"I stand with all survivors of abuse, and am proud of them for speaking out."

A number of the stars of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' have come forward in response to allegations of abuse against the show's creator Joss Whedon.

Whedon has been accused of abusing his power on the sets of 'Buffy' and its spin-off 'Angel', having previously been accused of abusive and inappropriate behaviour on the set of DC superhero movie 'Justice League'.

Sarah Michelle Gellar, who led the the 90s-00s supernatural drama, is among those who have spoken out.

She wrote in a statement on Instagram: "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."

She added: "I am more focused on raising a 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."

 

Previously, Charisma Carpenter, who played Cordelia Chase in the series, shared a lengthy statement on Twitter which included the hashtag #IStandWithRayFisher

She said Joss Whedon "abused his power on numerous occasions" both on the set of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and 'Angel'. She wrote that "he found his misconduct amusing" and said she witnessed "disturbing incidents" working with him.

The actress said he called her "fat" to colleagues when she was 4 months pregnant.

She wrote: "He was mean and biting, disparaging about others openly, and often played favourites, pitting people against one another to compete and vie for his attention and approval."

Carpenter said his behaviour "only served to intensify my performance anxiety, disempower me, and alienate me from my peers." She added: "A felt powerless and alone."

You can read it in full below:

 

Another 'Buffy' co-star to voice their support of Carpenter shortly after she posted her statement was Michelle Trachtenberg.

Trachtenberg played Dawn Summers, and she also alluded to Whedon's misconduct.

Resharing Gellar's statement, Trachtenberg added the 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. So now. People know. What Joss. Did."

 

Amber Benson played Tara, Willow's girlfriend, on the series. She was killed off in season 6.

Re-sharing Carpenter's tweet, she also responded on social media. She tweeted: "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. #IStandWithRayFisher #IStandWithCharismaCarpenter"

 

Clare Kramer, who played the villain Glory on Season 5 of 'Buffy,' also spoke out.

She tweeted: "For what it’s worth, I believe and stand with @allcharisma, @ray8fisher, @amber_benson and others who have the strength to come forward with their truth. A lot of this industry needs a reset..... #IStandWithCharismaCarpenter #IStandWithRayFisher"