Hollywood vs. Joss Whedon: accusations of cruelty on the sets of 'Buffy' and 'Justice League'

Screenwriter, producer, director. Joss Whedon is a big name in Hollywood. He (co-)created 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and 'The Avengers' - a film that established a new canon in the Marvel universe. But lately, Whedon is falling into an abyss of disrepute, as various actors and actresses accuse him of next-level bullying at work.

Joss Whedon (born in New York in 1964) can boast of a career that has always been on the rise. He started out as a screenwriter on 'Roseanne' and 'Parenthood'. Whedon also wrote the original plot for the first 'Toy Story'. However, 'Buffy, the Vampire Slayer' was his first major total work: Whedon was its creator, screenwriter, producer and director.

Between 1997 and 2003 the show's success was resounding. What few people knew, however, and least of all the fans, was that Joss Whedon turned the set of 'Buffy, the Vampire Slayer' into hell.

"A toxic show." This is how actors and actresses of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' have described the climate that existed during the filming of the series. They also speak of "cruelty" by a despotic Joss Whedon, and of an attitude of brutal misogyny towards one of the actresses.

Charisma Carpenter has been the most explicit in her complaint. She was Cordelia Chase in 'Buffy' and its spin-off 'Angel.' The actress posted a lengthy statement on Twitter saying "Joss was the vampire" who "sucked all the promise and joy" out of her life as a TV star and young mother in 1999.

Charisma Carpenter remembers Joss Whedon acting like a bully on set. She claims that he called her fat when she was pregnant, asked her if she really wanted to have her baby, and fired her after giving birth.

According to Charisma Carpenter, Joss Whedon was upset that the women on his team got pregnant and "proceeded to attack my character, mock my religious beliefs and accuse me of sabotaging the show."

This is the statement Charisma Carpenter posted on Twitter. Or actually, it's only the first few paragraphs of a long tirade in which the actress claims that Joss Whedon "abused his power" and was "casually cruel." She says that "while he found his misconduct amusing, it only served to intensify my performance anxiety, disempower me, and alienate me from my peers."

Sarah Michelle Gellar has joined the allegations of abuse. She made it clear through an Instagram post: "While I'm proud that my name is associated with Buffy Summers, I don't want to be forever associated with the name Joss Whedon."

Sarah Michelle Gellar adds: “I will not make any further statements at the moment. But I am with all the survivors of abuse and proud of those who have spoken.

Actress Amber Benson (Tara in 'Buffy') has also spoken out. She tweeted that the set of the show was a "toxic environment" and that "a lot of damage [was] done during that time." She even claims that "many of us are still processing it twenty plus years later."

Charisma Carpenter released her statement in support of Ray Fisher, who denounced Joss Whedon for having mistreated him during the filming of 'Justice League' (2017), in which the actor played Cyborg.

Ray Fisher accused Joss Whedon of "abusive behaviour", of being "rude" and of "unprofessional" conduct.

Faced with the complaint of their director's denigrating treatment towards actors and actresses of 'Justice League', Warner Bros opened an investigation to determine if Joss Whedon had acted incorrectly. After concluding it, Warner claimed to have responded to the misconduct with "corrective measures." It gave no extra information.

But then there was another accusation. This time from Gal Gadot, who played Wonder Woman in 'Justice League.' The actress says she had a disagreement with Joss Whedon over some script lines and he resolved it by threatening her.

According to Gal Gadot, Whedon suggested that he could destroy her career if she did not follow his orders. "He threatened my career and said that if I did something, he would make my career miserable and destroy it." Then, according to other testimonies, Joss Whedon boasted to having forced the actress to "shut up and read her lines."

Is this the beginning of the end for Joss Whedon? His despotic way of dealing with actors and especially actresses places him in a difficult place for his career to progress. For now, he has left 'The Nevers', the HBO series with Victorian superheroines in which he was participating.

It's interesting to see the way in which Joss Whedon announced his departure as producer of 'The Nevers:' "I am genuinely exhausted, and am stepping back to martial my energy towards my own life which is also at the brink of exciting change."

Ironically, Joss Whedon's work on screen was praised for its contribution to the equality between men and women. 'Buffy,' for example, had a few strong and free female characters.

Now, however, people are revisiting his work with today's knowledge, and some say they find certain parts in it not so feminist after all. For example, they perceive a sinister and macho tone in the portrait of Black Widow, as the female superhero played by Scarlett Johansson seems filled with bitterness. They also feel that a romance was 'invented' for her because she could not remain single.

In any case, HBO will not promote 'The Nevers' with the slogan "from Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy and Avengers." There are too many accusations out there already and no indication that they were the last either.

At the moment, Joss Whedon's career seems on hiatus. He will not step on the red carpet for a while. However, considering his record of film and TV hits and Hollywood's traditional record of forgiveness, it's not unthinkable that we'll see him back again at some point.

Related: bullying on the set of 90210? Jessica Alba says so.