20:42 PST 2/11/2021
in
Lexy Perez
The actress, who played Faith in ‘Buffy’ and her spin-off ‘Angel’, spoke in solidarity with Carpenter after accusing Whedon of “hostile and toxic” behavior on the set: “I’m sorry you kept this up for so long. ”
Eliza Dushku is speaking out in solidarity with Charisma Carpenter after accusing Joss Whedon of “hostile and toxic” behavior while working on successful programs Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.
The actress, who played Faith in Buffy and yours Angel spinoff, shared a statement on Instagram in which he expressed how his “heart hurts” for Carpenter. “I am very sorry that you have kept this up for so long. Your post was powerful, painful and painted a picture that we will never collect or ignore. Thank you. Don’t forget that,” she wrote.
She continued to write: “I often think of the saying,” We are as sick as our secrets. “Our secrets really make us and keep us sick. What I am learning more and more – and personally have found more valuable – is that deep healing only it can come from naming and revealing what really happened, the first necessary step (when someone is ready) to free us from our secrets, countless truths that have kept us isolated, ashamed and hostage. “
Dushku went on to say that “neglecting to ‘name’ the epidemic of power / gender / sexual / racial abuse in the entertainment industry (and in society in general), empowers abusers and only encourages and ultimately strengthens abusive systems.”
She also expressed her hope that Carpenter and “countless other people will feel the solidarity and connection” that “they probably missed for a long time”. “It all starts and will end because of courageous truth tellers like you. I admire, respect and love you.”
Carpenter was a regular on the original series on The WB Network / UPN’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, playing high school student Cordelia Chase. She starred in the first three seasons of the series before her character opposite David Boreanaz in Buffy spin off Angel. She was the female protagonist Angel for four of its five seasons, returning as a guest star in its 100th episode in its final season.
In a long message shared on his social networks on Wednesday, Carpenter wrote about the creator of the program, “Joss Whedon has abused his power on several occasions while working on sets of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel,“she wrote.” The disturbing incidents triggered a chronic physical condition that I still suffer from. It is with a beating and heavy heart that I say that I dealt with in isolation and, sometimes, destructively. “
She also said that Whedon “was mean and scathing, openly disparaging others and used to be a favorite.” The actress also claimed that when Whedon found out she was pregnant, she said, he asked the actress if she “would keep him” and “manipulated my femininity and faith as a weapon against me”.
Buffy former students Sarah Michelle Gellar, Michelle Trachtenberg and Amber Benson also expressed support for Carpenter after his statement.