Actress Charisma Carpenter has spoken out against Joss Whedon – whom she worked with on Buffy The Vampire Slayer – in support of Justice League star Ray Fisher.
The actress, who portrayed Cordelia Chase in both Buffy and its spinoff series Angel, took to Twitter to accuse the series creator of creating a “toxic work environments since his early career.”
Charisma claimed to have experienced the fallout from said toxic environment “first-hand, repeatedly,” as she accused Joss Whedon of “abusing his power on numerous occasions.”
“Joss has a history of being casually cruel,” Carpenter said. “While he found his misconduct amusing, it only served to intensify my performance anxiety, disempower me, and alienate me from my peers.”
She said that the “disturbing incidents” caused a “chronic physical condition” that she still lives with to this day.
Charisma went on to list examples of alleged abuse, including “passive-aggressive threats” to sack her from production, being “mean and disparaging” about others, maligning her over her pregnancy, and “pitting people” against one another on-set.
Have a read of the full two-part message below:
My truth. #IStandWithRayFisher pic.twitter.com/eNjYcJ6zwP
— charisma carpenter (@AllCharisma) February 10, 2021
My truth. #IStandWithRayFisher pic.twitter.com/eNjYcJ6zwP
— charisma carpenter (@AllCharisma) February 10, 2021
Carpenter’s tweets were sparked by allegations about Joss Whedon on the set of the Justice League and the subsequent actions towards Ray Fisher.
Last month, Warner Media completed an investigation into Whedon’s on-set behaviour.
The investigation was prompted by actor Ray Fisher’s allegations last July that Whedon’s “on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable.”
Following Warner Media’s investigation, they said that “remedial action” was taken. Carpenter said she participated in the investigation and considers “Ray to be a person of integrity who is telling the truth.” She said his firing from The Flash was “the last straw” for her.
“My hope now, about finally coming forward about these experiences is to create space for the healing of others who I know have experienced similar serialised abuses of power,” she said.
