David Boreanaz has responded to claims that writer and showrunner Joss Whedon behaved abusively during the production of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.
The 51-year-old actor, who portrayed the love interest and vampiric detective Angel in the two shows between 1999-2004, took to Twitter on Sunday, February 14, in a gesture of support to his co-star, Charisma Carpenter.
Retweeting Carpenter's official Twitter statement regarding the alleged abuse she suffered during the production of the show, Boreanaz wrote:
"I am here for you to listen and support you. Proud of your strength."
Per The Daily Mail, Carpenter, who portrayed mean girl cheerleader-turned Seer Cordelia Chase on Buffy and Angel respectively, then replied:
"I know you’re there for me, David. I appreciate all you’ve done to demonstrate that support privately as well. Especially since Wednesday ... thank you so much."
The controversy over Whedon's alleged behavior was ignited last week, when Carpenter took to social media to share some of her negative experiences with Whedon, in support of actor Ray Fisher, who also alleged that Whedon abused his power on the set of the 2017 Justice League movie.
Carpenter claimed that Whedon bullied her passive-aggressively, and then fired her when he learned she was pregnant, stating:
"[H]e asked me if I was 'going to keep it,' and manipulatively weaponized my womanhood and faith against me.
"He proceeded to attack my character, mock my religious beliefs, accuse me of sabotaging the show, and then unceremoniously fired me following the season once I gave birth."
"Unfortunately, all this was happening during one of the most wonderful time[s] in new motherhood. All that promise and joy sucked right out. And Joss was the vampire."
A number of Carpenter's other co-stars have also publically voiced their support for her.
For instance, actress Sarah Michelle Gellar, who portrayed the eponymous Buffy Summers, took to her official Instagram account to share a statement with her 3.5 million followers.
In it, Gellar wrote: "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.
"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."
Meanwhile, Michelle Trachtenberg, who played the character of Dawn Summers, later shared Gellar's statement on Instagram, and wrote in a caption of her own:
"Thank you @sarahmgellar for saying this. I am brave enough now as a 35 year old woman....To repost this. Because. This must. Be known. As a teenager. With his not appropriate behavior....very. Not. Appropriate. So now. People know. What Joss. Did. [sic]."
Actress Amber Benson, who played the part of Tara Maclay up until season six, also wrote: "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 [sic]."
VT has reached out to Whedon for comment.