CHARISMA CARPENTER: STRESS OF ADDRESSING THE TOXIC WORKPLACE ON BUFFY

[@undead9999]

Charisma aged like fine wine. She was good looking in Angel and Buffy, now she's pure class. Love her

[@diplamatikjuan3595]

The finest of fine wines.

[@BlayzeCiddy]

i was just sitting here thinking that and here it is the first comment. Ive been watching dexter original sin and SMG has clearly aged. i mean, its not bad or anything, its natural, but charisma definitely aged far better. jesus she looks only slightly older than she did in the early 00s. good for her

[@Courfeyracc]

As someone who grew up on Buffy (then Angel too) watching it week to week I support Charisma 100%. Something always felt off about what happened with Cordelia's storyline and what she said clears all that up.

[@WilliamPitcher]

Especially what James Marsters added about him joining as Spike -- also on this podcast series.

[@LeahLaushway]

I was a young woman during the Cordy pregnancy arc and it was pretty clear to me why her character suddenly went from being one of the most compelling in the show to one who was basically "fridged". I wish I was wrong about my suspicions, but it seems I wasn't. It's a shame, because Whedon was sold as a feminist, but it turns out that he was actually a petty, opportunistic POS.

[@FallingGalaxy]

Yeah I wasn't ever comfortable with how her story line played out even before I knew anything also.

[@jimbowlan5804]

Supposedly jw wasn’t allowed to be alone with Michelle tractenberg so

[@demonhoopa]

Damn I don’t really remember her

[@BookshelfQBattler]

Buffy and Angel were two shows where lightning was caught in a bottle. We may never see their like again.

[@TamaraKane]

Yep. And we almost had something great with The Nevers, but Charisma's revenge put a stop to that. I get that the comments about her pregnancy were frustrating, but man. The response has seemed disproportionately punitive to a lot of people. Not just Joss.

[@diplamatikjuan3595]

and now their watch has ended

[@frnknstndrgqn]

as a person who has been a fan of Joss whedon almost my whole life, finding this out was heartbreaking. Appreciate your courage speaking out against what he did. Joss wouldn't have been nearly as successful as he got without the amazing talented actors of his shows. I'm sorry you had to suffer in silence for as long as you did. You deserved so much better and Cordelia deserved so much better.

[@jimbowlan5804]

I liked whedons shows but when I found out he wrote alien resurrection that was a black mark on him the justice league and the stuff that came out from that strike 2 and the stuff coming out on Buffy stuff strike 3 I say freak joss whedon

[@BruceCruce]

Yeah buffy was my favorite series growing up, i really hated to find this out about him

[@rileyk5228]

His JL stuff. That WW script he wrote. The shit about him his ex revealed. His holier than thou arrogance from first hand encounters from others... I've not liked him as a person for well over a decade

[@donaldduck830]

The wild accusations are in fact heartbreaking... and unbelievable. There are a bunch of actors and actresses who keep on working with Whedon, gladly signing onto new projects or just cameoing. What do they say? How can it be that like 90% of actresses keep on working for this "evil, evil guy"?

[@bean9619]

@@donaldduck830 Narcissists are well known for setting up the Golden Child/Scapegoat dynamic. It's the ultimate high for power hungry dicks.

[@royalcityman]

Her appearance on Angel in the 5th season was one of my most favorite episodes of all time across all shows!! She was a real shining star of that episode.

[@coupleofbeers31]

Still beautiful as ever. Loved her on Buffy, one of the funniest characters on there.

[@pedrogil5596]

She is genuine and so humble how describe her work toxic situation. I applaud her and support her. Heartbreaking.

[@garretthenry9108]

Having grown up like many of us on Buffy and then Angel. This was so frustrating and heartbreaking to hear. To know the actors and actresses went through hell to create one of the forms of media that helped me as I navigated the treacherous hellmouth of High School (with Buffy) and then maturing into adult life in the dark big city (Angel). It's mad, mad unfortunate to hear where the actual demons were this whole time. Charisma (Cordelia) deserve so much better then what they got during that time.

[@donaldduck830]

What hell? How bad could it have been, seeing that almost all the others rejoined Whedon for other projects gladly?

[@TamaraKane]

​@@donaldduck830agreed. I still don't know what happened to her. She was on every season of Angel and most of Buffy.

[@maryphilp1114]

It shouldn't be you that felt bad saying anything it should have been Joss, he should be ashamed of himself. I think you were so brave Charisma. 💖💖💖

[@sayitwithhellhounds]

Whedon should sue her. There was no substance to any of her allegations.

[@kurtsnyder4752]

@@sayitwithhellhounds Read somewhere that some crew wittnessed that stuff.

[@teehlfx5238]

I think it took Ray and Charisma speaking out together for people to actually pay attention to how harmful and toxic Joss Whedon is. Thank you to both of them for their courage.

[@jimbowlan5804]

Supposedly he wasn’t allowed to be alone with Michelle tractenberg on buffy

[@rolandofgilead43]

@@jimbowlan5804 i'm a fan of his work and i have been since shit Buffy and if you really want to go back i even enjoy the (1992) film which is a comedy and if you know that ahead of time you will enjoy it more than if you expect it to be the same as the show. having said that though i enjoy his work and respect his work it really breaks my heart that here is a guy who has such strong women characters such as Buffy or Cordy for example. i may love his work but i didn't say i love the man the fact that he is like this at all and has a history is fucked up beyond belief. i respect the hell out of Ray and Charisma as well for speaking out about him. i was surprised as well that people from buffy and angel who worked both in front of the camera and if i'm not mistaken behind the camera as well. if i recall his wife Debra? i think her name was? who he was married to for years he if my memory is right cheated on her for years. so right there shows he doesn't respect women it's hard to believe that his fucking father or grandfather i forget which was a writer on one of the greatest tv shows of all time The Dick Van Dyke Show ( 1961-1966) i think he once said his grandfather was a writer in the 50's and 60's and his father was a writer in the 70's and 80's. so it's in the family blood so to speak. one wonders what they think of his actions? if they are even still around i mean.

[@mnomadvfx]

@@rolandofgilead43 "it's hard to believe that his fucking father or grandfather i forget which was a writer on one of the greatest tv shows of all time The Dick Van Dyke Show ( 1961-1966)" Sounds like you are mixing up professional skill with personal character. One has nothing to do with the other - you can be an incredible artist yet still be the worst kind of cunt that humanity has to offer. Often they go hand in hand because success allows you to get away with a multitude of sins as it is always in somebody elses interest to keep you successful.

