Charisma Carpenter issued a response to New York magazine’s cover story on Joss Whedon on Tuesday, one day after the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel creator responded to allegations from people who worked with him.
Carpenter, who played Cordelia Chase, on both of the above series went public in February 2020, alleging that Whedon created “hostile and toxic work environments.”
The star also said that Whedon called her “fat” during her pregnancy.
In the aforementioned New York article, Whedon said that he was “not mannerly” but that he “did not call her fat” while working on Angel.
“Most of my experiences with Charisma were delightful and charming. She struggled sometimes with her lines, but nobody could hit a punch line harder than her.”
In a statement released in response, Carpenter said that her “former tyrannical narcissistic boss… is still unable to be accountable and just apologize.”
Carpenter also revealed her support for Justice League’s Ray Fisher who went public with allegations against Whedon.
In the New York article, it was reported that “Whedon’s advocates” strongly believed Fisher going public about his issues with Whedon was a “campaign” that was pro-Zack Snyder.
This event is alleged to have “poisoned Carpenter against Whedon, causing her to see the complicated story of their relationship as a simplistic narrative of abuse.”
Whedon said that nothing Fisher said was true, and that they were the opinions of “a malevolent force. We’re talking about a bad actor in both senses.”
“#IStandWithRayFisher, the ‘malevolent force’ and ‘bad actor in both senses’ who poisoned my feeble mind with trendy buzzwords and corrupt ideas about my experiences with a former tyrannical narcissistic boss who is still unable to be accountable and just apologize,” Carpenter said.
The actress also shared her support for Gal Gadot, who said that Whedon threatened her career.
“I don’t threaten people,” Whedon said in the article, saying that Gadot could have misunderstood what he said.
“English is not her first language, and I tend to be annoyingly flowery in my speech.”
“I believe Gal Gadot not only understands career threats in English, but also in Hebrew and Arabic. Possibly French, Spanish and Italian too.”
Amber Benson, Michelle Trachtenberg, David Boreanaz, and Sarah Michelle Gellar were among the Buffy alum to support Carpenter when the allegations first arose last February.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.