: “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….I stand with all survivors of abuse and am proud of them for speaking out.”
This is not the first time people in Whedon’s immediate circle have spoken out against his behavior. In 2017, his ex-wife Kai Cole called him a “hypocrite preaching feminist ideals” and saying that he had engaged in affairs, presumably with people who worked on his TV shows and films, during their relationship. That was the first big turning point when years of whispered allegations became very public, and the fan site Whedonesque even shut down as a result.
(Cover Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)
