Sarah Michelle Gellar doesn’t have more to say about Buffy, but Freddie Prinze Jr. sure does
In a new interview, Sarah Michelle Geller stays mum on her time working with Joss Whedon—but her husband has plenty to say about the "bullshit" she endured
Aux News Sarah Michelle Gellar
After taking a lengthy hiatus from the spotlight to focus on raising her family, early-aughts icon Sarah Michelle Gellar is diving back into onscreen roles headfirst. She’ll follow up a recent cameo in Netflix’s Do Revenge—which paid homage to her iconic Cruel Intentions character—with Wolf Pack, a new CW series heralded as a descendant of Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
For Gellar, returning to roles that “speak to the fan base” is key to her next chapter. But even though Gellar feels ready to revisit a role in a show about fighting big bads, she’s not interested in revisiting her experience on the Buffy set—an environment that multiple cast members have since described as taxing, troubling, and abusive thanks to alleged behavior by showrunner Joss Whedon.
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Gellar doesn’t mention Whedon or her experience working with him, but she shares that she’s come to a “good place with it… where it’s easier to talk about.”
Allegations against Whedon arose in 2021 when actor Charisma Carpenter shared a lengthy statement on social media accusing Whedon of emotional abuse on both the BTVS and Angel sets. Multiple c0-stars spoke out in support of Carpenter, and some detailed their own experiences with his alleged behavior. Michelle Trachtenberg, who was under 18 while filming BTVS, stated on social media that there was “a rule” on set that Whedon was “not allowed in a room alone” with her.
In her own statement of support at the time, Gellar kept things short and simple, writing: “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.”
Nearly two years later, Gellar still isn’t interested in any kind of tell-all about Whedon or Buffy. “I’ll never tell my full story because I don’t get anything out of it,” she says. “I’ve said all I’m going to say because nobody wins. Everybody loses.”
Where Gellar chooses to stay silent, her long-time husband and Scooby Doo costar Freddie Prinze Jr. has plenty to say. The actor tells THR that Gellar dealt with “a lot of bullshit on that show for all seven years it was on.”
“The stuff they pressed upon her, without any credit or real salary, while she was often the only one doing 15-hour days … yet she was still able to get the message of that character out every single week and do it with pride and do it professionally,” Prinze says.
Echoing Prinze’s comments, Gellar’s former BTVS costar Emma Caulfield also recalls a set environment where Gellar “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,” Caulfield states.
As she tells it, Gellar’s eyes are now turned toward the future. Working as a producer and star on Wolf Pack, Gellar says she tries to use the smarts and mettle she’s gained after 30-plus years in the business to support her young, up-and-coming co-stars.
“I hope that I’ve set up an infrastructure, a safety net for these actors that I didn’t have,” she says. “My generation just didn’t have that.”
207 Comments
It’s so annoying when seemingly likeable people who you want to like turn out to be 80% douchebag. Joss Whedon is a shining example. Only guy worse is probably Cosby, from a I-admired-him-and-it-bitterly-disappointed-me-when-he-turned-out-to-be-a-serial-rapist standpoint. Serial rapist = 100% douchebag.
I don’t understand why people liked Cosby so much. His comedy albums were good but by the time the ‘80s rolled around he had become a self righteous dick and did not attempt to hide it on his show.
I’m having a hard time reading your response on this site. Is it because my browser default background color is white and this is possibly the whitest set of words you could type?
Lame.
No lamer than pretending it’s weird that one of the most popular comedians and TV creators of all time was well liked.Hindsight being 20/20 doesn’t actually CHANGE the past.
I’m not pretending about that, so it absolutely is lame.“Hindsight being 20/20 doesn’t actually CHANGE the past.”Of course not: The way he acted on the show made it pretty apparent that he was at least a bit of an asshole in real life. Why did so many people entirely ignore that?
A) You’re assuming they did. Prove it.B) Your standard for behavior is not everyone’s standard. “The way he acted on the show” may have been perfectly in line with the way people who liked the show expected others to act. Or have you forgotten that Republicans existed in the 80s? Self-righteous Cosby fits Reagan America pretty comfortably. A topic that gets brought up a fair bit by much smarter critics of Cosby than you’re being.
A: wtf why and how do you expect me to prove that? The alternative is that they watched him because he was a giant asshole, so that might be a thing too.B: And now you’re calling me stupid, that’s awesome.I’m getting the sense that you’re angry at yourself for liking his show back then and are taking it out on me because I’m saying I didn’t.
