Joss Whedon accused of abusing Buffy the Vampire Slayer star while she was pregnant: ‘I felt powerless and alone’

Carpenter worked with Whedon on set of the hit series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel

Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Charisma Carpenter has accused Joss Whedon of “harassment” and creating “hostile and toxic work environments”.

Carpenter – who portrayed Cordelia Chase in Buffy and its spin-off series Angel – spoke out on Twitter in a series of posts, captioned: “My truth. #IStandWithRayFisher.”

Her comments come months after Ray Fisher – who worked with Whedon on Justice League – accused the director of “gross and “abusive” behaviour on set. 

In her Twitter posts, Carpenter recalled that she experienced “certain events that traumatise me to this day”. 

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“Joss Whedon abused his power on numerous occasions while working together on the sets of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel,” she wrote. “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 went on to allege that “Joss has a history of being casually cruel”. She claimed that he “has created hostile and toxic work environments since his early career”, adding that she knows “because I experienced it first-hand. Repeatedly”. 

The 50-year-old accused Whedon of making “ongoing, passive-aggressive threats to fire me” and recalled The Avengers director “callously calling me ‘fat’ to colleagues when I was 4 months pregnant, weighing 126 lbs [57kg]”. 

RELATED: Justice League actor Ray Fisher accused Joss Whedon of 'abusive' and 'gross' behaviour on set

Carpenter alleged that when Whedon had learnt she was pregnant, he had asked whether she was “‘going to keep it’”. 

“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 wrote.

Season four of Angel, which aired in 2003, saw her character Cordelia written off after she ended up in a coma. Carpenter did not return to the show.

(20th Century Fox Television/Kobal/Shutterstock)

She added that Whedon was “mean and biting”, claiming that he “often played favourites” in a manipulative manner. 

The Expendables actor wrote that Whedon had also organised a “sit-down meeting” in order to “interrogate and berate me regarding a rosary tattoo” she had gotten.

“At six months pregnant, I was asked to report to work at 1.00 AM after my doctor recommended shortening my work hours,” said Carpenter, who added that she began to experience contractions as a result of the stress. 

Joss Whedon (Getty Images)

Carpenter opened up about why she had not spoken out about the situation until now, stating that she felt “powerless and alone” as well as aware that she “had a baby on the way and I was the primary breadwinner of my growing family”. 

“Unfortunately, all this was happening during one of the most wonderful time in new motherhood,” she wrote. “All that promise and joy sucked right out. And Joss was the vampire”. 

Carpenter also revealed that she had participated in WarnerMedia’s recent Justice League investigation into Fisher’s allegations against Whedon on set of the 2017 blockbuster. 

“[Fisher’s] firing as Cyborg in The Flash was the last straw for me,” said the actor. 

It was announced last month that Fisher had been removed from his role as Victor Stone on the superhero series. 

The Independent has contacted Whedon’s representative for comment.