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Joss Whedon’s recent profile in New York Magazine’s Vulture has rehashed the controversies the famed director has been facing the past few years. Whedon was known and well respected for his work writing and directing shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, and movies like Marvel’s The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron. It all came crashing after actors and staff he had worked with came forward with stories of abuse and mistreatment they dealt with while working on his sets. This is the first time he speaks out in regards to those allegations. Whedon was once venerated for creating characters that were seemingly feminist on the surface at a time when men dominated the action and sci-fi worlds. For so long, fans viewed him as a feminist ally—but over the years, the people who worked with him and his ex-wife, Kai Cole, told a different story.
Last year, Justice League star Ray Fisher came forward with accusations against the director saying he created a toxic work environment on set calling Whedon’s treatment of the cast and crew “gross, abusive, unprofessional.” Buffy and Angel actress Charisma Carpenter followed, detailing her experience enduring mental and emotional abuse from Whedon. Since then, other actors, writers, and crew members, including Gal Gadot and Michelle Trachtenberg, have opened up about what it was like working with the director. The director attempted to give his side of the story in the New York mag piece, but it seemingly backfired after he downplayed some of the accusations and negative interactions people claimed to have had with him and offered no apology. Whedon’s history of reportedly body-shaming, making threats, and bullying have cast a shadow on his contributions and has shifted the way some people look at his previous work. Here’s everything you need to know about the allegations against Whedon, and everything that has happened since.
Ex-wife Kai Cole speaks out about Whedon
Date: August 2017
Kai Cole wrote a guest blog for The Wrap titled “Joss Whedon Is a ‘Hypocrite Preaching Feminist Ideals” in August 2017. She opened up about the “secret affairs” he had on the Buffy set, and she said he told her about other affairs he had with some of his actresses, co-workers, fans, and friends after the hit show ended. Cole, who separated from Whedon in 2012, said her ex used feminism to cover up his infidelities. “He always had a lot of female friends, but he told me it was because his mother raised him as a feminist, so he just liked women better,” she wrote. Cole said he once wrote to her saying: “When I was running Buffy, I was surrounded by beautiful, needy, aggressive young women. It felt like I had a disease, like something from a Greek myth. Suddenly I am a powerful producer and the world is laid out at my feet and I can’t touch it.” Whedon’s representative responded to the blog post at the time and said it “includes inaccuracies and misrepresentations.” The director didn’t respond at the time “out of concern for his children and out of respect for his ex-wife.”
He reacted to the piece during his Vulture interview. “I was made a target by my ex-wife, and people exploited that cynically,” he said. “She put out a letter saying some bad things I’d done and saying some untrue things about me, but I had done the bad things and so people knew I was gettable.” He also spoke about his on-set Buffy affairs. “I feel fucking terrible about them,” he said, adding that “it messes up the power dynamic.” He also said he felt he “had” to sleep with the women because he felt too “powerless” to resist. He claimed that he would have “always [regretted] it” if he passed on the opportunity of sleeping with beautiful women.
Whedon had a questionable portrayal of women in his projects
His portrayal of women, making them appear strong and fearless, helped him gain the approval and respect of many fans at the start of his career—but it all changed 20 years later. Over the years, he also faced some criticism for the way his characters were made to suffer and go through incredible tragedies, like assault, in order to come out “stronger.” Then the details of what was happening behind the scenes on these shows soon surfaced, tarnishing his image as an ally to women. The premise of his 2009 show Dollhouse starring Eliza Dushku raised some eyebrows. The show was about a secret facility called the Dollhouse, in which women who are known as “actives” have their personalities erased so that they can be assigned to cater to the desires of wealthy and powerful people. After each assignment, the actives’ memories were erased again so they had no recollection of what they were forced to do. The show was canceled after two seasons. Dushku also shared a lengthy statement on Instagram in 2021 praising Carpenter for sharing her story.
Whedon was also criticized in 2015 for Black Widow’s storyline in Avengers: Age of Ultron, with some saying it was misogynistic. Whedon deleted his Twitter soon after that. In an interview with BuzzFeed, he denied that he left the social media app due to the criticism and said he had been “attacked by militant feminists” since he joined Twitter so it didn’t bother him. “Every breed of feminism is attacking every other breed… because god forbid they should all band together and actually fight for the cause.” In June 2017, a 2006 Wonder Woman script he wrote was leaked and people ripped him apart for his shallow interpretation of the superhero. Whedon responded telling Variety, “I don’t know which parts people didn’t like, but I went and reread the script after I heard there was a backlash. I think it’s great.”