A: That’s my POINT. You can’t prove that people “ignored” whatever you consider asshole behavior. So why bring it up?B: I didn’t at all call you stupid. What I ACTUALLY said was that there are smarter critics of Cosby than you are being. Because there are. People who take the sociopolitical and historical context of Cosby into account when discussing his popularity and the popularity of his show.I’M getting the sense that you think I’m an apologist of some sort. I’m not. I’m simply stating that there’s no reason to be confused about the popularity of him or his show because *even if* you weren’t *personally* a fan of either his comedy OR his show it’s easy to see why others WERE. And there have been plenty of articles written, interviews aired, and documentaries made with people who offer answers to those questions. If you are still in the dark about that it’s because you have CHOSEN to be in the dark.FWIW, I never watched The Cosby Show. I was mostly into the action-adventure stuff when I was younger like the A-Team or Airwolf or The Incredible Hulk or whatever. When I eventually did get into sitcoms as a teen it was Cheers, Night Court, Married With Children, etc. I did get into A Different World towards the end of its run but that’s because I was in high school by that point and thinking about college.
“FWIW, I never watched The Cosby Show.”You should just started your earlier comment with that and stop writing.
Why? Because I didn’t watch something that millions of others did? I never watched The Cosby Show but I’ve read articles about it from people who did. I watched the Kamau Bell doc and the CBC one whose name escapes me. I got enough context to answer the apparently baffling question of why people liked it.
“FWIW, I never watched The Cosby Show.”Yeah you probably shouldn’t have admitted you’re ignorant about the whole thing if you wanted any credibility here.
That is fucking RICH coming from you. What difference would my watching it make to the question of “Why did other people like this?” OTHER PEOPLE. Again, buddy, the world exists outside of you.And you have the gall to make some pithy remark about reading comprehension.
“What difference would my watching it make to the question of “Why did other people like this?” OTHER PEOPLE.”You literally don’t understand that to me you are other people. You’re just repeating what I’m saying as if you’re making some kind of point, all the while arguing about something you didn’t even watch.
“And you have the gall to make some pithy remark about reading comprehension.”Yes, my remark was concise and expressive, thanks.
Again: You didn’t *ask* “Why did people like this?” You made a statement about your own lack of understanding in response to someone who clearly DID watch it. You can’t say “I don’t understand X” and then repeatedly demonstrate that you didn’t SEEK understanding. I understand why people liked the show because I’ve read articles and interviews and watched docs. I don’t have to have seen it myself to UNDERSTAND (your word) the phenomenon.To bring it back to my initial snark response, at *the very least* it should be clear what impact The Cosby Show had on getting Black voices on TV. Whether that was predicated upon respectability politics or not is beside the point of understanding its popularity.
“You can’t say “I don’t understand X” and then repeatedly demonstrate that you didn’t SEEK understanding”The first response was you calling my post, and I quote “whitest set of words you could type” and then jumping all over my shit in further responses. Take a look at my responses to people who wrote explanations in good faith, and then take a look at the bullshit you’re spewing, and ask yourself how you could have handled this situation in a more civilized manner like those other posters did, rather than responding like a troll.
Yep. Super civilized to say “You were disappointed? Why? He always sucked.” Very good faith questioning someone else’s experience.
To be fair, Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor gave us white kids an excuse to not like Cosby early on.
Oh sorry, maybe you need to re calibrate because the dude is actually, in real life, a self righteous dick and serial rapist. He made no effort to hide the self righteous dickishness on his show.
Race doesn’t come into it at all.
Try making comments that take historical context into account. Nothing you’re saying about him is wrong. But it’s really ignorant to ask why people liked him. And it’s worth asking if part of the reason people liked him WAS that self-righteousness! But it’s not a fucking mystery, my dude.
I am: You see, I was alive at that time and really liked my mom’s Cosby albums. I tried to watch his show and it was unfunny, mean spirited and self righteous. I didn’t at that time and still don’t to this day understand why people liked a mean spirited self righteous man like that, especially when the ‘comedy’ of the show was so lame compared to his albums.
So yeah, to me it is kind of a mystery, broseph.
