Joss Whedon: Buffy stars accuse TV show's 'cruel' creator

Michelle Trachtenberg (left) and Amber Benson (right) have spoken out about Joss Whedon

A string of Buffy the Vampire Slayer stars have accused the hit TV show's creator Joss Whedon of "toxic", "cruel" and "very not appropriate" behaviour.

Charisma Carpenter claimed Whedon had "abused his power" and "created hostile and toxic work environments".

Co-stars Amber Benson and Michelle Trachtenberg then backed her up, while Sarah Michelle Gellar said she was "proud of them for speaking out".

Whedon, who wrote and co-directed the supernatural series, has not responded.

The show, which followed Gellar's teenage vampire hunter Buffy Summers, was a major success when it ran between 1997 and 2003.

Charisma Carpenter played Cordelia Chase in Buffy

On Wednesday, Carpenter, who played Cordelia Chase, posted messages saying Whedon had "abused his power on numerous occasions" while working on Buffy and spin-off Angel.

She claimed he had "a history of being casually cruel", such as with "ongoing" threats to fire her and calling her fat when she was pregnant, before "unceremoniously" firing her after she had given birth.

They were among a number of "disturbing incidents" that she said had "triggered a chronic physical condition from which I still suffer".

Benson, who played Tara Maclay, retweeted her co-star's statement, adding: "Buffy was a toxic environment and it starts at the top."

Carpenter "is speaking truth and I support her 100%", she added. "There was a lot of damage done during that time and many of us are still processing it twenty-plus years later."

Trachtenberg added her voice on Instagram, accusing Whedon of "not appropriate behaviour....very. Not. Appropriate."

Sarah Michelle Gellar and Joss Whedon on the set of Buffy in 2001

Trachtenberg was reposting a statement from Gellar, who distanced herself from Whedon and supported her former castmates, without adding allegations of her own.

"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," she wrote.

"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."

The BBC has contacted Whedon for a response.

He first created Buffy as a film starring Kristy Swanson in the title role in 1992. After making the TV series starring Gellar, the writer and director went on to work on TV shows like Firefly and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and films including The Avengers and Justice League.

Carpenter said she made her comments after Justice League actor Ray Fisher, who has accused Whedon of "abusive, unprofessional and unacceptable" behaviour on that film, had his character Cyborg written out of the forthcoming Flash movie.

WarnerMedia announced that decision last month after Fisher accused executive Walter Hamada of undermining the studio's investigation into his allegations.