Former Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel actress, Charisma Carpenter, has weighed in on director Joss Whedon’s interview with Vulture Magazine.
On Martin Luther King Day, Vulture published an interview with Whedon where he “broke his silence” about accusations from the Justice League set and other productions such as Buffy. In the interview, Whedon mentioned Carpenter, Buffy costume designer Cynthia Bergstrom, writer Rebecca X, an unnamed high-level production team member from, Michelle Trachtenberg, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Amber Benson, an anonymous Firefly writer and Justice League actors Gal Gadot and Ray Fisher.
He essentially called his accusers liars and even claimed Gal Gadot didn’t understand the words that were coming out of his mouth, even though the woman speaks several languages fluently. It seems while opening his mouth and inserting his foot, he was under the impression he would gain sympathy for his actions, however, he got the exact opposite and was flamed mercilessly on Twitter.
Fisher and Carpenter took to Twitter to respond and followed up the next day to thank his supporters:
Whedon referred to Fisher as “a bad actor in both senses, to which Fisher had this reply:
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Years ago Joss Whedon was known as a feminist who was creating female-driven stories including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly.
It was also later revealed that Whedon had issues with Gal Gadot, who claimed he threatened her and said, “Joss Whedon told me he will finish my career, he told me directly that if I do something he will make sure my career will be miserable. I took care of it right away.”
In May of 2017, Zack Snyder stepped down from directing Justice League after the tragic loss of his daughter to suicide. At that time, it was also announced that Whedon, who was coming off of directing, Marvel’s Avengers and Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, would be replacing Snyder to finish the film.
Later that same summer, his ex-wife, Kai Cole clued us all into the fact that he was indeed the opposite of a feminist in her open letter that was published in The Wrap.
Fast forward to 2020 when Ray Fisher, who played Cyborg in Justice League, fired off a tweet accusing Joss Whedon of “gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable” conduct on the set of the film.
Almost immediately the hashtag “#IStandWithRayFisher” was trending and many took to Twitter to share their own Whedon horror stories, including Charisma Carpenter who played Cordelia Chase on both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the spin-off Angel for 7 years.
She accused Whedon of “retaliatory” and “cruel” behavior while she was pregnant on the set of “Angel,” and said she supported Justice League star Ray Fisher’s claims against Whedon.
Carpenter also detailed that she was part of WarnerMedia’s investigation into Whedon’s actions on the set of Justice League, following Fisher’s accusations of “gross, abusive, unprofessional” behavior against Whedon, who took over reshoots on the film when original director Zack Snyder had to exit due to a family tragedy.
Many of Carpenter’s castmates tweeted in support including Michelle Trachtenberg, who played Buffy’s sister, Dawn. Trachtenberg claimed “There was a rule. Saying. He’s not allowed in a room alone with Michelle again.”
Many more fans responded with support for Carpenter and Fisher:
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Joia DaVida reports on the entertainment industry in both Chicago and Los Angeles.