The world exists outside of you, broseph. If you didn’t understand, maybe it was because you didn’t like it and that was enough for you. Hooray! That very narrow set of standards is definitely what you should base all your understanding on!I hate Seinfeld. Hate it. Have no use for those selfish asshole characters or their boring lives or their meaningless banal complaints. But I’m never going to make the statement “I don’t understand why people like that show.” Because I know that matters of taste are what they are and that what I value in characters is not what everyone values. I know that for a lot of people “funny” trumps “narratively satisfying”. It’s the same reason I don’t shit-talk It’s Always Sunny, even though I also don’t like that show. I’ve watched episodes and laughed but that’s not enough for me. Again, am I gonna pretend to not understand its appeal?
Wow man you’re getting real worked up over this, aren’t you? You’re actually angry at me about this, damn.I’m real happy you understand why people like Seinfeld and It’s Always Sunny, that’s awesome! I, however, do not actually understand why people liked Cosby or his show by the time the mid ‘80s rolled around.
“am I gonna pretend to not understand its appeal?”I mean I don’t know you so maybe? You seem to think I’m pretending about this, so I have to assume that you think it’s something a person may do, so maybe since you’re a person you would pretend this?What are you actually getting at here? You think I’m like virtue signaling by saying I disliked Cosby 20 years before it was cool to dislike him? Are you angry that you didn’t pick up on him being an asshole back then? Or are you just going all
OP: I was disappointed by Cosby.You: Well you shouldn’t have been because he was always awful.It’s not like you earnestly engaged with RyanLN by asking, “What did you like about Cosby?” No, you went Brian Regan-style “Me Monster”. And hey, that’s your prerogative. But you do it all the fucking time. You and I have both been on these Kinja sites a while and have both responded to things plenty. I recognize your screen name and your response style. And I often find it aggravating.What I’m getting at is that you either ARE being disingenuous for the purpose of trolling (virtue signaling on a blog with an anonymous screen name is not something I think really happens) or you mean what you say and that’s based in ignorance of historical context. “I don’t understand” is fine if you’re actually SEEKING understanding. But you’re clearly fucking not because you didn’t even try.[insert relevant gif here]
Your reading comprehension is really bad.
Wait, you think white people disliked ’80s Cosby?
I mean, his comedy records were *amazing* and it makes me angry when I think about how I won’t get to share them with my son (who at 10 would probably be a good age for them). I don’t care for sitcoms much, so I never really watched The Cosby Show, but it is certainly fondly remembered by many.Agree that even before he was outed as a serial rapist he really was getting to be a self-righteous prick, but I could have lived with that and enjoyed his earlier work, but not with this.
In the 80s (at which point I was a child) he appealed to white people who wanted to see themselves as open-minded because it was allllll about the respectability politics. And I will grant you that there was a lot of talent and some very funny stuff on The Cosby Show; it’s a damn shame it got ruined. But yes, going back, you can see the respectability politics, you can see his self-righteous streak, you can see the sexism (for instance his clash with Lisa Bonet, which feels like Whedon took a page from).
I’ll agree that there was a lot of talent on the show but it wasn’t very funny at all, at least not the episodes I watched. I guess I can understand white people watching it to appear open minded though, dumb but understandable.
I mean, I genuinely found it funny as a kid and again when I watched reruns in my 20s. But obviously everyone has different senses of humor.And I didn’t mean that white people watched it in order to appear open minded; I mean the target audience was well-meaning but deluded white people who believed in respectability politics.
The self-righteousness didn’t really kick in until the early 90’s. The other thing you have to remember is that he was a black guy who was super successful and super loved by EVERYONE, especially black people like my parents, and by people like me who weren’t used to seeing ourselves portrayed as we are in real life. For context, my dad, who is maybe 2 years younger than Cosby, in real life IS an ob/gyn, and while my mom wasn’t a lawyer she had a professional graduate degree- and we lived a life not terrible dissimilar to the Huxtables in that show. His stand up was funny, and his longevity made him a fixture in so many things that wove in, out of and throughout our lives. Cartoons. Movies. Tv. Stand up. Commericials. Oh god the commercials. And on the outside- seemed like a decent guy, even if he had to go grumpy old man with the respectability politics. But he was a guy you could be proud of because he was smart, educated, and really successful. To find out he was basically one step above being a serial killer was a giant kick in the balls for so many of us that some of us still refuse to believe it, like a second grader insisting Santa is real.