[@rolandofgilead43]

@@mnomadvfx sad but true I love Bill cosby his comedy album he is a comic genius but as a person well, Phillips spector another genius but a murderer go figure

[@donaldduck830]

You know, he is so harmful and toxic that like 90% of the actors and ACTRESSES who have worked with him in the past love to work with him again. How many Whedon projects were Summer Glau and Eliza Dushku (who sued CBS for misbehavior and got a settlement, so she is no shy wallflower!) and Fillion and others doing with him?

[@michaelquaid4679]

Goodness man. One of the greatest series ever. I just recently been re-watching it 20 years later. I feel so bad thinking she had a bad time through much of it. Just an absolute shame.

[@TamaraKane]

Did she, though? The only season that was altered was the last season. She was written into a bed because they had to make last minute changes when she informed Joss late that she was pregnant and could no longer work nights and weekends.

[@diplamatikjuan3595]

One of the greatest series ever? Which one?

[@TheAngelFolly]

​@@TamaraKane If you read her statement, it's clear there were problematic/toxic times on both Buffy and Angel. Doesn't mean her bad time was just limited to Season 4. Also: "Joss intentionally refused multiple calls form my agents making it impossible to connect with him to tell him the news that I was pregnant. Finally, once Joss was apprised of the situation, he requested a meeting with me. In that closed-door meeting, he 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 the following season once I gave birth." Don't know how you could read this paragraph of her statement and think that she's to blame for the storyline and her being written off when Joss is the one who refused calls and retaliated against her for being pregnant by writing one of the worst character assassinations in TV. Production is able to shoot around pregnancies in creative ways, using body doubles, camera framing, etc. It's a supernatural series so there were ways to get around it or find a new way to tell a good story going into season 4. Whedon instead decided to ruin an otherwise brilliantly written character out of spite.

[@TamaraKane]

@@diplamatikjuan3595 Buffy and Angel. They're still great, in fact.

[@TamaraKane]

@TheAngelFolly David Greenwalt, co-head writer of Buffy, said at Hellmouthcon that Charisma's accusations of...what? Not returning phonecalls? Were BS. He said he knows her well and that she has made these claims about every show she has ever been on. She is known for twisting things out of context, too. Joss didn't weaponize anything against her. She got a giant cross tattoo on her arm that had to be covered daily by makeup artists because in the show's lore, that would have been harmful to the vampire detective, Angel. He asked if she was going forward with her pregnancy out of respect for her choice, and because over 200 people would be impacted by last minute script changes, longterm story arc rewrites to accomodate a pregnant woman and provide extra safety around stunts on a show with fight choreography in every episode, costume changes, scheduling changes, and writing flexible roles in case she needed to suddenly miss a day or days. She has said that Joss was frustrated with her because she was frequently late to set. She said she couldn't work nights and weekends anymore, on a nighttime vampire show, yet they still wrote her pregnancy into the show over multiple episodes and had her back the following season, made her a goddess, and had her save the main character's life in what was truly a beautiful and heroic ending for her character. It just wasn't the ending she preferred for herself where Cordelia would have gotten a sitcom and ended up with Angel. Angel, who would have turned evil if he had a moment of true happiness. She didn't understand or care about the show's lore. It was her way or the highway. She also had numerous chances to tell Marti Noxin or David Greenwalt that she was pregnant, to be courteous to staff, cast, and crew. Even though Joss was away working on Firefly, she kept that info a secret, demanding to tell him first, which was more diva behavior and inconvenienced and shocked a lot of people. She was inconsiderate. Now she blames a man who did nothing to her.

[@rosejones2932]

Man she comes off as so intelligent. And classy. Just classy. And nah, Charisma you didn't alienate this part of the fandom. :)

[@SnowWhiteTheU2]

You’re so precious and sweet

[@wonderwalledit]

I agree 👌

[@TamaraKane]

She comes across as surprised that this went over well. I'm surprised, too. Not that people are supporting a woman who was pregnant, but that people were so willing to blacklist a guy without the full story. She didn't want to work nights and weekends anymore. They had to cancel the epic villain arc they had written for her because it was supposedly physically demanding. Hard to rewrite around a pregnancy and reduces hours at the last minute.

[@robertmcelwaine7024]

Cordelia was a great character in both Buffy and Angel Her gradual transition from spoiled, bitchy high school princess to the heroic, kind hearted person she became was handled brilliantly Next to Wesley her character shift was the most interesting

[@DiedrichKnickerbocker1783]

What she was trying to say was that she didn't want her pain or and embarrassment to be entertainment for others.

[@TamaraKane]

That doesn't make sense. Her pain? How was she harmed? I still don't know.

[@LEVIAHAN]

She still looks incredible

[@jakelover1731]

She's had minimal aging in these past twenty years. Remarkable. She's freaking fifty years old!

[@eolsunder]

well that's been her whole life so hopefully she's great at keeping up her looks and body. She's been the sexy girl on her shows, it's not like she was going to do any serious acting.

[@agahnim0196]

Well, she looked like she was 32 in Buffy, and she still looks 32 now that she's 50...

[@Covingtonao]

@@jakelover1731 Thats good for a white girl

[@jeanetteking434]

@@Covingtonao she’s part Native American.

[@andrealee8561]

She looks great I've always thought she was beautiful Her n James on a episode of Supernatural , one of my favorite episodes.

[@zulemazahir666]

I have a tattoo based from the show and I've been a huge fan since a child. As disappointed as I was, real life experiences and/or trauma is much more important. Charisma seems like such an intelligent and strong person, I truly wish her the best.

[@TamaraKane]

I wish her the best, too, and I love her, but I don't know how Joss Whedon traumatized her. She was written into a bed for one season of television when she said she couldn't work nights or weekends anymore because of her pregnancy and doctor's orders.

[@fluphybunny930]

Loved her in Buffy. Played the part great. Funny and endearing and deserved better. Such a shame that she went through all that crap on set :(

[@TamaraKane]

What did she go through?

