Last summer, Justice League star Ray Fisher accused director Joss Whedon of abusive misconduct during the film’s reshoots. Among the Justice League cast members, only Jason Momoa spoke out in favor of Fisher during the investigation period. However, another performer has now come forward with her own accusations against Whedon. Charisma Carpenter, who played Cordelia Chase on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, has shared her account. And it also addresses her abrupt departure from Angel following her pregnancy.
“For nearly two decades, I have held my tongue and even made excuses for certain events that traumatize me to this day,” Carpenter wrote on Twitter. “Joss Whedon abused his power on numerous occasions while working together on the sets of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. 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.”
“Last summer, when Ray Fisher publicly accused Joss of abusive and unprofessional behavior toward the cast and crew during reshoots on the Justice League set in 2017, it gutted me. Joss has a history of being casually cruel. He has created hostile and toxic work environments since his early career. I know because I experienced it first-hand. Repeatedly.”
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According to Carpenter, Whedon called her “fat” when she was four months pregnant during Angel season 4. She alleged that he asked her if she was “going to keep it.” She also went on to say that “[Whedon] 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.”
Additionally, Carpenter revealed that she participated in Warner Media’s Justice League investigation. Fisher subsequently thanked Carpenter on Twitter.
Charisma Carpenter is one of the bravest people I know.
I am forever grateful for her courage and for her lending her voice to the Justice League investigation.
Read her truth.
Share her truth.
Protect her at all costs.
“It is time.”
A>E#IStandWithCharisma https://t.co/XcT8OnAfbV
— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) February 10, 2021
Buffy co-star Amber Benson also backed up Carpenter, even though they weren’t starring in the same seasons.
Buffy was a toxic environment and it starts at the top. @AllCharisma is speaking truth and I support her 100%. There was a lot of damage done during that time and many of us are still processing it twenty plus years later. #IStandWithRayFisher #IStandWithCharismaCarpenter https://t.co/WJAmDGm76C
— Amber Benson (@amber_benson) February 10, 2021
Sarah Michelle Gellar, the star of Buffy, has also come out in support of Carpenter.
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Michelle Trachtenberg; the actress who played Buffy’s sister, Dawn; has also shared her support.
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Whedon recently left HBO’s The Nevers citing exhaustion. However, Fisher contends that it was Whedon’s punishment after WarnerMedia closed the investigation.
You can read Carpenter’s full statement in the tweets below.
My truth. #IStandWithRayFisher pic.twitter.com/eNjYcJ6zwP
— charisma carpenter (@AllCharisma) February 10, 2021
— charisma carpenter (@AllCharisma) February 10, 2021
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