In the midst of Ray Fisher’s ongoing feud with Warner Bros. over his abuse allegations against Justice League reshoots director Joss Whedon, one star of the filmmaker’s most famous work has shared a damning open letter detailing her own “disturbing” experiences with him. Charisma Carpenter played Cordelia Chase on both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff Angel and now she’s revealed that her time on these productions continues to “traumatize” her to this day.
This Wednesday, Carpenter shared a two-page statement on her social media accounts which paints a seriously troubling picture of her treatment at Whedon’s hands. The actress says that the Avengers filmmaker “abused his power on numerous occasions.” She claims that, though “he found his misconduct amusing, it only served to intensify my performance anxiety, disempower me, and alienate me from my peers.”
— charisma carpenter (@AllCharisma) February 10, 2021
Carpenter recounts Whedon’s shocking behavior during her pregnancy in the early 2000s. After initially ignoring her attempts to let him know of the development, he set up a “closed-door meeting” in which Whedon “asked me if I was “going to keep it” and manipulatively weaponized my womanhood and faith against me.” The actress explains that he accused her of “sabotaging the show” and then “unceremoniously fired” her the following year.
Carpenter revealed that she was emboldened to speak up now in response to Fisher’s own accusations, as well as confirming that she participated in WarnerMedia’s internal investigation into Whedon’s conduct. “I can no longer remain silent,” she concluded. “This is overdue and necessary. It is time.”
Fisher has shared and supported Carpenter’s post on Twitter, too, as you can see below:
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
Fellow Buffy star Amber Benson also corroborated Carpenter’s story, describing the series as having “a toxic environment and it starts at the top.” So far, however, no other Buffyverse leads have commented on the situation.
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
A Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot was announced back in 2018 but has yet to materialize. And given the downturn in Whedon’s reputation since then, it may stay that way.
