As allegations of abuse continue to mount against Joss Whedon, it has become increasingly difficult to keep track of which cast members of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel have made specific allegations of professional misconduct. It is important to make this distinction, as many have stepped forward to voice their emotional support for their co-stars without speaking specifically about any abuse they may have experienced personally.
Once a beloved nerd culture icon, Joss Whedon has fallen far and fallen fast in the past few years. In 2017, Whedon's writing began to face increased scrutiny following the leak of his script for a Wonder Woman movie, which many felt was overly focused on Steve Trevor's heroics and turned Diana Prince into a supporting character in her own movie, as well as descriptive passages that seemed to oversexualize Diana. Similar issues were raised by MCU fans over his script for Avengers: Age of Ultron and the revelation that Black Widow saw herself as a monster because she couldn't have children. Shortly after that, his ex-wife, Kai Cole, wrote a piece regarding his repeated infidelities and accused him of abusing his power on set, explaining that Whedon, who she divorced in 2016, had used their relationship "so no one would question his relationships with other women or scrutinize his writing as anything other than feminist." Since then, a few actors from his shows have corroborated Cole's accusations and hinted at others, but it's been nothing like the number of actors stepping forward now.
These problematic events fueled the most recent wave of controversy, which came after actor Ray Fisher accused Whedon of unprofessional conduct on the set of Justice League. His accusations first broke in June 2020. Recently, Charisma Carpenter, who played Cordelia Chase on both Buffy and Angel, affirmed her support of Fisher's claims on social media and went on to go into greater detail regarding her own bad experiences working with Joss Whedon. This led to a tsunami of support as other Buffy and Angel alumni surged forward to support Carpenter and offer their accountings.
While most of the cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel developed over time, few characters changed as drastically over the course of both series as Charisma Carpenter's character, Cordelia Chase, who appeared in both series. When Carpenter became pregnant during Angel Season 4, her pregnancy and absence were explained by Cordelia becoming possessed by a supernatural being who intended to use Cordelia as a means to bring about her own rebirth. Cordelia later lapsed into a coma and was killed off during Angel Season 5. While there were rumors that Whedon had written Carpenter out of the show because of her pregnancy, Carpenter never went into great detail about any discussions she might have had with Whedon. At a convention in 2009 (via Vanity Fair), she revealed that she had thought he was mad at her for getting pregnant but softened it by saying she could understand his frustration at how "sometimes living your life gets in the way of maybe the creator’s vision for the future."
Recently, however, Carpenter went into more detail on her Twitter account, confirming that she was questioned as part of the WarnerMedia investigation into Whedon's abusive history. Describing Whedon as "casually cruel," Carpenter recalled how he frequently threatened to fire her, called her fat in front of their co-workers when she was four months pregnant, played favorites, pitted people against one another to compete for his approval, and generally acted in a passive-aggressive manner. She specifically noted that Joss Whedon's on-set abuse also came in the form of him attacking her religious beliefs and berating her over a rosary tattoo she had gotten. Perhaps most shockingly, Whedon reportedly asked her in a closed-door meeting if she intended to keep the baby and, when she confirmed that she was, began scheduling her to shoot her scenes at 1 AM in the morning, despite her doctor's orders that she shorten her workdays and avoid late-night shoots.
The first members of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer production team to come out with detailed accounts of Joss Whedon's abuse were there from the very beginning. Jeff Pruitt served as the series' stunt coordinator for its first four seasons and Sophia Crawford worked as Sarah Michelle Gellar's stunt double during that same period. The two began dating while working on the show and eventually married, but Whedon's abuse and egomania caused both to leave the stunt team after Season 4. Pruitt was the first to declare his departure and Whedon reportedly told Crawford she could stay on as Buffy's stunt double but only if she agreed to stop dating Pruitt. When she refused, Whedon reportedly threatened both Pruitt and Crawford, warning them that "no one will ever hire you again after this." and that he'd ruin their careers. Pruitt also alleged that keyloggers had been placed on his computer and those of a few other employees to track every single email they received (via Metro UK).
Originally introduced as minor villain in Buffy Season 2, Spike went on to become a full member of the ensemble and one of Buffy's love interests thanks to James Masters' charming performance and popularity with the fanbase. This reportedly did not please Whedon, who originally had drastically different plans for the snarky punk vampire. This displeasure manifested in a behind the scenes encounter between Joss Whedon and James Marsters, where, according to Marsters, Whedon "backed me up against a wall one day and he was just like, ‘I don’t care how popular you are, kid, you’re dead. You hear me? Dead. Dead!'" While originally writing this statement off as Whedon being "angry at the situation" rather than at him personally, the actor came to reconsider after learning of the allegations against Whedon.
More recently, Marsters made a statement of support for Whedon's accusers, regarding the accounts of his female co-stars while acknowledging his own ignorance of the abuse they suffered at Whedon's hands. Describing his own time as Spike as "not without challenges," Marsters expressed his dismay over "the experiences of some of the cast." This would seem to confirm reports that Whedon was careful about keeping his harassment of the actresses he directed behind closed doors.
Sarah Michelle Gellar, who played the lead role of Buffy Summers, has yet to comment specifically on any of the allegations made by her co-stars. However, Gellar did post a statement of support for "all survivors of abuse" on her personal Instagram account, saying that she would not be making any further statements at this time as she was "more focused on raising my family and surviving a pandemic currently." Gellar also said that while she was proud to have her name associated with Buffy Summers, "I don't want to be forever associated with the name Joss Whedon."
Michelle Trachtenberg played Dawn Summers, Buffy's younger sister, who was introduced into the series in the Buffy Season 5 premiere when Trachtenberg was 14 years old. Trachtenberg shared Sarah Michelle Gellar's comments on her Instagram, but made an additional statement hinting at her own traumatic experiences with Joss Whedon. Without going into detail, Trachtenberg said that a rule arose on the Buffy set that Whedon was "not allowed in a room alone with Michelle again," describing his behavior in the incident that led to the creation of this rule as "not appropriate behavior.... very. Not. Appropriate" while reminding people she was only a teenager during her time on Buffy.
While the rest of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel cast have yet to come forward with their own allegations of mistreatment, many of them have confirmed the accounts of their co-stars or offered their emotional support. Amber Benson, who played Tara on Buffy, confirmed Carpenter's claims on her personal Twitter account, saying that "Buffy was a toxic environment and it starts at the top." Eliza Dushku, who played the slayer Faith before starring in Whedon's series Dollhouse, praised Charisma Carpenter's post, saying it was "powerful, painful and painted a picture we’ll collectively never un-see or un-know." Emma Caulfield, who played the ex-demon Anya on Buffy, and J. August Richards (who played Charles Gunn on Angel) made similar statements of support on their social media. Finally, Anthony Stewart Head, who played the Scoobies' mentor Rupert Giles, expressed his support for his co-stars in an interview with This Morning, while discussing how he was "running through my memories, thinking, ‘What did I miss?’ Because this is not a man saying, ‘I didn’t see it, so it didn’t happen.’ I can’t—I am gutted, I’m seriously gutted."
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