Joss Whedon’s fall from grace continues with Michelle Trachtenberg being the latest star from ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ to speak out against the showrunner and creator.
In a social media post, Trachtenberg claims that Whedon wasn’t allowed to be alone with her on set, joining the growing chorus of claims that have called him out for bad behavior.
‘Buffy’ alum Charisma Carpenter, along with ‘Justice League’ star Ray Fisher have accused Whedon of misconduct and behavior that was not “appropriate”. Sarah Michelle Gellar, who was the lead star of ‘Buffy’, also rebuked Whedon and voiced her support for Carpenter, who accused him of firing her for being pregnant.
Trachtenberg, who played Gellar’s younger sister on the show, reposted the latter’s statement on Whedon where she stated that she didn’t want to be “forever associated with the name Joss Whedon,” while adding a statement of her own.
“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....very. Not. Appropriate. So now. People know. What Joss. Did.
“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’s allegations come a day after Carpenter accused him of retaliatory behavior and firing her from the ‘Buffy’ spinoff ‘Angel’ after she became pregnant. The actress portrayed high school mean girl-turned-ally Cordelia Chase in both series.
“Joss Whedon abused his power on numerous occasions while working together on the sets of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel,” Carpenter tweeted earlier this week. “While he found his misconduct amusing, it only served to intensify my performance anxiety, disempower me, and alienate me from my peers.
“The disturbing incidents triggered a chronic physical condition from which I still suffer. It is with a beating, heavy heart that I say I coped in isolation and, at times, destructively.”
Carpenter also voiced her support for Fisher, who played ‘Cyborg’ in the DC Comics film but was fired from an appearance in ‘The Flash’ after he called out Whedon for his abusive behavior.
A ‘Justice League’ investigation was launched by WarnerMedia following Fisher’s comments, which Carpenter stated that she was also a part of. That probe was completed in December, and “remedial action has been taken” as a result, according to Warner Bros.
Shortly after Carpenter released her statement, Gellar who played Buffy on the hit fantasy series, came out to support his accusers.
“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 shared Wednesday on Instagram. “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.”
In further response to Gellar’s remarks, Trachtenberg wrote, “What [Whedon] did was very bad. But we win. By surviving!” — With inputs from Los Angeles Times
