Stars from Buffy the Vampire Slayer band together against Joss Whedon's abuse, racism, and misogyny.2/11/2021
"So here's the part where you make a choice. What if you could have that power, now? In every generation, one Slayer is born, because a bunch of men who died thousands of years ago made up that rule. So I say we change the rule. I say my power... should be our power. From now on, every girl in the world who might be a Slayer, will be a Slayer. Every girl who could have the power, will have the power, can stand up, will stand up. Slayers... every one of us. Make your choice. Are you ready to be strong?" -Buffy Summers
For years, we've been hearing about Joss Whedon's "big bad" behavior. Last year, he was racist and abusive toward a young actor named Ray Fisher. On Wednesday, we learned about more of Whedon's victims.
Charisma Carpenter, who played Cordelia Chase on the show, revealed to the world that she was a victim of his abuse and misogyny. She wrote a heartbreaking statement about what she endured, and it is devastating. â charisma carpenter (@AllCharisma) February 10, 2021
First off, that asshole Joss Whedon blatantly asked Charisma if she was going to "keep her baby," which is something you never fucking ask! How disgusting! He also called her "fat" throughout the entire pregnancy. Joss refused to listen to her doctor's orders about shortening her work hours. The stress of everything caused her to have Braxton Hicks contractions at 6 months pregnant! Joss didn't give a shit. He even fired her after she had her baby! Her religious beliefs were disrespected, and she is still suffering the physical aftermath of his egregious behavior (she has a chronic condition because of the stress).
Charisma Carpenter wasn't the only victim. Ray Fisher endured horrific verbal abuse and racism from Joss Whedon. Ray Fisher acknowledged Charisma's story and said she was "courageous" for sharing her story, and we need to protect her.
âAmber Benson, who starred as Tara McClay on Buffy the Vampire Slayer also shared that she found the work environment with Joss to be toxic.
âMichelle Trachtenberg, who played Buffy's kid sister Dawn on the show, recalls Joss Whedon not demonstrating appropriate behavior around her. Despite the fact that Trachtenberg was a veteran of TV and film at 15, she was still a very young girl.
Several cast members spoke out about what Charisma, Amber, Ray, and others went through. Sarah Michelle Geller had this to say about the abuse:
Michelle Trachtenberg reposted Geller's Instagram post, with her own caption:
Anthony Stewart Head, who played Rupert Giles, spoke to reporters in England about what had happened. Anthony Head had no idea that it was going on, and he feels "gutted" upon learning of it now.
"I've been up most of the night just running through my memories, thinking, 'What did I miss? Because, and this is not a man saying: 'I didn't see it, so it didn't happen.' I am gutted, seriously gutted, because one of my memories, my fondest memory [from Buffy] is the fact it was so empowering. Not just in the words in the script, but the family feel of the show. I am really sad that if people went through these experiences â I was sort of like a father figure â I would hope that someone would come to me and say, 'I'm struggling, I've just had a horrible conversation.' Admittedly, the first post by Charisma was when she was working on Angel, and I was long gone. But there are other posts subsequently that are making me think, 'How on earth did I not know this was going on?'"
The news has sent shockwaves throughout Buffyverse. We all knew Joss Whedon had a reputation for being a bit of a dick to people, but I had no fucking idea it was this bad.
I have been a Buffy and Angel superfan since Buffy debuted in 1997. I was a teenager, and I was inspired by the show's female empowerment message. I was enamored with the show. I even wrote fan fiction about the show for years. I was that big of a fan (I even gave Faith a spin-off series). To hear what some of my favorite actors and actresses went through with Joss, it seriously shatters my soul. Joss, you are a piece of shit. You are a gutless, racist, misogynistic, abusive coward. Shame on you! As for Amber, Ray, Charisma, and everyone else, my heart is with you. Sending a lifetime supply of hugs to all of you!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |