Anthony Head responded to allegations of toxic behavior against Buffy the Vampire Slayer chief Joss Whedon.
This week, Charisma Carpenter and Amber Benson claimed that Whedon – who faces similar charges of Justice League cast members – created a hostile work environment on the show.
Speaking for This morning presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield from their home in Bath today (February 11), Head, who played Giles on the show for six years, revealed that he had no idea of the charges at the time and feels “destroyed” to learn of them now.
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“I was awake most of the night just going over my memories, thinking, ‘What did I miss?'”, He said. “Because, and this is not a man saying, ‘I didn’t see it, so it didn’t happen’.
“I’m gutted, seriously gutted, because one of my memories, my best memory [from Buffy] is the fact that it was so powerful. Not just in the words of the script, but in the familiar feeling of the show. “
Head continued: “I am very sad that if people went through these experiences – I was a kind of father figure – I hope someone would come up to me and say, ‘I am fighting, I just had a terrible conversation’.
“Admittedly, Charisma’s first post was when she was working on Angel, and I was too far away. But there are other subsequent posts that make me think, ‘How the hell did I not know this was happening?’ “
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Related: Buffy boss Joss Whedon leaves the HBO series The Nevers due to “exhaustion”
Carpenter, who played Cordelia Chase in Buffy, wrote that she performed following Justice League actor Ray Fisher’s own accusations of misconduct against Whedon in the Justice League set, writing: “For almost two decades, I held my tongue and even made excuses for certain events that traumatize me today.”
Among the claims that Carpenter makes in his open letter is that Whedon ridiculed her because of her pregnancy weight and once questioned her in a private meeting about whether she would terminate the pregnancy.
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Carpenter’s co-star Michelle Trachtenberg also wrote on Instagram that Whedon showed “inappropriate behavior” with her, while Amber Benson, who played Tara, also claimed a toxic environment on the show, writing: “@AllCharisma is telling the truth and I support you 100%. A lot of damage was done during that time and many of us are still suing it more than twenty years later.
Buffy star Sarah Michelle Gellar added that although she is “proud to have [her] name associated with Buffy Summers ”, she does not“ want to be associated with Joss Whedon forever ”.
“I am with all the survivors of abuse and I am proud of them for speaking out,” she added.
Digital Spy contacted Whedon representatives to comment on the allegations.
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