Ray Fisher speaks out against Whedon
Date: July 2020
Actor Ray Fisher played Cyborg in Justice League and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. He opened up about witnessing Whedon’s abusive behavior toward the cast and crew on the Justice League set after he took over directing duties when Zack Snyder left the project after losing his daughter to suicide. “Joss Wheadon’s [sic] on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable,” Fisher wrote at the time. “He was enabled, in many ways, by Geoff Johns and Jon Berg. Accountability > Entertainment.” Fisher announced in January 2021 that he would not be returning as Cyborg in The Flash. He also took aim at DC Films president Walter Hamada, saying he is “the most dangerous kind of enabler” and that he would not work with him again.
Fisher spoke to Forbes in October 2020, sharing his experience with Whedon during the Justice League reshoots, saying that “race was just one of the issues with the reshoot process,” which he said included getting rid of Cyborg’s backstory and digitally lightening Fisher’s skin tone. He added: “There were massive blow-ups, threats, coercion, taunting, unsafe work conditions, belittling, and gaslighting like you wouldn’t believe.” Fisher also claimed that Whedon criticized Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins when Gal Gadot spoke out against changes made to her character.
Whedon told Vulture that he cut Cyborg’s story in the film because it “logically made no sense” and said he brightened everything in post-production, not just the actor’s skin. He called the actor’s claims “a malevolent force,” adding, “We’re talking about a bad actor in both senses.” Fisher responded to the article on Twitter, “Looks like Joss Whedon got to direct an endgame after all.” He followed it by writing: “Rather than address all of the lies and buffoonery today—I will be celebrating the legacy of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Tomorrow the work continues. #MLKDay A>E.”
James Marsters claimed the director got physical with him
Date: July 2020
Several stars that Whedon worked with at the start of his career on those shows came forward in support of Fisher and shared their own experiences with the director. James Marsters, who played the beloved vampire Spike on Buffy, said that Whedon once backed him into a wall, and was seemingly upset because of how popular the actor’s character had become among fans. Marsters appeared on the Inside of You podcast with Michael Rosenbaum in July 2020 to tell the story. “I came along, and I wasn’t designed to be a romantic character, but then the audience reacted that way to it,” he said. “And I remember he backed me up against a wall one day, and he was just like, ‘I don’t care how popular you are, kid, you’re dead. You hear me? Dead. Dead!’ And I was just like, ‘Uh, you know, it’s your football, man. OK.’” He said the director never apologized.
Sophia Crawford worked as Gellar’s stunt double on Buffy for the first four seasons. Crawford told Metro in 2020 that she had been in a relationship with stunt coordinator Josh Pruitt. She said Whedon gave her an ultimatum to either end it or leave the series, so she walked away. Pruitt said the director told them: “No one will ever hire you again after this.” Buffy costume designer Cynthia Bergstrom shared a story that she says took place while filming the show, where Whedon and Gellar didn’t agree on a costume her character should wear. “Sarah was adamant about it being a certain way,” Bergstrom told Vulture. “The costume she wanted was a bit grandma-ish—a pleated skirt and high neck. He definitely wanted it to be sexier.” Whedon got frustrated after Gellar still wanted to try different options, and allegedly took his frustration out on the costume designer. “I was like, ‘Joss, let’s just get her dressed.’ He grabbed my arm and dug in his fingers until his fingernails imprinted the skin and I said, ‘You’re hurting me.’” He refuted those claims to the publication, saying: “I don’t believe that. I know I would get angry, but I was never physical with people.”
Charisma Carpenter speaks out about Whedon’s cruel treatment
Date: February 2021
Charisma Carpenter, who starred in both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off series Angel, gave detailed accounts of times she felt he had mistreated her, including being body shamed and treated poorly while she was pregnant. In February 2021, Carpenter tweeted a statement saying that he had been “casually cruel” to her, making “ongoing, passive-aggressive threats” to fire her and calling her “fat” in front of co-workers four months into her pregnancy. She also said that when she was pregnant, Whedon asked her if she was going to “keep it,” and that he “manipulatively weaponized” her womanhood and faith against her. She added: “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.”
