Sarah Michelle Gellar hopes Joss Whedon does not taint Buffy’s legacy

Sarah Michelle Gellar will always be Buffy Summers to many, and while she’s proud of the show and its legacy, she would rather Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s legacy not be tainted by Joss Whedon. Whedon has been under serious scrutiny over the past few years for allegations of on-set harassment and hosting unprofessional workplace environments.

In a recent Hollywood Reporter profile, Sarah Michelle Gellar said, “I’ve come to a good place with it, where it’s easier to talk about…I’ll never tell my full story because I don’t get anything out of it. I’ve said all I’m going to say because nobody wins. Everybody loses.” The profile writer noted that Sarah Michelle Gellar didn’t mention Joss Whedon by name when referring to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Over the years, at least three female Buffy the Vampire Slayer co-stars–Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase), Amber Benson (Tara Maclay), and Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn Summers) all made claims of a toxic work environment. In a show of support, Sarah Michelle Gellar wrote on her 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.”

As of late, many have come to Sarah Michelle Gellar’s defense as it relates to Joss Whedon and the production of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Emma Caulfield (Anya) said, “It was obvious that Sarah lacked the support to be the leader she needed and wanted to be. There was a tremendous amount of resentment and animosity [toward her] from a certain someone — and I suppose now we can all guess who.” At the same time, Seth Green (Oz) recalled extremely long days that went over agreed-upon filming hours, to which Gellar openly spoke out against “when nobody else would stick up for the cast and crew. I saw her get called a bitch, a diva, all these things that she’s not — just because she was taking the mantle of saying and doing the right thing.”

The publicized allegations against Joss Whedon go back to at least 2020, when Justice League’s Ray Fisher called him out by saying his “on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable.” Gal Gadot had her own issues with Joss Whedon while filming Justice League, saying, “He kind of threatened my career and said if I did something, he would make my career miserable and I just took care of it instead.”

What do you think? Can the legacy of Buffy the Vampire Slayer survive without being tied to the allegations against Joss Whedon? Let us know below!