Buffy the vampire hunter was the star of all the pajama parties I had as a teenager. We chose a season and stayed up all night, watching the whole thing straight. We have cloudy and exhausted eyes when the sun rises, but sleep is not at stake. Watching Buffy it was a ritual, a night of worship for our favorite demon killer cheerleader. We could mention the best moments and endlessly debate the usual fandom controversies, although we always seemed to land on “Spike or Angel?”
Buffy and her Scooby gang were an important part of the formative years of many women of a certain age. We all know why. Buffy broke the noise of 90s teen soap operas with a powerful hero who inverted the script about what women could do on the screen. “Feminist” is what critics call it continuously. And it sure looked that way, and it certainly did back then, but every time I watch him again as an adult, the cracks become clearer.
It seemed easier to ignore the problems when we were just obsessed teenagers. For example, as the characters in the series are always punished for having sex. Or Spike’s rape attempt. Or the total lack of any color characters. Or how the show kicked off a “bury your gays” in Tara and Willow. It was also easier to ignore rumors about the show’s creator, Joss Whedon, because he was long considered a geek demigod and a feminist hero.
However, it has been clear for years that something may have happened between Charisma Carpenter, who played Cordelia in both Buffy and Angeland Whedon, who created both series. In season 4 of Angel, things got weird. Despite being a beloved character, Cordelia went into a coma and disappeared from the program. There were rumors on fansites and forums of a feud with Whedon, related to her pregnancy. That Whedon was supposedly furious about it and took it out on her. In 2009, Carpenter spoke about his relationship with Whedon at a convention.
“What happened was that my relationship with Joss became tense. We all examine our things in general [behind the scenes], and I was going through my stuff, and then I got pregnant. And I think in his mind, he had a different way of seeing the [fourth] season to go, ”she said at the time.
“I think Joss was, honestly, crazy. I think he was mad at me and I say it in a loving way, which is – it’s a very complicated dynamic to work for someone for so many years, and expectations, and also to be on a program for eight years, you have to live your life . And sometimes living your life can hinder the creator’s vision of the future. And it becomes conflict, and that was my experience. “
Then, yesterday in an Instagram post, she wrote that Whedon “abused his power on several occasions” and created a “hostile and toxic work environment”. She said she held her tongue for almost two decades about how Whedon threatened, manipulated and harassed her during her pregnancy.
Shortly after, she Buffy costars sent messages of support. Sarah Michelle Gellar, who played Buffy, posted on Instagram: “Although I’m proud to have my name associated with Buffy Summers, I don’t want to be forever associated with the name Joss Whedon.” Michelle Trachtenberg, who played Buffy’s sister, Dawn, responded to Gellar’s post, mentioning Whedon’s “inappropriate behavior” and said, “We know what he did. Behind. O. Scenes. “
Amber Benson, who played Tara, said on Twitter that “Buffy was a toxic environment”. Meanwhile, messages of support from the men who starred in Buffy and Angel remain annoyingly absent.
Whedon did not respond to a BuzzFeed News request for comment.
This controversy comes in the wake of the statements made by actor Ray Fisher in July that Whedon was “rude, abusive, unprofessional and completely unacceptable” on the set of 2017 Justice League. Whedon did not comment on the allegations, but DC Films issued a statement denying them.
Also in 2017, Whedon’s ex-wife, Kai Cole, wrote an essay calling on him for having a long history of maintaining a shield of performative feminism while hiding cases with co-workers. (A spokesman for Whedon said at the time that the play included “inaccuracies and misrepresentations.”)
With all that to say, women making claims about Whedon’s behavior are nothing new. It is the same story whenever any Hollywood man is accused of abuse. We knew, people say. There were whispers or, more realistically, cries for help that were simply ignored or dismissed. Hollywood is not great at keeping these secrets, because they were never secrets to begin with.
Yes, there was a change. #MeToo changed things, although I don’t fear the way we expected. It is remarkable that Carpenter’s story is now being taken seriously, at least in the press. There has been wall-to-wall coverage, and I’m happy to see that. But if the information is not new, will it be treated differently now?
Maybe I’m just cynical, but I have a reason to be. Earlier this month, Evan Rachel Wood publicly stated that her ex-fiance Marilyn Manson had abused her. Manson has denied his claims, saying they are “horrible distortions of reality”. Shortly afterwards, Manson’s label, Loma Vista, abandoned him.
“In light of the disturbing allegations of Evan Rachel Wood and other women naming Marilyn Manson as her attacker, Loma Vista will no longer promote her current album, with immediate effect. Due to these worrying developments, we have also decided not to work with Marilyn Manson on any future projects, ”said the label in a statement, according to Rolling Stone.
But why now? Wood testified in 2019 about domestic violence, and the details of his words pointed to Manson, even though she did not mention him. This begs the question: what is the limit for when allegations that have not been criminally proven become sufficient to expel someone from an industry? Is it all about optics?
We begin to overcome the idea that a criminal conviction is needed to stop working with someone. The allegations, even if they cannot be proved, add up in such a way that it is just a bad appearance to do nothing. See Armie Hammer, who was recently removed from several projects, as well as by his publicist and his WME agency, after allegations about his ill-treatment of women circulated online. He denied the charges, calling them “vicious and spurious online attacks”.
There is clearly a difference between the allegations against Whedon and Manson, but I think the entertainment industry is playing the same game. Executives are just trying to figure out when they will be forced to stop pretending that everything is normal. If anything changed in the #MeToo era, it is that allegations of abuse or mistreatment are less likely to be considered feuds, rumors or false accusations for advertising. This is a step forward, undeniably, but the real reckoning will not happen until there are lasting consequences. In cases where there is no easy criminal case to open, abusive men may lose some of their work here and there, but in the end they will be fine. They have their money, their waste and the protection of executives who have always been willing to ignore their bad behavior. They will get more work. They always do.
Buffy was created by Whedon, but it wasn’t just him. The writers, fans and actors made the show what it is. The character Buffy was special to me and so many others because she saved the world, even when it sucked, because someone had to do it.
And if Buffy were a Hollywood executive, rather than a teenager with super strength, she wouldn’t tolerate that shit. ●