[@girlonfire2.076]

Angel was my favorite show an I was so mad at what they did to Cordelia, the show was ruined for me an when she left I didn't watch it but then to find out later JW ruined the show because of his personal issues.. disgusting

[@binkyfaith]

Exactly I love Cordelia and Angel and they ruined it🤬

[@wonderwalledit]

@@binkyfaith Ikr 😢

[@TamaraKane]

Wait. What did they do to Cordelia? She was in every season of Angel. She did get written into a bed because a pregnant woman can't be put in the danger of doing a physically demanding villain role.

[@diplamatikjuan3595]

I loved angel right up until the ending of the last episode (which I thought was a cheesy copout even back then). I was more disappointed about what happened to Fred than Cordelia - though I did find Illyria pretty captivating. I wonder how the Cordelia character would have progressed if Joss Whedon was a decent human being...

[@BoardsportsGroup]

I remember Charisma DID speak up on her treatment 20 yrs ago. I'm glad she spoke up again. :-)

[@AndorianBlues]

I don't think we were ready to hear it, unfortunately.

[@darnellmajor8895]

@@AndorianBlues I'm confused by a lot of this though........does it means she's actually telling the truth though?

[@rytterl]

@@darnellmajor8895 is she? Are you dumb? Yes it's true.

[@donaldduck830]

Did she? Got any links perhaps?

[@donaldduck830]

@@darnellmajor8895 I am very reluctant to weigh in on "he said - she said" stuff. But in this case there is a pattern: Joss Whedon is so terrible to work with that most people who worked with him... WANT TO WORK WITH HIM AGAIN. Look at Glau and Fillion. Or better yet, Dushku: She sued CBS when she was allegedly mistreated and left a series there, but kept on rejoining Whedon. She does not take crap from anybody but keeps on working with "toxic" Whedon. How toxic can he be, then? As much as I love Charisma, in this case I do NOT believe her and think that she just tries to regain relevancy via metoo, not noticing that it is not 2015 anymore.

[@paulwright1814]

She’s barely aged at all. She looks (to quote Spike) “Smashing”.

[@dexterlacroy4132]

Botox is real-life vampirism

[@kurtsnyder4752]

With that hairstyle, she is channeling Mrs. Maxwell Smart from 1970s. Could play the daughter. Scratch that, make that granddaughter!

[@teehlfx5238]

Sending nothing but support to Charisma Carpenter ❤️

[@thomasknorra2042]

It was a shock to me at the time to see what the writers did to the previously brilliantly written and acted character "Cordelia" in "Angel" season 4 - it was an aberration for me! And then "Cordi" disappeared senselessly from the series! It was a far greater shock for me to learn what was done to Charisma Carpenter by Joss Whedon behind the scenes! Respect and solidarity for Charisma Carpenter! And Whedon, who always cultivated this image of the slightly cracked, but morally upright genius, has turned out to be the biggest - real - Big Bad of his series universe!

[@TamaraKane]

Your timeline is off. The storyline everyone hates happened before her pregnancy. Her pregnancy only impacted the final season and she was written into a bed because she said she couldn't work nights and weekends anymore.

[@whitneyrose9293]

Imagine going through what she did, staying silent for years THEN concerning yourself with not wanting to upset, displease or hurt Buffy fans ⭐✨⭐ Classy, she's one of a kind I love Cordelia Chase - so much character development and growth 💕 "What's your childhood trauma?"

[@donaldduck830]

I respect Ashley Judd (spoke out against Weinstein from the start and got blacklisted for it). I don't respect a person who lost relevancy and now tries to regain the spotlight via wild accusations.

[@radupopescu2370]

@@donaldduck830 exactly! She owes Joss Whedon her fame, but she didn't speak then. No, she took the abuse for the money, but now that is trendy she comes out. Well, also give him the money he made you back. Can't stand hypocrites.

[@TamaraKane]

​@@radupopescu2370yeah, but I don't even know if she took abuse. What abuse was there? This interview was supposed to clarify it, but I have more questions than ever. And she omits a lot. Like how she told the show her doctor said she couldn't work nights or weekends anymore. On a vampire show. It seems like she wanted her role reduced. It's confusing.

[@XMrCuervo]

I really like how you do your interviews😁 they feel so real and honest. You rock man

[@TamaraKane]

I like his interviews, but I wish he would have clarified further that what she was saying didn't amount to assault, or asked her if there's room for forgiveness since she was on every season of Angel.

[@TalanWH]

Charisma looks so good! Like no time has passed

[@ronmiller7248]

I will always consider Charisma one of the most beautiful women in the world (inside and out).

[@lizzien5846]

I’m so proud of her! I support Charisma 100%!!

[@glenngatlen8179]

She's fabulous!!! She needs her own show!!!

[@samtaylor1387]

Buffy is probably my favourite show but i hard to feel sorry for somone who gets paid $30000 for 1 episode of a tv show - i'd happily take a bit of toxicity for a half million paycheck per season.

[@TamaraKane]

Yeah. I don't fully get the upset. Some characters are killed off at any given time on shows, but they're grateful to be there. She was on every season of Angel. This feels like massive entitlement spanning 20+ years. And I say this as someone who loves the woman!

[@zakkxx1]

I’m pretty shocked to hear that there was a bad atmosphere on the Buffy set?? Cordelia was a fun character with an immense growth. If anything I would have thought she loved it there since she got the chance to evolve so much there. I’m really surprised she resents her time there. Come on Joss, really dude!!!!!! Charisma is still so pretty she didn’t age wow

[@craigwilson3532]

David Boreanaz looks great still too. She was great as Cordy

[@TamaraKane]

Yeah. She was great as Cordelia. I'm surprised she was unhappy, too. I'm sure Joss was also surprised by all of this. I still don't know how she was traumatized.

[@johnmainer6617]

It takes courage to speak out. To tell the truth to power, in an industry in which blacklisting has been a very effective weapon, and where you risk your name in your own fan community, and thus your non-screen future income, that is amazing. It is so much easier to keep your head down, your mouth shut, sign an NDA, take your hush money and let the BS continue to eat the next generation.

[@darrellpalmer]

Misleading title. She explicitly says she does not want to talk about it because she said it all in a letter. I wish you could have provided a link to the letter because I have no idea what this is about and I am a huge fan of the Buffy series.

[@ohmythatsweird]

@@bmcharmed I never knew all of that happened . Kind of puts a downer on the show now ... a show which I loved .

