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Eliza Dushku told her in support Buffy the Vampire Slayer co-star, Charisma Carpenter, following Carpenter’s allegations that Buffy actor Joss Whedon subjected her to “inappropriate and cruel behavior on set.” Dushku, who played as Faith on Buffy as well as the spin-off, Angel, wrote on Instagram, “CC, my heart hurts for you and I’m so sorry you kept it up for so long. Your message was powerful, painful and painted a picture we will never see or deny together. Dushku continues: ‘I often think of the saying:’ we are as sick as our secrets. ‘Our secrets indeed make and keep us sick. ”
Dushku said that what she ‘personally found most valuable’ is that ‘deep healing can only come from naming and revealing what really happened, the essential first step (once someone is ready) to free ourselves from our secrets, untold truths we have kept isolated, ashamed and held hostage. She further says that the failure and abuse of systems does not point to the “power / gender / sexual / racial abuse” in the entertainment industry, and thanks Carpenter for her courage. ‘It begins and will end because of courageous truth-tellers like you. I admire, respect and love you, ”concludes Dushku.
Carpenter posted a lengthy statement on Instagram on February 10, claiming that Whedon frequently “mean and biting, openly disrespected and often favoring others and putting people against each other to compete and fight for his attention and approval” on the set of Buffy. Carpenter’s statement was in support of Ray Fisher, who accused Whedon of racist and abusive behavior on the set of Justice League last July. Carpenter also outlined specific abuse she endured during her pregnancy, remembering that Whedon ‘asked me if I would’ keep it ‘and manipulate my womanhood and faith against me. He attacked my character, mocked my religious beliefs, accused me of sabotaging the show, and ceremoniously fired me the next season without stopping once I gave birth. ‘
Dushku is the latest Buffy star to come out in support of Carpenter. Amber Benson tweeted Wednesday that ‘Buffy was a toxic environment and it’s starting up.’ Sarah Michelle Gellar also expressed support for her fellow stars and posted in a statement on Instagram: “Although I’m proud that my name is linked to Buffy Summers, I do not want to be associated with the name Joss Whedon forever.” Gellar did not specifically confirm whether she had experienced Whedon’s emotional abuse, but wrote: ‘I stand with all survivors of abuse and am proud that they are speaking out.’ Michelle Trachtenberg posted Gellar’s statement with the caption: ‘I am now brave enough as a 35-year-old woman to post it again. Because it has to. Be familiar. As a teenager. With his inappropriate behavior. Very. Not. Appropriate. Whedon has not yet responded to the demands.