I guess I can see it from that point of view, but I remember watching the show in the ‘80s and thinking he had become a self righteous parody of the man on his albums even then. I guess people can overlook at lot of obvious signs if they’ve bought into something enough….well yeah cult like behavior I guess.
Like right fucking here! “I guess people can overlook a lot of obvious signs if they’ve bought into something enough”Dude! Are you even aware of the shit you type? Do you not see how that could be a tacit accusation that RyanLN was somehow oblivious (unlike your very incisive self) and bought into a cult?
It’s alright- why certain figures become cultural icons are often a mystery to people who aren’t part of that culture. There are plenty of people straight and gay who worship Judy Garland. I mean, The Wizard of Oz rocked and she seemed cool, but… that’s a mystery to me. I think what gets people in trouble is when they decide for others who should or should not be revered or held in high esteem. But if you could read what I wrote and not understand how my community, which basically had little to no prominent representation in the way he managed to obtain it in the 60’s/70’s/80’s, held him in high regard and believed he was culturally important- well then maybe you’re not someone who thinks a lot about of argument before responding to it. In any event, I’m just gonna mostly assume positive intent and leave it alone. Mostly.
Totally fair and it would be just as fair to give me a little shit for jumping in with my whiteness snark when I’m one step up from fishbelly. Dude is not wrong, I did jump on him. But we’ve interacted in the past with similar results. I just take issue with the way he posts and I often assume malice or trolling rather than positive intent. Sorry to drag you into that.
Some people just need to be aggro and combative or argumentative, because they can’t help it- but also some people are just shite at expressing themselves with the written word and come across in a way they don’t intend. I find that my life is better when I just assume positive intent in these situations, even if it should be pretty clear that it doesn’t exist. But it did make me feel good when you jumped to my defense, because it showed that even if I am a shitty writer at least one freakin’ person understood what I was trying to say….
“Do you not see how that could be a tacit accusation that RyanLN was
somehow oblivious (unlike your very incisive self) and bought into a
cult?”It’s not a tacit accusation of shit, I’m specifically saying it’s cult like behavior to overlook bad things because you think someone is good no matter what.
Now get off my dick, jackass.
But I don’t think that the position of people is that Cosby is good no matter what as much as it is a disbelief in our legal system and the facts arrayed against him. There are plenty of people whom I have prosecuted over the years who had family members who steadfastly refused to believe they were capable of things in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary (video of the offense, admissions, photographs, DNA, what have you) and it’s not cult-like as much as it is as extraordinary wishful/magical thinking that takes into account the real fact that historically being a black person oftentimes meant getting fucked by things beyond your control. That is absolutely not Cosby- but try telling that to someone who remembers the press surrounding Emmett Till when it happened.
“it’s not cult-like as much as it is as extraordinary wishful/magical thinking”
Gotta admit, as a teenager in the 80’s, the “self-righteousness” that you saw in his show escaped me then and escapes me now. Can’t say I have any idea of what you’re talking about. It was a show about a successful family and the drama inherent in having five kids. They loved each other, had a good time, looked like me, and it was funny until it got boring. As for people overlooking “obvious signs”, I’d love to be enlightened on what those signs were that I missed. Apparently connected people in Hollywood knew about his penchant for drugging and raping women, but neither myself nor anyone I knew heard a whiff about that until the 00’s. What we did see/hear were his rants on the way kids dress, single parent households and non-standard names. But that didn’t make me hate him or diminish his past body of work in any way, it just changed the way I perceived how I should take his opinion on anything of import. One thing is for certain- jokes about being a gynecologist and working with women and being a family man lose their purchase when you’re a serial rapist.
Ok how about when he told Rudy to drop the dream of being a DJ because you can’t make money being a DJ and if you’re not making money then you’re wasting your life? That was self righteous as all hell. I haven’t watched it in years but that’s definitely an example I can call to mind right off.
“Apparently connected people in Hollywood knew about his penchant for
drugging and raping women, but neither myself nor anyone I knew heard a
whiff about that until the 00’s.”Pretty sure he actually made a joke on the show about it but otherwise I never said that I knew about it back then.