[@bmcharmed]

@@ohmythatsweird Both BtVS and AtS have issues and most of those iisues stem from Joss. However, it helps to remember that TV shows are made by large collaborative efforts. There are plenty of good, talented people who helped create the good portions we love. Marti Noxon being a perfect example. Joss only wanted Wllow and Tara as college "experimentation" and didn't want to hire. Amber because he didn't find her skinny "bird-like" (in his words) or attractive enough to get his jollies off on his lesbian fetishistic fantasy despite Amber being the best for the job. Marti fought for Amber to get the job and for Willow/Tara to be treated as respectfully as the other relationships. So a lot of people did a lot of good things with the show. Don't allow Joss to ruin it for you. You can still love the show just be aware that, like almost all media, it has some problematic elements that deserve calling out.

[@ohmythatsweird]

@@bmcharmed Yep of course you are right. I suppose its when you grow up with these shows and have developed such good and strong memories around the show and the time period in your life ,you hate to have it sullied in any way.

[@dogstar75]

@@bmcharmed Although I believe CC, Ray Fisher, James Marsters and the people who supported them and their stories. I believe Michelle Trachtenberg to be full of shit. She made her claim and not one person has confirmed there was any such rule in place. NOT ONE PERSON. No other actors, no crew, no writers, no producers. I agree that Whedon was/is/can be an asshole to work for. There are far too many stories for that not to be true. But until anyone corroborates the story of an 'unwritten rule' that implies Whedon was a sexual threat to underage girls, I'm saying it's bull.

[@cockoffgewgle4993]

@@bmcharmed Lol. Jesus Christ, the victimhood. She was massively unprofessional by getting pregnant without giving notice she was going to do so. Of fucking course it would affect the show. Whedon literally re-wrote the whole show and season to accommodate her and keep her in work. He could have simply killed her off or made her disappear. She wasn't *forced* to do anything. I don't think you know what that word means. Why do women pretend to be fucking infants when it suits them? They should really re-christen the "metoo" movement the "mememememovement". Because it's nothing but narcissism and incredibly rich, privileged women using their victim power to ruin men's lives.

[@scottmcclary594]

Watching through Buffy for the first time and so far she's my favorite character!

[@Emeraldnite-if7vo]

So sad to hear this type of stuff was going on behind the scenes. Makes enjoying the show a little harder and surprising that such a great show was still able to be produced.

[@Onigirli]

@couldn't think of a username I don't know about massively improved, my favourite arc of hers is right after Xander and Willow were outed. I miss that venom and we never really saw it on Angel, ever. An understandable turn after she gets a real sense of duty from the visions and that one time she had an unfiltered take on just how many people in LA are suffering.. but Lilah thoroughly eclipses her IMO

[@philfitnesspt6139]

@@Onigirli he is probably referring to epsiode when she chooses to become half demon instead of normal happy successful life in order to help angel and those that need help a far cry from cordelia of season 1 episode 1 who is really quite mean character esp towards willow. Hence massive improved character almost.to point of being unrecognisable to her original persona

[@bethsemane69930]

@@Onigirli i just rewatched both shows and i totally agree!! joss really wasn’t sure how to write her into the “good guy” character archetype working with angel while also keeping her “meanest bitch in sunnydale” vibe. nobody was as cutting as her in buffy. i loved her character development (up to the infamous point) but sunnydale cordy is underrated.

[@rolandofgilead43]

@@bethsemane69930 if my memory is right the reason she did Angel at all when she was offered it was cause she grew tired of being the bitch like she had been on Buffy and wanted character development on Angel and so Joss gave it to her i can respect him for that. i do agree on what they did with her character what the fuck? i never did like how Angel Ended cause it needed to be 2 hrs long not one hour the same with Buffy but that wasn't Whedon's fault that was the networks they refused to give it to him

[@thomasknorra2042]

I think it speaks well for fans of the "Buffyverse" that when the full toxic extent of Joss Whedon's on-set misconduct became public, they immediately stood in solidarity with the affected actors - especially considering how immense the years of adoration for Whedon had been up to that point.

[@TamaraKane]

Nah. A lot of the fans, while supportive of Charisma, are still supportive of Joss. I don't think he intended her any harm. I don't really know how she was traumatized. Her role in the final season may have been reduced, in part based on her own requests? Other than that, no idea what happened.

[@mrtrent100]

She should have been WONDER WOMAN

[@gerarduspoppel2831]

that would have been really fantastic

[@cnleiva]

Much respect

[@benpugsley3092]

It breaks my heart that STILL she feels like she needs to be careful with what she says, you can tell she’s been so affected and is still scared to speak up for herself even though she already has it just goes to show how disgusting she and so many others have been treated and how it’s affected them

[@TamaraKane]

Does it show that, though? I agree that she probably feels anxiety about this. I don't know that anyone meant her harm, though. We have no evidence of that.

[@stepheninczech]

Holy shit, I didn't realize that was Lex Luthor from smallville all this time. That means he's the Flash too from the Timmverse!

[@Chaka2nd1]

#CharismaCarpenter said she did it for Ray [Fisher] 💗💗💗💗

[@gabelogan5877]

There's not many white women who would put their bank accounts at risk to back up a black man. Charisma Carpenter is to be commended. She would do Cordelia proud.

[@timothy790110]

@@gabelogan5877 are you kidding? they all do in hollywood. its called virtue signaling. if you DONT do it you're screwed.

[@gabelogan5877]

@@timothy790110 Lol. I love you trolls. Keep up the good work.

[@lreyla]

@@timothy790110 If you and traitor party don't bow to Nazi tRump ur screwed

[@darthkek1953]

@@lreyla In Hollywood it's the opposite, you have to be anti-Trump and pro-Pedophiles because the Pedophiles run Hollywood.

[@agent_ninety9]

This breaks my heart because we love Cordelia we love her character and absolutely loved her as part of the show I mean the show was only as good as the actors! Of course, any of us true fans would stand up for her and I hope she knows that. And I feel so bad that she had to go through that she's gorgeous and talented it's just a shame. It seems to be such an epidemic that these things happen in Hollywood all the time. Makes me sad for them.

[@TamaraKane]

What did she go through?

[@robparr2019]

I’m so disappointed that Joss Whedon was horrid to people under his care. So much for his feminism. I loved Buffy and Angel so much. It’s so disappointing. I’m sorry Charisma for what you went through

[@theradgegadgie6352]

By the sound of it, he was a prick to guys, too.

