Michael Tullberg/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — Charisma Carpenter has written a lengthy Twitter post in which she extensively details the “abuse” she says she suffered under creator Joss Whedon while working on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off, Angel.
And since the post has gone viral, several of her co-stars, including Buffy lead Sarah Michelle Gellar, have voiced their support.
With the hashtag #ISupportRayFisher, Carpenter explains the Cyborg actor’s complaints of a hostile work environment under Whedon while he was re-shooting Zack Snyder’s Justice League led to her speaking out.
Fisher’s claims “gutted me,” Carpenter admitted.
She said, “Joss has a history of being casually cruel,” alleging that he “abused his power on numerous occasions…While he found his misconduct amusing, it only served to…disempower me, and alienate me from my peers.”
Carpenter declared, “The disturbing incidents triggered a chronic physical condition from which I still suffer,” and added, “I coped in isolation and, at times, destructively.”
The actress claims Whedon called her “fat” when she was four months pregnant and “mocked my religious beliefs,” asking “if I was going to keep it,” meaning the baby.
Carpenter also claims she was forced to work late hours against her doctor’s advice as a “retaliatory” measure, even as she began suffering Braxton Hicks contractions, and that she was “unceremoniously fired” the season after she gave birth.
In response, Gellar posted on Instagram, “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 said she stands with “survivors of abuse,” and is “proud of them for speaking out.”
Michelle Trachtenberg, who played Buffy’s little sister, Dawn, commented, “I am brave enough now…To repost this. Because. This must. Be known. As a teenager. With his not appropriate behavior.” The actress added, “What he did was very bad. But we win. By surviving!”
Amber Benson, who played Tara, also praised Carpenter’s message. She tweeted that Buffy was a “toxic environment” and that “starts from the top.” She also said, “There was a lot of damage done during that time and many of us are still processing it twenty plus years later.”
Whedon did not respond to ABC Audio’s request for comment.
By Stephen Iervolino
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