The ‘Buffy’ cast and crew continued to speak out
Date: February 2021
Carpenter’s Buffy co-stars began publicly supporting her, including Sarah Michelle Gellar, who played the titular role in Buffy. “While I am proud to have my name associated with Buffy Summers, I don’t want to be forever associated with the name Joss Whedon,” Gellar wrote in a statement on Instagram in February 2021. “I am more focused on raising my family and surviving a pandemic currently, so I will not be making any further statements at this time. But I stand with all survivors of abuse and am proud of them for speaking out.”
Amber Benson, who played Tara Maclay on the show, agreed with Carpenter, writing: “Buffy was a toxic environment and it starts at the top. @AllCharisma is speaking truth and I support her 100%. There was a lot of damage done during that time and many of us are still processing it twenty plus years later.” Firefly writer Jose Molina supported their claims, tweeting, “‘Casually cruel’ is a perfect way of describing Joss. He thought being mean was funny. Making female writers cry during a notes session was especially hysterical. He actually liked to boast about the time he made one writer cry twice in one meeting.” Carpenter’s Angel co-star David Boreanaz also expressed his support for Carpenter, tweeting: “I am here for you to listen and support you. Proud of your strength.”
Michelle Trachtenberg said his behavior was “not appropriate”
Date: February 2021
Michelle Trachtenberg, who played Buffy’s little sister Dawn Summers, reshared Gellar’s text post on Instagram the same day. She added her own experience, saying Whedon wasn’t allowed to be in a room with her alone while they were shooting the show. “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,” the actress, who was 14 when she joined the cast, wrote. “As a teenager. With his not appropriate behavior….very. Not. Appropriate. So now. People know. What Joss. Did. The last. Comment I will make on this. Was. There was a rule. Saying. He’s not allowed in a room alone with Michelle again.”
Someone who worked on the Buffy set confirmed to Vulture that there was a rule like that in place but said Whedon may have not been aware of it. According to the article, the rule started when Trachtenberg was 16 and they were working on the seventh season. Whedon reportedly called her into his office for a meeting and closed the door. They didn’t share what happened during the meeting, said they recalled that the actress was “shaken,” and that an adult in Trachtenberg’s team created the rule after the meeting.
Gal Gadot opened up about her interactions with Whedon
Date: May 2021
The Hollywood Reporter published a story from a source that said Whedon threatened Gal Gadot’s career behind the scenes while they were working on the 2017’s Justice League reshoots. According to the source, Whedon pushed Gadot to record lines she didn’t like, even after she stated they were inconsistent with her Wonder Woman character. Gadot confirmed the report in May 2021. “What I had with Joss basically is that he kind of threatened my career and said if I did something, he would make my career miserable. I handled it on the spot,” Gadot said in an interview with Israeli outlet N12, according to a translation in THR.
The actress opened up about the situation again when speaking to Elle for their “Women in Hollywood” issue in November 2021. She said she was “shocked” by how the director spoke to her on set, and that she “was shaking trees as soon as it happened,” and Warner Bros. quickly took action. “I must say that the heads of Warner Bros., they took care of it,” she said, adding, “Going back to the sense of righteousness that I have… you’re dizzy because you can’t believe this was just said to you. And if he says it to me, then obviously he says it to many other people.” Whedon denied that he threatened Gadot’s career, saying he jokingly told her that if she wanted to get rid of a scene in the film, she would have to “tie him to a railroad track and do it over his dead body.”
“Then I was told that I had said something about her dead body and tying her to the railroad track,” he told Vulture. “I don’t threaten people. Who does that? English is not her first language, and I tend to be annoyingly flowery in my speech.” She did not agree, saying: “I understood perfectly.” Carpenter fired back at Whedon’s reaction on Twitter with a text post defending Gadot.
The lengthy ‘New York’ profile dropped in early 2022
Date: January 2022
After remaining silent following most of the allegations, Whedon’s sit-down interview with Vulture seemed to be his attempt at clearing his name. Instead, judging by fans’ and his former colleagues’ reactions, the interview backfired and brought attention back to the allegations. “I’m terrified of every word that comes out of my mouth,” he said during the interview, and reportedly excused himself to go to the restroom whenever a question made him uncomfortable. That fear wasn’t enough for him to withhold certain information and thoughts that landed him in hot water once again, with Fisher, Carpenter, and Gadot all sharing their reactions. The profile also highlighted his upbringing as a child growing up on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, gave insight into his peculiar relationship with his activist and feminist mother, and revealed that the director checked into an addiction treatment facility in Florida for a month and that he has been in therapy for the last few years.