Sarah Michelle Gellar Expresses Support For ‘Buffy’ Co-Star Charisma Carpenter After She Accused Joss Whedon Of Misconduct

After Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel actress Charisma Carpenter publicly accused creator Joss Whedon of “abusing his power” and creating a toxic work environment that led to Carpenter being “berated” and fat-shamed for getting pregnant, Sarah Michelle Gellar has offered her support to her Buffy co-star and any others who have come forward with allegations of abuse while working on the show and its spinoff. Via Gellar’s Instagram:

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 and am proud of them for speaking out.

You can see Gellar’s Instagram post below:

Following Carpenter’s statement on Wednesday, other actresses have come forward with accusations against Whedon. Amber Benson, who played Tara on Buffy, tweeted that “Buffy was a toxic environment and it starts at the top” while backing up Carpenter’s allegations.

Clare Kramer, who played the villain Glory in Season 5, also tweeted her support for Carpenter and wrote “a lot of this industry needs a reset.”

On Instagram, Michelle Trachtenberg, who played Buffy’s young sister Dawn, reposted Gellar’s statement and accused Whedon of being inappropriate while Trachtenberg was still a teenager. “I am brave enough now as a 35 year old woman…. To repost this,” Trachtenburg wrote. “Because. This must. Be known. As a teenager. With his not appropriate behavior….very. Not. Appropriate.”

(Via Sarah Michelle Gellar on Instagram)