Published 10:32 11 Feb 2021 GMT
Joss Whedon has been accused of abuse and bullying on set by Charisma Carpenter who played Cordelia Chase on his hit show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Taking to Twitter, Carpenter, who played the character for three seasons and later on its spin-off Angel, says that Whedon, creator of the show, was cruel and hostile.
The 50-year-old actress claims that he had called her fat when she was pregnant and accused her of "sabotaging the show", only to kill her character off once she'd had the baby.
Carpenter also explained that she chose to speak out now in solidarity with actor Ray Fisher who last summer accused Whedon, 56, of "abusive" and "completely unacceptable" behavior on the set of Justice League back in 2017.
Carpenter alleges that the "disturbing incidents" she experienced with Whedon triggered a chronic physical condition that she still suffers from 20 years on.
She wrote: "For nearly two decades, I have held my tongue and even made excuses for certain events that traumatize me to this day. 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 behaviour 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.
"Like his ongoing, passive-aggressive threats to fire me, which wreaks havoc on a young actor’s self-esteem. And callously calling me 'fat' to colleagues when I was four months pregnant, weighing 126 lbs. He was mean and biting, disparaging about others openly, and often played favorites, pitting people against one another to compete and vie for his attention and approval.
After learning of her pregnancy, Carpenter claims 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."
Carpenter said Whedon was a "vampire" who sucked the "promise and joy" out of her new motherhood.
She added: "Only recently, after years of therapy and a wake-up call from the Time’s Up movement, do I understand the complexities of this demoralized thinking.
"It is impossible to understand the psyche without enduring the abuse. Our society and industry vilify the victims and glorify the abusers for their accomplishments. The onus is on the abused with an expectation to accept and adapt to be employable. No accountability on the transgressor who sails on unscathed. Unrepentant. Remorseless."
VT has contacted Whedon for comment.
