Spike Actor Details Buffy Toxic Workplace Accusations Against Joss Whedon
Buffy the Vampire Slayer star, James Marsters, discusses his awareness of Joss Whedon’s workplace abuse and his own experiences with Whedon.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer star, James Marsters, has revealed whether he was aware of Joss Whedon’s abusive behavior and the toxic work environment he fostered on set. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was an American drama series created by Joss Whedon that ran for 7 seasons from 1997–2003. The series followed Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) as she fulfills her destiny of being the next Slayer, who fights against vampires and other dark forces. The show received positive critical reception and spurned a spin-off series, Angel, that ran for 5 seasons.
In February of 2021, Charisma Carpenter, who portrayed Cordelia Chase in Buffy and Angel, came forward with allegations of Joss Whedon’s abuse. The actress’ statement included disturbing details of Whedon’s cruel, verbally abusive, and vindictive behavior towards her. Many Buffy and Angel stars spoke out in support of Carpenter and agreed that Whedon has created a toxic environment with his abuse, choosing favorites, and pitting individuals against one another. The allegations came shortly after Ray Fisher accused of Whedon of abuse on the set of Justice League, sparking an investigation by WarnerMedia.
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In an interview with Inside of You, Marsters spoke to Michael Rosenbaum about his awareness and his own experiences of Whedon’s abuse. Marsters did not offer a stance on whether the Buffy environment was abusive, admitting that everyone has a different opinion. However, he did discuss his own experiences with Whedon, including a particular incident where Whedon pushed Marsters up against a wall and yelled at him repeatedly that he was dead, regardless of his popularity. Check out Marsters’ interview below:
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Marsters doesn’t know for sure what was going through Whedon’s head during the incident he had with him, but he did indicate Whedon was not joking during it. While Marsters didn’t explicitly accuse him of abuse, he painted a strong picture of Whedon’s unprofessionalism and intensity. Marsters went on to describe Whedon’s extremely high standards and the pressure he put himself under, leading many to fear pissing him off or him snapping. Meanwhile, Marsters’ incident bears similarity to how Whedon threatened Gal Gadot’s career if she didn’t comply with his Justice League instructions. In both cases, Marsters’ and Gadot’s characters were not matching up to what Whedon had envisioned for them, thus, he had to find other ways to reinforce his control and power.
Overall, Marsters’ interview offers a deeper insight into Whedon’s abuse and how it was perceived by others. Marsters seemed unclear on whether he thought Whedon was abusive, or if he was simply a man who had too high of standards for himself. This might explain why Whedon’s Buffy abuse complaints were never officially relayed to the studio, despite numerous cast members agreeing that the environment was toxic. Whedon utilized his power and his high standards as an excuse to mistreat others and to keep them silent. The portrait that Marsters painted is one of a man who thought his skill and creations gave him the power to do as he pleased to others. Fortunately, Whedon’s reputation has been hit hard by the numerous allegations, and as further Buffy the Vampire Slayer abuse comes to light, his chances at subjecting more individuals to his cruelty are less likely.
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Source: Inside Of You
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Originally published at https://screenrant.com on September 23, 2021.
