Joss Whedon has been keeping a low profile lately. The once-feted writer and director’s reputation has taken a severe beating from allegations from his ex-wife about infidelity, complaints from the cast about his behavior on Justice League, and worrying reports from the set of 90s classic Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
All this has come to a head in an extensive exposé on Vulture entitled ‘The Undoing of Joss Whedon’. This interviews Whedon and many people that have worked with him and reveals yet more reports of frankly kinda disgusting behavior.
A “high-level member of the Buffy production team” remembers Whedon having sexual affairs with two young actresses on the show, and at one point they came into her office and began making out on the floor behind her, resulting in her quitting her job. She said:
“They would bang into my chair. How can you concentrate? It was gross. … These actions proved he had no respect for me and my work.”
The article confirms that there was indeed an informal rule to keep Whedon away from Michelle Trachtenberg. This was after a private meeting between Whedon and the then 17-year-old Trachtenberg left her “shaken”, with the crew deciding that from then on Whedon was not to be left alone with her under any circumstances.
Other interviewees report comments about their weight, a toxic creative atmosphere, and no tolerance for disagreeing with him.
Whedon himself doesn’t come across well in his responses, particularly in relation the sexual misconduct:
“He quickly added that he had felt he “had” to sleep with them, that he was “powerless” to resist. I laughed. “I’m not actually joking,” he said. He had been surrounded by beautiful young women — the sort of women who had ignored him when he was younger — and he feared if he didn’t have sex with them, he would “always regret it.”
The article concludes with Whedon reflecting “I think I’m one of the nicer showrunners that’s ever been”, indicating he’s engaged in precisely zero reflection or understanding of the misery he’s caused his casts, his co-workers, and the legions of Buffy fans who once put him on a pedestal. Let’s hope he stays in the “where are they now” file.
