From the outside, it would appear that Charisma Carpenter was one of the most cherished stars in Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer universe. Her character, the snarky, but ultimately soulful Cordelia Chase, was one of a few chosen to anchor the supernatural dramedy’s spin-off series, Angel. But based on how Cordelia went from co-lead on Angel to a footnote in its final seasons, fans have often wondered whether something went sour behind the scenes. 

In the wake of mounting testimonials, including from Justice League stars Ray Fisher and Gal Gadot, Carpenter took to social media Wednesday to speak out about her experience on two Whedon shows. 

Carpenter writes on Twitter: “For nearly two decades, I have held my tongue and even made excuses for certain events that traumatize me to this day. Joss Whedon abused his power on numerous occasions while working together 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. 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.” 

Carpenter has previously said that her experience on Angel was difficult, coming in the wake of her surviving an attack by a serial rapist in her early 20s. In 2013, she described that time in her life to Metro: “I’d go to work at 4 a.m. and would have to leave my house to get to my car in the middle of the night. I’d have to talk myself down from the panic that would set in that came from thinking someone would attack me.”

Amid that stress, in 2002, Carpenter became pregnant with her son. After that, her role on Angel changed dramatically. In 2009, Carpenter told fans at the DragonCon convention that she viewed her pregnancy as a source of conflict with Whedon: 

What happened was that my relationship with Joss became strained. We all go through our stuff in general [behind the scenes], and I was going through my stuff, and then I became pregnant. And I guess in his mind, he had a different way of seeing the [fourth] season go. I think Joss was, honestly, mad. I think he was mad at me and I say that in a loving way, which is — it’s a very complicated dynamic working for somebody for so many years, and expectations, and also being on a show for eight years, you gotta live your life. And sometimes living your life gets in the way of maybe the creator’s vision for the future. And that becomes conflict, and that was my experience.

In 2003, when Michael Ausiello queried Whedon about sidelining Carpenter and removing her from the cast list—saying that it was “an odd thing to do” to the show’s leading lady—Whedon responded: “That’s a fluctuating concept, the leading lady thing. And it is a little odd. Some choices are ultimately kind of controversial about who stays and who goes and who we focus on. But obviously, we had to have her out of a bunch of episodes toward the end of the year because she was having a baby…so what we had [leading] up to it wasn’t a dynamic I wanted to play out that much.”

In her Twitter statement Wednesday, Carpenter enumerates what she described as “hostile” and “casually cruel” encounters with Whedon: “Like his ongoing, passive-aggressive threats to fire me, which wreaks havoc on a young actor’s self-esteem. And callously calling me ‘fat’ to colleagues when I was 4 months pregnant, weighing 126 lbs. He was mean and biting, disparaging about others openly, and often played favorites, pitting people against one another to compete and vie for his attention and approval.” 

Carpenter goes on to describe a closed-door meeting with Whedon in which he allegedly asked her if she was going to “keep” her baby. “He proceeded to attack my character, mock my religious beliefs, accuse me of sabotaging the show, and then unceremoniously fired me the following season once I gave birth,” she writes. 

Carpenter credits therapy as well as the Time’s Up movement for helping her understand the “complexities” of her experience working with Whedon. She goes on to say that she participated in WarnerMedia’s investigation into Whedon’s behavior on the set of Justice League and that she stands by Fisher’s account. Her long silence, she says, was born out of fear of professional reprisal: “It has taken me so long to muster the courage to make this statement publicly. The gravity of it is not lost on me. As a single mother whose family’s livelihood is dependent on my craft, I’m scared.” 

After Carpenter released her statement, her Buffy costar Amber Benson tweeted in support of Carpenter, and also alleged that the series had been made amid a toxic work environment.

Series star Sarah Michelle Gellar weighed in with her support. 

Michelle Trachtenberg, who was 15 years-old when she first appeared as Buffy's kid sister Dawn, re-posted Gellar's post with the following caption: “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....very. Not. Appropriate.”

Here are Carpenter’s words, in full. Whedon has not yet responded to a request for comment.

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