Why Aren’t The Men From ‘Buffy’ Supporting Charisma Carpenter? & More Updates

[shangri__la]

I wrote about the noticeable silence of Charisma Carpenter's male co-starshttps://t.co/85cVJhLWI7
- Patrick Lenton (@PatrickLenton) February 11, 2021
Notes that while Sarah Michelle Gellar, Michelle Trachtenberg, Amber Benson, Clare Kramer, and Emma Caulfield have all publicly supported Charisma Carpenter following her speaking out about Joss Whedon'

Comments

[champagnexdream]

I just finished Ted Lasso so I hate Anthony but I’m glad he isn’t dismissing the claims. Wish he’d outright say he believed them and supported them but I guess this is his way of saying that

[bluesforgotten]

Lol same re: Ted Lasso. I think his guilt at not seeing it seems genuine. I think he seems genuinely sad for what happened.

[fasterpssycat]

To me it reads like he realizes he was in a position of relative power and authority compared to the younger cast and feels genuine guilt for not paying attention and protecting them.

[blanchedavidian]

I'm glad he isn't dismissing it. To me, it definitely seems that Whedon was picking on the week - A teenage actress who wouldn't come party at his house, a newcomer in a supporting role who used to be a cheerleader and was insecure about her skill. Im not sure id he was going to be at his most insidious in front of someone who might stick up for them and by the time Michelle was on the show, I believe Anthony was only on the show part time/as a guest star.

[champagnexdream]

He was definitely a main cast member on Buffy, especially the earlier seasons. IDK about Angel though I never watched, and I never got to Michelle’s episodes on Buffy so IDK how big his role was by then either.

But yeah the rest makes sense, like how Joss wouldn’t go after him probably. Honestly I bet he didn’t go after any of the men. Weak motherfucker

[__onthebound]

100% ASH is a “bad” target for someone like Joss (I don’t know how to phrase this better, I apologise in advance). ASH is an established actor and a MAN. It would be harder to hold sway over him...and he probably respected ASH as a fellow man and wouldn’t do that. Whereas Michelle was a child. CC wasn’t playing the game and was punished.

I appreciated ASH saying he didn’t know and now wonders what he might’ve missed. He seems to understand that as much he wanted to be a surrogate dad to the younger cast (and I’m sure he was) but the culture of shame and silence and fear meant he was in the dark.

I love J. August Richards and Clem standing up.

[champagnexdream]

Yep. And his comments don't come off as blamey or dismissive, but almost regretful, like he almost blames himself for not being in tune with what was going on. He says up front that he isn't dismissing the claims just because he didn't see them happen, and just sounds disappointed that the show wasn't the environment he was led to believe it was. Sucks.

[__onthebound]

It nearly brings me to tears. ASH is a beloved actor and not just because of Buffy. It feels like a huge deal that he is unconditionally supporting them. I understand (and he seems to also) that he didn’t realise and wishes he did.

Just because someone is good to you doesn’t mean they are good to everyone. You cannot know that. Ever. We aren’t in each other’s pocket 24/7. Abusers are charismatic, seemingly great people. Maintaining this façade let’s them keep abusing people.
- consentistt (@consentistt) February 12, 2021

[ladyminya]

The problem is, with an experienced abuser, there's no way you're going to know what's going on even if it's right under your nose. The women very clearly masked their abuse because they felt powerless to stop it as they would lose their jobs or their entire careers. And Whedon would have been smart enough to ensure that he didn't say/do things to draw attention to himself.

This is why when abusive people are exposed, so many people say "I had no idea!". Of course you didn't. They're experts in covering their tracks. :( This way if a victim steps forward people will dismiss them because the abuse is not obvious. There's no way anyone could have known except for the victims themselves. :(

[blorpz]

or just that he was so much older so he probably wasn't playing the same Hollywood networking games

[vibeology_e]

Anthony and Michelle overlapped a full season as main characters in season five and then he appeared for about half of season six and half of season seven while she was a main character both seasons.

[burntxtoashes]

I also think it says a lot re: him going after the newcomers/younger women, and only doing so when the men aren't around.

I remember Elizabeth Hurley saying she didn't have negative experiences with Mark Schwahn when several others from The Royals released a statement, and its like...yeah, no shit. Of course he's not going to harass you when you're older than him and more established.

[boomstick]

From what I understand, he blames himself for not seeing it or doing anything about it at the time.

[champagnexdream]

That's definitely what I get out of it too

[buries]

definitely how i read it, too. he doesn't dismiss her claims. he seems like he's processing that he was there and he never saw it happen, which makes me wonder (and this will sound ignorant), was he the most seasoned actor on the show? i would imagine whedon would want to stay in his good graces and show good face to him.

[boomstick]

Yeah, I'm sure Whedon was a completely different person around him. He's older than Whedon and at the time, had a more impressive resume.

Plus, he was a few decades older than the rest of the actors. Even if they liked him as a person, they probably weren't going to be buddies with him off-set since they wouldn't have much in common. He probably saw himself as a father figure and now feels like he let them all down by not realizing what was going on.