[@JoseRamirez-dv5uo]

U a rick and morty fan? Dan harmon forced sex on the women or they got fired, not to mention the pedophilia, but he runs around “nazis r bad”…. Notice how words and actions r different, i say this, if u say “i support women” guess what ur not doing while u say that? Not supporting women…. My cousin “im the funniest person on earth” well she wasnt being the funniest person on earth while saying that….. do it, dont say u do it, same with lefties…. They talk a lot, and the act different when pushed….. kinda funny…

[@nictheartist]

@@theradgegadgie6352 There were now recent complaints from other jobs he did, weren't there?

[@theradgegadgie6352]

@@nictheartist I have no idea, I'm afraid.

[@Antenox]

He's just a control freak. If you played nice with him, he'd make you feel like part of the in crowd. If you didn't, you were exiled. It's the only way to explain why some people seemed to really get along with him some others had such negative experiences with him.

[@alienlife7754]

It’s hard to watch the show now that we know all the B.S. that went on behind the scenes. If you look now you can see the tension that was on set. Some of the humor and dialogue hit different. But man I will watch anything with Charisma Carpenter in it. So fine.

[@Alaby]

I have been a Buffy fan my whole life. Even before Charisma revealed this, from looking at behind the scenes footage, which was publicly available, I noticed that the cast was not happy. You look at the bloopers, and every time they made a funny mistake, most of the time they would not laugh, they would just seem stressed. This only confirms what a toxic work environment they had to endure. Even though it makes me sad, the truth must come out. Things like this should never be hidden. I will keep being a Buffy fan, and I will keep watching the show, but now I will watch it for the amazing actors, not for the director.

[@talynstarburst2l2l2l]

It’s interesting considering that Firefly and Serenity was the complete opposite as the cast and crew had a ton of fun with their bloopers. Could it be that it was too short lived to become a toxic workplace like Buffy and Angel? Or did the cast and crew (as well as Joss) have more chemistry on set? Now my head just hurts.. 😕

[@Alaby]

@@talynstarburst2l2l2l Its really hard to know unless the actors from those shows speak up. It couldve also been that the actors from those other shows decided not to be affected by Joss, and just stuck together as a team and motivated each other. Or Joss realized finally how destructive his attitude was... and toned it down. But it obviously came back for Avengers.

[@talynstarburst2l2l2l]

@@Alaby one actor did actually spoke up in a tweet responding to a tweet by variety on the recent Joss article “Ray Fisher Accuses Joss Whedon of ‘Abusive, Unprofessional’ Behavior on ‘Justice League’ Set” Alan Tudyk (who plays Wash) quote tweeted: “Wasn’t there, but I have known Joss for 17 years, I honestly can’t even imagine it and I have a pretty good imagination”. Tweet had 63.4K likes including a like by James Gunn. Ray Fisher reacts to it all and goes off on James Gunn for liking it.. Alan deleted the tweet and Gunn apologizes to Fisher for liking it. This was a couple of months ago.. the only time I saw a Firefly actor spoke up.

[@talynstarburst2l2l2l]

@@Alaby Scarlett Johansson had also spoke up in favor of Joss not long ago on the Avenger set.. but I can’t remember the details of it. Most have stayed silent.. probably due to the controversy of it all.

[@TamaraKane]

​@@talynstarburst2l2l2lyeah. And Ray Fisher's claims were debunked, which casts doubt on all of this. He said his skin was lightened by Joss for JL, but it wasn't. The whole movie was lightened because the studio said it was too dark. He was asked to say "Booyah!" but, Joss didn't write that line. When asked what Joss said that was racist, Ray Fisher told the investigators nothing. Maybe he commiserated with Charisma at that convention they met at, and she kind of felt emboldened to write that letter, but his allegations have fallen apart. Hers are vague and about reduced screen time, not assault. If Joss did fire her for being pregnant, that's kind of sh*tty, but he says he didn't, and he usually has integrity according to others. She was in every season of Angel. She did get written into a bed, but I read that she said her doctor said she couldn't work nights or weekends anymore, so what really happened? I'm sorry. I still feel for all of this stress she felt. I just don't know if it was technically "abuse."

[@HoldenNY22]

Where is the letter? Where can I see the letter? I wish there was a link to the letter in the Video.

[@harleyolivia]

Classy AF, love Charisma💜

[@panwall1327]

"Joss Whedon is my God." Yeah, I don't think you have to worry about that anymore, since multiple people in the industry have realized what a shit bag Joss is to his actors.

[@ScottAlanBecker38]

JW is a fraud.

[@TamaraKane]

Yikes. No. He's not a sh*tbag. He's a human being. He's made mistakes, but I still don't know how he abused Charisma Carpenter.

[@panwall1327]

@@TamaraKane He wanted her to get an abortion or he was going to write her off the show. HES A FUCKING SHIT BAG!

[@logtothebase2]

i have had a long career working in engineering /scientific / educational enterprises and have lucked out with management, but there were times when I didn't and spent time in departments or organisations where Managers were horrid, crushing creativity and demoralising people with potential, but maybe not totally crashing their teams, enough of there own intelligence, brilliance even with the own Autocratic bulling to get stuff done. Characters Like Steve Jobs, Teams would figure them out, know what to tell what to hide to get stuff done. But hate work and soon move on, there were a trail of damaged individuals though, stripped of confidence and potential. Ideas and projects on the shelves that would have been superb because managers were looked into their own ideas and unapproachable.

[@suchartboontid2560]

I get the feeling that Joss really doesn't like actors. Too bad he chose this field as his bread and butter. He has insecurities that he needs to work on. I'm still a fan of his work and I believe it's a stressful undertaking to run a show or direct a movie but that's not an excuse for him to treat the actors that way.

