Posted in: CW, HBO, streaming, TV | Tagged: angel, bleeding cool, buffy, cable, charisma carpenter, gunn, j. august richards, james marsters, joss whedon, spike, streaming, television, tv

Buffy, Angel Stars James Marsters, J. August Richards Post Support

More members of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel family came out in support of Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia), who went public earlier this week with accusations against Joss Whedon that involve years of unprofessional and abusive behavior. Previously, Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn Summers), Amber Benson (Tara Maclay), Emma Caulfield (Anya), Anthony Head (Rupert Giles), and Eliza Dushku (Faith) had posted their support (with Trachtenberg revising her initial post to include a claim that at one point a rule was put in-place that Whedon couldn't meet with her alone). Now, Angel and Buffy stars James Marsters (Spike) and J. August Richards (Charles Gunn) are also taking to social media to proclaim their support of Carpenter.

In Marsters tweet, the actor expresses that playing the character of Spike was an honor- but time on the set "was not without challenges" before sending his love and support to Carpenter and others. Following that, Richards also sends love Carpenter's way while also revealing that he has been in touch with her since she first posted her claims on social media.

After "nearly two decades" before speaking up, Carpenter claimed in her social media posts, "Joss Whedon abused his power on numerous occasions while working on the sets of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and 'Angel.' While he found his conduct 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." You can read Carpenter's entire statement below, where the actress goes on to offer examples of her allegations as well as revealing that she took part in WarnerMedia's investigation into Fisher's claims.

Here's a look at the Buffy and Angel star's original tweets from earlier today:

On July 1, 2020, Fisher aka Cyborg took to Twitter to accuse Whedon of being abusive on the 2017 set not long after Whedon took over from Zack Snyder (who left the production due to a family tragedy), and that two other executives helped enable Whedon's alleged actions. WarnerMedia opened an investigation into Fisher's allegations, but in early September the company claimed that Fished wasn't cooperating with third-party investigators Fisher denied those claims, while friends co-stars such as Jason Mamoa began publically supporting Fisher and demanding WarnerMedia take action.

Then on November 24, word came down from Whedon that he was stepping away from his upcoming HBO series The Nevers. Whedon cited "the level of commitment required moving forward, combined with the physical challenges of making such a huge show during a global pandemic" as being a major factor in his decision. "This year of unprecedented challenges has impacted my life and perspective in ways I could never have imagined, and while developing and producing the Nevers has been a joyful experience, I realize that the level of commitment required moving forward, combined with the physical challenges of making such a huge show during a global pandemic, is more than I can handle without the work beginning to suffer. 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," Whedon wrote in his own statement. HBO confirmed in a brief statement that it had parted ways with the show's creator, writer, director, executive producer, and showrunner. "We have parted ways with Joss Whedon. We remain excited about the future of The Nevers and look forward to its premiere," wrote the cable network in a statement.

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