The women of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” are staying mum after a bombshell account by show creator Joss Whedon’s ex-wife, Kai Cole, in which she said Whedon described a set full of “beautiful, needy, aggressive young women” and admitted several affairs during their 16-year marriage.
Sarah Michelle Gellar, who played the title role in a star-making performance over seven seasons, declined to comment on Cole’s characterization.
“Sarah doesn’t comment on other people’s personal lives,” a spokeswoman said of the essay, which TheWrap published on Sunday.
“When I was running ‘Buffy,’ I was surrounded by beautiful, needy, aggressive young women. It felt like I had a disease, like something from a Greek myth. Suddenly I am a powerful producer and the world is laid out at my feet and I can’t touch it,” Cole wrote, saying she was quoting correspondence from her husband.
“But he did touch it,” she added.
“Buffy” originated on The WB in 1997 and ran until 2003. It was a decent ratings performer and cultish hit with teens, one that later got a second life on streaming platforms like Netflix.
Eliza Dushku, who played bad-girl fan favorite Faith on “Buffy” and led Whedon’s Fox action series “Dollhouse” in 2009, declined to comment on through a rep.
Reps for Alyson Hannigan (another big fan favorite, who played the bookish Willow on “Buffy”), Charisma Carpenter (a “Buffy” alum who went to spinoff “Angel”) and series regulars Emma Caulfield, Amber Benson and Michelle Trachtenberg did not respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
TheWrap also reached out to Marti Noxon, a major part of “Buffy,” who rose from the writers room to co-producer, supervising producer and finally executive producer. Her rep did not immediately respond.
Noxon went on to major success, with hits like Bravo’s “Girlfriends Guide to Divorce” and Lifetime’s “Unreal.” She has now set her sights on feature films like this year’s Netflix original “To the Bone.”
Cole said she wanted to underscore the hypocrisy of Whedon being hailed as a model feminist.
“He said he admired and respected females, he didn’t lust after them. I believed him and trusted him. On the set of “Buffy,” Joss decided to have his first secret affair,” she said.
A representative for Whedon had no comment. On Sunday, in regards to Cole’s open letter, the rep said the following:
“While this account includes inaccuracies and misrepresentations which can be harmful to their family, Joss is not commenting, out of concern for his children and out of respect for his ex-wife.”