[@gfaqndb]

Not all actors.He has favorites. As charisma told in her post, joss likes to pit his favorites from one another. Which reminds me of one of his quotes before, when he said that he got inspired from things happening on the set, specially from the cast and crew's personal lives. So joss creating tensions inside btvs and ats sets (toxic ones) is not far from reality. Christian Kane and David Boreanaz got pissed at joss when their good friend Glenn Quinn was used by joss to "flair up" both of them so joss could get the proper emotions on their fight scene. That was around Ats S5, i think. Joss was also verbally abusive. He yelled at Smg everytime she protested or questioned some things at the script that she felt buffy wont do i.e. sex with Parker when she's not yet over Angel. Or the balcony sex between spike and buffy that made Smg felt she was pushed into the limits as an actress and she didnt like it for buffy's char (even though that scene was Marti Noxon's idea but joss had final approval on every story in his shows. Btw Noxon was rumored to be one of joss's mistress at that time and joss let Marti ran over btvs S6). No doubt joss is an asshole. And his feminist persona is nothing but a facade so he cld have this "nerd to cool guy" image. We can see this in his tropes in his shows: Nerd males sexually awkward and they were the ones being turned from "losers to winners". If not winners, at least guys who dont suffer much bad consequence at all i.e. Xander and Spike. And these two males are the joss's version of "true lover boys". Apparently, these male chars treated their female partners intentionally horrible. And despite that, these two chars still didnt have much bad karmas on their side. For me that's like a reflection of joss's philosphy. As long as you are the favorite, you are under the cloak of invisibility. So as long there are people who still think joss is the "cool guy", he doesnt deserve to be punished. I think, that was in his mindset then, so he had to maintain this "woke bae" and feminist guy attitude so the women he mistreated would still protect him.

[@putinscat1208]

He likes some actors, especially those with vaginas.

[@KiaraWilliamsX]

@@gfaqndb very well said. Copy, paste, and spread the word lol. But I’m glad Sarah felt the same way I did about the sex scenes

[@KiaraWilliamsX]

@@gfaqndb interesting, it ruins it a bit for me because I remember from the first time seeing what was happening to be…repulsive. I thought he was just a lazy, perverted, writer but to know he probably had bad intentions behind it, knowing it would disappoint the majority and soil the legacy makes it that much worse.

[@KiaraWilliamsX]

@@gfaqndb you should share your comment too.

[@Belnick6666]

i think she was almost R once too, she had some bad stuff happened to her so it is good to see how she is now

[@kimberlyjeanne9456]

Yeah. She & some friends were attacked by a guy before she was even on Buffy

[@rolandofgilead43]

@@kimberlyjeanne9456 she's even spoken about that as well

[@TamaraKane]

That I empathize with her for. I don't really get what happened with her and the crew of Angel.

[@bradykirk9932]

I have two questions. When did Lex Luthor start a podcast and why is Cordelia on it? They're from different universes.

[@ghettofigurereviews5056]

Omg Charisma Carpenter still looks as gorgeous as ever😊💜.

[@seanahmed9079]

Man I love her!!!

[@bwcarter921]

Love and respect to her👏🏾❤

[@maximusprime3459]

Charisma has always been my Day One. Still ❤ her.

[@jonlynn1864]

It's a shame what happened to her, but I think she has a great mindset, and is still as beautiful as she was from day one

[@TamaraKane]

What happened to her?

[@Cozetta-e5k]

She didn't really say what happened, though. I was still waiting for her to say. On another note, she was a joy to watch on the show. I always laughed when she would say something real girly about the situation.

[@TamaraKane]

Agreed. I loved her on the show, but she still didn't give details. So many commenters are ready to throw him under the bus, but I still sincerely don't know what he supposedly did. He didn't commit a crime. No assault. No sexual harassment.

[@Cozetta-e5k]

@@TamaraKane Yes! And I think too that it was the harsh nineties when they were making this show so everybody was tough to handle anyone acting like that. And these women were tough to handle him treating them like that because of it, I think.

[@jillfreivalds9950]

I support Charisma Carpenter for letting the abuse she suffered at Joss finally come to light. As someone who was abused on three occasions at the hands of a director (this was the reason why I quit acting) because those were the only occasions he had to do so, I never had the courage to speak up and felt horrible and blamed myself when I heard of things he did decades later to other kids like me and wound up blaming myself and had a nervous breakdown because of his actions. I know it eats away at you until it boils over. After making bad life choices because of my feelings of guilt, I found a therapist who helped me see it wasn’t my fault for his actions.

[@TamaraKane]

I'm so sorry that happened to you. I support Charisma, but was she abused? I mean, her role was reduced. It sounds like there were differences of opinion.

[@maximusprime3459]

I remember having straight up fights in the IMDb comments defending her. None of this is surprising concerning Whedon. The fanbase had really set him up as some kind of genre demigod back then who could do no wrong.

[@ShinRyojin]

Seriously. Dude’s fandom was like a Jonestown cult.

[@Nightdare]

@@ShinRyojin I expect nothing less from over the top ideologists

[@TamaraKane]

It seems like because he had loyal fans, people especially wanted him to suffer and fail. And people hate anyone willing to openly side with women. I still don't know what he did wrong. Zero criminal accusations to date. He says he didn't fire her, didn't call her fat. There are two sides here.

[@thelionsshare6668]

Joss Whedon is STILL a genius, but unfortunately, it's possible to be a genius and a vicious, short-tempered, self-centered jerk at the same time. Is he insecure? Is this how he reacts to pressure? I don't know, but no matter what, that's no excuse for his behavior.

[@annadarko6056]

I think that's kind of the problem. BECAUSE he's brilliant he could be an asshole. All the networks and studios just gave him a pass on everything because he made them money. Nobody ever put him in his place because they feared repercussions.

[@talynstarburst2l2l2l]

A lot of brilliant people are like this unfortunately.. I’m currently rewatching Buffy and I still find it to be the amazing show I saw the first time. Joss seemed to come off as a perfectionist.. like Peter Jackson with LOTR. And there is hardly anything today that can touch these things.. to even think about a Buffy or Firefly reboot without him is just plain silly.

[@TamaraKane]

Joss isn't an *sshole, though. Maybe he's on the spectrum, so he can be single-minded about his art projects, but mean-spirited? There's no way in hell.

[@thelionsshare6668]

@@TamaraKane Yeah, I'm not saying he's mean-spirited. I don't think actors would keep wanting to work with him if that was the case. He spooked some, but obviously James Marsters understood what was going on, even though, technically, Joss assaulted him. He's way too intense sometimes. Of note, his downfall at the MCU was doing WAY too much--directing/writing Avengers: Age of Ultron, overseeing the whole MCU, and producing the Agents of SHIELD series. For an intense guy like that, that was way too much, and sadly, he didn't get to handle the Endgame movies, which were loosely going to be based on his favorite comics books when he was a kid.

[@marcodavinci3150]

Great to know the background on her decision. Great interview!

[@TamaraKane]

I still don't know what happened.

