After Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Charisma Carpenter accused director Joss Whedon of abusive behavior, several of her former co-stars are sharing their support, including Michelle Trachtenberg. Trachtenberg used Instagram to repost a statement from series star Sarah Michelle Gellar, who shared that she stands “with all survivors of abuse.”
“Thank you [Sarah Michelle Gellar] for saying this,” Trachtenberg wrote. “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….very. Not. Appropriate. So now. People know. What Joss. Did.” In a comment on her post, she added, “You. Are my rock!! What he did was very bad. But we win. By surviving!” while on her Instagram Stories she wrote, “We know what he did. Behind. The. Scenes.”
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Gellar’s statement read: “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,” the Ringer alum wrote via Instagram. “I am more focused on raising my family and surviving a pandemic currently so I will not be making any further statements. I stand with all survivors of abuse and I’m proud of them for speaking out.”
Carpenter originally posted her allegations on Wednesday, Feb. 10, writing that Whedon “abused his power on numerous occasions while working on the sets of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.” She claimed that the director made “ongoing, passive-aggressive threats” and 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.”
The 50-year-old noted that much of her alleged mistreatment by Whedon occurred when she was pregnant and detailed one particular incident that took place in a closed-door meeting during filming on Angel. “He asked me if I was going to ‘keep it’ and manipulatively weaponized my womanhood and faith against me,” she wrote. “He 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.”
Carpenter’s statement also included the hashtag #IStandWithRayFisher in support of actor Ray Fisher, who accused Whedon of “gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable” behavior on the set of reshoots for 2017’s Justice League. In January, Fisher was fired from the upcoming DC film The Flash. Carpenter shared that she participated in Warner Bros.’ Justice League investigation “because I believe Ray to be a person of integrity who is telling the truth,” and it “troubles and saddens me that in 2021 professionals STILL have to choose between whistleblowing in the workplace and job security.”
