Buffy actress Charisma Carpenter accuses Avengers director Joss Whedon of firing her over pregnancy
- Carpenter, who played Cordelia, is the latest actress to publicly accuse the director of abusing his power
- She says she is coming forward in support of Justice League actor Ray Fisher, who was recently fired from The Flash
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel alum Charisma Carpenter is the latest actress to publicly accuse director Joss Whedon of abusing his power, among other allegations, and she is standing with fired Justice League actor Ray Fisher.
Carpenter, 50, who played high-school mean girl turned ally Cordelia Chase in Whedon’s two Warner Bros. television series, detailed her alleged experiences in a Twitter thread on Wednesday. She said that “Joss was the vampire” and accused him of retaliatory behaviour and firing her from the Buffy spin-off Angel after she became pregnant.
“Joss Whedon abused his power on numerous occasions while working together on the sets of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel,” she wrote.
“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.”
The actress said she was coming forward now – after years of holding her tongue and making excuses for Whedon – to show her support for “Justice League” star Fisher, who last summer accused Whedon of “gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable” behaviour on the set of the 2017 film that he took over from director Zack Snyder.