[@amdtexas9383]

It's hard being anybody. Life throws a lot crap at everybody.

[@WesleyWyndam-Pryce]

It's a tragedy what they did to Cordy. She became my favorite by the end and they just ruined her for no good reason.

[@TamaraKane]

That storyline happened before her pregnancy. Not sure what happened. She was on the last season.

[@andrewjolley143]

Charisma is so genuine my all time favourite is cordelia

[@camilladiliberto1256]

Does anyone know where to find the letter? Thanks

[@TamaraKane]

Yeah. I'd like to reread it. I still don't know what happened to her or how it could be considered part of the metoo moment.

[@PalomaNegra873]

I'm so disappointed but Buffy goes beyond Joss. A lot of people worked hard on that show and it meant a lot to us.

[@TamaraKane]

I agree, but I also think Joss shouldn't be separated from his legacy. It's weirdly dehumanizing of a very human person who gave us years of art and entertainment and who still hasn't been accused of a crime. I get Charisma's complaints regarding her pregnancy, but maybe she SHOULD have said something sooner for her own benefit. Instead she waited 20 years and got a brand new show cancelled and hurt not just Joss, but a bunch of actors, artists, designers, and crew of The Nevers, which we were kind of robbed of. I don't think Joss set out to hurt Charisma. He brought her back for the final season. It might not have been what either of them wanted for the character, but life happens. Odd to kind of twist the knife in the wound all these years later. I think he should maybe try another apology and she should forgive him, or she should accept the apology he already gave and move forward.

[@papabear562]

Typos? I always worry about typos too! Kudos Charisma!

[@qweqqweq2090]

jeez, you can call wheddon a racist massagonist all day and all night but the results of his previous shows and movies make it seem more like he wasn't afraid to break a few eggs to make an omelette. I hate bullies but at the same time I can respect people who get things done. the dude got a lot done. I have complicated thoughts about it all.

[@egrintarg230]

Sadism seems to be the one consistent theme in the Buffyverse. Someone who is not a sadist wouldn't have been able to create this show and have it be the way that it was.

[@mavfan1]

That’s just stupid.

[@egrintarg230]

@@mavfan1 Ya got nuthin.

[@thebull3206]

The show is full of sadism, what you talkin' 'bout Willis

[@TamaraKane]

The show is one of the neatest coolest shows ever. Full of compassionate utterly human characters. Love, loss, conflict, growth, diversity, progress. It's beautiful. So many people seem to harbor weird resentments and I don't know if they ever watched the shows. Watch all of them and then tell us Whedon was evil. It's not possible. I loved Cordelia, but Charisma wasn't assaulted by Joss. I don't know if she was abused either. She still didn't say.

[@egrintarg230]

@@TamaraKaneI have seen every episode at least five times. Watch it again and take a look at just how much gore there is. Did you watch it as a child? Your mind probably blocked the traumatic stuff out. Look at the stuff that happened to the characters. Did you see the one where Cordelia got a metal rod thru her gut? Joss liked making people cry and you can see alot of that in his shows. Anyone who writes about vampires would need to be sadistic to do it right. And sadism doesn't necessarily mean evil. Some people believe that suffering gets you closer to God.

[@Lockexul]

I was a huge Buffy fan but tbh I preferred Angel. That being said Angel dropped off precipitously the minute Charisma wasn't on it

[@kzinful]

Consider also the hell that Shelly Duvall went through while filming The Shining. Kubrick wasn't satisfied with what he believed Shelley needed to deliver for the character Wendy so he went full bore toxic on her, and it worked, he got what he wanted and Shelley ended up having a panic attack while filming. Charisma, you were right then as you are now, Joss is toxic. I believe that the others from the show didn't speak out more was the reality that this is Hollywood and Wheldon was a heavy hitter in the industry and speaking up would destroy your career.

[@user-lb9xw4xf2q]

False equivalency. Kubrick and Duvall made peace.

[@TamaraKane]

​@@user-lb9xw4xf2q yes, and it makes no sense that there's no openness to forgiveness in this case. I still don't know what Joss did.

[@bobvogel2412]

Not too many women look this good at 50 years old. She was the ONLY reason I would watch Buffy and Angel. She makes my hair sweat.

[@rainbowsandlove]

You’re a creep, she’s a human being and your hair sweat is not a nice comment to make…

[@MarcosIsABaritone]

@@rainbowsandlove OK. Let's not overreact and name-call.

[@dexterlacroy4132]

@@rainbowsandlove He never said she wasn't human and you are a total snowflake

[@rainbowsandlove]

@@dexterlacroy4132 no, not a snowflake, a respectable person. There’s a difference, incel…

[@dexterlacroy4132]

​@@rainbowsandlove Except you don't qualify as respectable person by calling him a creep simply for expressing his attraction to another person. You know well there are actual creeps out there and because that's serious you shouldn't abuse the term.

[@PaulMcCaffreyfmac]

That first shot of her smiling she is the spit of Carrie Fisher.

[@profesorgonzalezpontiles9070]

charissma carpenter was my teenage criush

[@kateealer7]

Speaking of this stuff, did anyone else ever get a weird vibe about how Joss always looked at Summer Glau from Firefly? I think there was something weird going on there too.

[@audreymcintosh7919]

Charisma, you are so beautiful! Inside and out. I look up to you. - Audrey McIntosh

[@tearsofawaterfall2656]

Was she the woman in the ecuador music video? At like 2:40 or something

[@kurtsnyder4752]

Juliet should know some of that stuff cuz she spent time in the UK while her parents )Barbara Bain and Martin Landau( did Space 1999 and other shows.

[@valkondarvalakev6377]

Glad she spoke about it

[@dancingdan1994]

I felt so sorry for her and what went down on set for her and Joss

[@TamaraKane]

I feel sorry for her, but what happened?

[@dancingdan1994]

@@TamaraKane basixally joss was bullying her and 0ther cast memebers a lot of the time ro the point where she was not comfortable to say she was pregnent untill you basically could tell that she was. Hr was not a nice person to work with apparently

[@StreakyBaconMan]

I can never understand why people think women come forward with this type of allegations for fame or attention. Making allegations like this often leads to the opposite - you become less famous and get less attention because some asshole has put your name on the shit list of Hollywood.

[@helloitisme7430]

You get 15 minutes of fame and can capitalize on it with a book or promotion of work if you are irrelevant, like this actress.

