Michelle Trachtenberg Praises Sarah Michelle Gellar Supporting ‘Buffy’ Alum Amid Joss Whedon Allegations

Actor Michelle Trachtenberg has joined Sarah Michelle Gellar in support of their former “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” castmember Charisma Carpenter after she came forward and accused the series creator Joss Whedon of abusing his power while working on the show.

On Wednesday, Carpenter, 50, shared a post on Twitter detailing her experience working with Whedon. Carpenter accused the director of various forms of abuse, including threatening to fire her and calling her “fat” while she was pregnant, USA Today reported.

Shortly after the post, Gellar, who played the lead character Buffy, shared a post on Instagram in support of Carpenter.

“While I am proud to have my name associated with Buffy Summers, I don’t want to forever be associated with the name Joss Whedon,” she posted.

“I am more focused on raising my family and surviving a pandemic currently. But I stand with all survivors of abuse and am proud of them for speaking out,” Gellar added.

Trachtenberg, who played Buffy’s sister Dawn Summer, praised Geller for speaking up.

“Thank you @sarahmgellar for saying this. I am brave enough now as a 35-year-old woman…. To repost this. Because. This must. Be known. As a teenager. With his not appropriate behavior,” she wrote.

Trachtenberg added, “You. Are my rock!! What he did was very bad. But we win. By surviving!”

Carpenter claimed Whedon’s behavior affected her mentally and emotionally.

“Joss Whedon abused his power on numerous occasions while working on the sets of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and ‘Angel.’ While he found his misconduct amusing, it only served to intensify my performance anxiety, disempower me, and alienate me from my peers,” Carpenter wrote.

“The disturbing incidents triggered a chronic physical condition from which I still suffer. It is with a beating, heavy heart that I say I coped in isolation and, at times, destructively,” she added.

Carpenter went on to claim Whedon had a habit of abusing his power. “Joss has a history of being casually cruel. He has created hostile and toxic work environments since his early career. I know because I experienced it first-hand. Repeatedly,” she wrote.

This isn’t the first time Whedon has come under fire for inappropriate behavior at work. The first reports of abuse came in 2017 from Whedon’s ex-wife Kai Cole, who wrote a scathing essay on The Wrap about their 16-year marriage.

The two divorced in 2016, and Cole said she left the marriage a “confused, frightened mess” and was diagnosed with Complex PTSD.

Prior to Carpenter’s allegations, WarnerMedia launched an internal investigation in 2020 after actor Ray Fisher accused Whedon of “gross, abusive, unprofessional” behavior on the set of “Justice League.”