Sarah Michelle Gellar has responded to Charisma Carpenter’s accusations against “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” creator Joss Whedon, saying she stands “with all survivors of abuse and am proud of them for speaking out.”
“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,” Gellar wrote on Instagram Wednesday. “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.”
Michelle Trachtenberg, who played Buffy’s sister, Dawn, shared Gellar’s statement, writing: “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……”
“The last. Comment I will make on this. Was. There was a rule. Saying. He’s not allowed in a room alone with Michelle again,” Trachtenberg later updated her caption.
In a statement earlier on Wednesday, Carpenter accused Whedon of “hostile and toxic” behavior on the sets of “Buffy” and spinoff “Angel,” two of Whedon’s most beloved shows. The actress, who starred as Cordelia Chase on both series, also voiced support for “Justice League” star Ray Fisher and revealed that she was among those who participated in the Warner Bros. investigation into Whedon’s alleged misconduct.
“He was mean and biting, disparaging about others openly, and often played favorites, pitting people against one another to compete and vie for his attention and approval,” Carpenter wrote. She accused the creator of making “passive-aggressive threats” and taking retaliatory action against her becoming pregnant while doing the show.
Multiple former “Buffy” actors, including Amber Benson and Clare Kramer, have also spoken up in support of Carpenter, with the former saying there was “a lot of damage done” on the set of the WB series.
Representatives for WarnerMedia and 20th Television, the studio that produced “Buffy” and “Angel,” have not returned TheWrap’s request for comment. Reps for Whedon declined to comment on the matter.
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” ran for seven seasons from 1997-2003, first on the now-defunct WB and then on the now-defunct UPN. “Buffy’s” David Boreanaz-led spinoff “Angel” aired for five seasons on The WB from 1999-2004.