[@StreakyBaconMan]

@@helloitisme7430 She hasn't written any book, or promoted anything since coming out with these allegations... See that's what I don't get, without even looking into this woman or her accusations you're fully ready to believe she is a liar doing it to promote some book and get 15 minutes of fame. Based on literally nothing you believe that. It's pathetic. Next you'll be telling me all 60 women who accused Bill Cosby were lying, writing books and promoting themselves.

[@DIDYOUSEETHAT172]

I greatly enjoy Joss's writing. Buffy, Angle, Firefly and so on. I do support anyone who is abused in any form. What I don't get is why don't people from the same work environment do not compare notes before the big reveals. Spare yourself the stress.

[@TamaraKane]

Agreed, and I still don't know what happened to her that is supposed to be abuse. She was on every season of Angel. I guess he could have written a pregnancy story, or written around it more, but some of his stories were planned for years and maybe it just didn't fit well with the finalé.

[@knessing7681]

Charisma looks practically the same as she was on Angel ... she hasn't aged. Is it possible she could be a vampire ?

[@SpaceCowboy-D]

Great convo between Lex and Cordelia.

[@heehungcat2320]

Hi Charisma, I love you on Buffy and way more on Angel which I think was a better show than Buffy. ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@darrahtilton]

As a Millennial, I feel that I have an obligation to Gen Z to take care of the monsters before they get to them. I think that’s part of our mission as a generation is to cut down some of the old guard. So I really feel that Gen X has a similar mission, and that’s why I respect Charisma so much for her bravery because now that Gen X is older, seen as competent, and established, they hit harder. The moves are bigger. So I don’t know if she realizes it but people really take her seriously. It’s for her strength that it’s on record the kind of man that Joss is, and now young girls who have no one to fight for them now have a better life because they don’t have to live in fear. He’s being held accountable. I think that’s monumental. Also just for the record, I was aware of Joss’s name but I couldn’t have picked him from a lineup. We all watched the show for the talent. That’s what people outside the industry care about. You put that work in girl, now you reap those rewards and if anyone says shit about you, dig your heels in and check those bitches.

[@rolandofgilead43]

when i first watched the show it was cause i thought we had one Hot buffy i was 18 at the time so bear with me. as time went on it wasn't cause of that it was cause of not just the strong characters but the writing as well not just his but all of them some of them ended up on Grey's Anatomy, Lost, Angel, and a shit ton of other shows that i have been fans of for years. i paid attention to the writers i always do though no matter the show

[@TamaraKane]

Hm. I love that a young person wants to stand up for people. That is awesome. However, I don't know what Joss did to Charisma. He says he didn't call her fat, and didn't fire her. She was on every season of his show Angel, and on most of the seasons of Buffy. Many cast members have spoken about his kindness. Something isn't adding up with her.

[@MrSeaborn1]

If she really wanted to she could of REALLY fucked Joss up. One interview and Joss Whedon’s career would’ve been over.

[@ericakaartistformerlyknown1396]

Cordelia Chade was a great characters he changed and became a totally different person from Buffy to angel.

[@mnomadvfx]

That's how spin offs work, you turn side characters from the original IP into interesting plot arcs to form a new series around.

[@ericakaartistformerlyknown1396]

@@mnomadvfx gee thanks for that insight..is that how that works..huh? Learn something new every day I guess

[@TamaraKane]

I hear you, but it's not like it was unique to Cordelia. Joss actually kept her alive more than most characters on the show. He must have cared for her a great deal. He gave her extremely interesting plotlines. He had another for her that needed to be scrapped. A villain arc. Bummer for all involved that reached into the future to wreck more careers. Abysmal.

[@A-Nonnie-Mouse]

I don't know. I was prepared to be on her side, but after digging a bit, it looks like all the complaints against Joss have to do with him expecting the actors to act the role they are given. Ray, who she references here, was upset because he wanted to play his character the way he envisioned...which isn't his perogative. That's the director's decision. Other director/writers have assaulted actors or put them in physically dangerous situations and gotten them hurt. But they don't get the pushback that Joss does. Why? I am betting it's because Joss is Xander. His personality doesn't keep people in line. So he's probably always struggling to stay in charge to see his vision come through.

[@Funkybassuk]

All the fans are with Charisma. ♥️

[@TamaraKane]

Well, I'm with Joss AND Charisma. I just wish they could have worked this out before the Nevers got wrecked by it.

[@michaelsmiley15]

People forget she has ptsd from an attack she suffered before she was on Buffy and admitted in the documentary that she still had not delt with it She is one out of more than a dozen of actors that have worked with How come none of them made any accusations

[@DestinyPifer]

Feel so bad that Charisma was treated so bad. I had wondered why her character went from being in the front of the storylines suddenly got shoved to the back and her character ruined and it was because she dared to get pregnant. It's like "hello" actors have a life outside of their role. She had every right to get pregnant and have a child. Whatever the story is I support her a 100 percent.

[@TamaraKane]

She already got the Connor storyline before she got pregnant. She actually talked about leaving the show at times, too. And other characters got killed off, sometimes at random. She was on every season of Angel. He said he didn't fire her. Does that matter? Really curious.

[@project.jericho]

It's so hard... So damned hard.

[@andrealee8561]

Unfortunately I didn't kno what Joss did or the situation..

[@TamaraKane]

I still don't.

[@andrealee8561]

@@TamaraKane recently I heard rumors of him being a nightmare to work with and treating women poorly on set

[@kiefersutherland7538]

She is so amazing

[@manthony225]

Even people who hate "cancel culture" seem to be ok with Joss Whedon bring canceled.

[@ScottAlanBecker38]

He is a sleaze.

[@ericericson5633]

@@ScottAlanBecker38 That's not a bad thing.

[@TamaraKane]

It's not okay to me. I don't think what he did was severe. He put her on every season of Angel. What am I missing here?

[@CloneShockTrooper]

100 % behind Charisma..

[@loiracitr]

Wow, she still is incredibly beautiful!

[@QuetzalInvictus]

Love you CC

[@nobodyexceptme7794]

He opened this clip w/ the perfect phrase. Men will never know a woman's experience and vice versa. While we can gain insight into each others experience we would be much better off as a society if we understood that the experience between male and female is considerably different. Nothing wrong with that. Just appreciate it when dealing w/ each other.