I guess I don’t consider that self-righteousness? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Seems more like what a stereotypical parent would say to a child with a shaky-assed lifeplan, especially parents like mine- first generation college grads who worked their asses off and fought oppression and discrimination to get where they did to raise kids… who want to be DJs? Oh HELL no. But, perception being reality, I understand how you could perceive it to be so. The joke you’re thinking about is some sort of Spanish Fly joke that is suuuuuuuuuper creepy in retrospect. I remember it. Didn’t bat an eye then. But now? Yikes on bikes.
Yeah my parents were first generation college grads too, they were still poor as hell though and would have never told me bullshit like that when I was a teen like Rudy was. That’s major ‘The way I do things is right and all other ways are wrong.’ self righteous energy right there.
Wasn’t there a time Whedon stepped away to focus on like, Firefly or Angel? I wonder how things were during that time.
The show really seemed to struggle with cohesion with his absence.We just watched Age of Ultron – kids are on a Marvel and Disney curriculum in advance to a trip to Disneyland – and I could not help but notice all the things I really love when Joss brings them forward. That quippy, but not sarcastic, self referential style. The kids really responded to it to.Shame he was such an asshole. But I’ve worked with assholery. It does have a unique quality to generate creative outcomes. Sure, it broke me psychologically for a decade, but man were those video games we made good.
“But I’ve worked with assholery. It does have a unique quality to generate creative outcomes. Sure, it broke me psychologically for a decade, but man were those video games we made good.”Do you think those games would not have turned out as well if you had the support of a kind, generous, and encouraging team leader? Just curious. I wonder if we are conflating the process with the results.
Probably not. Thats the things about what if’s in the end they don’t exist. Could the game have turned out well if the leader wasn’t an asshole, yeah but the thing is in the end it didn’t.
Sometimes, people are able to compare and contrast experiences. I played for benevolent, supportive coaches and for demanding, tyrannical coaches. We always did better for the benevolent, supportive coaches. Sometimes it’s impossible to compare What Ifs. But sometimes, direct comparisons work. In my opinion, if you have a talented team, you don’t need a hard taskmaster to get good results — talent will win out. But I was curious to hear other opinions on the matter.
“It does have a unique quality to generate creative outcomes.”
No, it doesn’t, but when people like you say that it does, you enable the assholes.
Good fucking job.
The thing is, there’s no shortage of good art and talented creators out there. Propping up some toxic perceived golden goose isn’t worth the pain they put those around them through. It’s bad enough when creatives are expected to suffer for their art; they most certainly should not be allowed to make others suffer for it.Besides, Whedon’s quippy style was influential enough that there’s plenty of it about, we don’t need Joss himself for it anymore 😛
But there is a shortage, and fewer still who have an original vision and the drive to bring it forward, which doesn’t need you to be an asshole but it helps. That’s why so much of culture right now is tired remakes of existing IP or things that are so unoriginal they may as well be tired remakes.
Just a mild “well actually”, it’s not like Joss Whedon invented quippy dialogue. The Thin Man films existed long before him. Dennis Miller was on SNL before Buffy came around. It’s fair to say that Buffy popularized that dialogue form but it was around.
True; personally I always thought of “Whedonesque” dialogue as an iteration on Tarantino’s style.
I was thinking about QT when I wrote the response because he’s another one that people seem to think invented something he didn’t invent. Highly stylized violent ensemble films were certainly more *rare* prior to Res Dogs and Pulp Fiction and he definitely ushered in a brief glut of that style of film but they weren’t the first. Obviously in the case of Res Dogs since it’s a loose remake.
You’re totally right about talent. People like to think it’s something it’s super rare, but the opposite is true. There’s a lot of talented people out there in the world, it’s easy to find. What’s hard to find is talent that can deliver and execute, and can work well with others and collaborate. That’s what is actually rare, especially in the professional sense because at the end of the day, you gotta deliver a product. That’s the part where a lot of talented people fail, they can’t execute it consistently.
Do you recall what seasons he was away? When you say “struggle with cohesion” that makes me think of season 6.
Angel started during season 4 of Buffy, but since it was the same universe there seemed like a lot more creative overlap. Firefly was during Buffy’s Season 6, and Whedon definitely stepped further away from it during that time while also focusing on Angel.
S6 and 7 of Buffy, but worse with S4 of Angel, which was parallel with Buffy 6.
S4 of Angel, which was parallel with Buffy 6.Actually, I’m pretty sure that S3 of Angel was parallel with Buffy S6.
Correct
Right you are. I got muddled up there.
I just finished up Angel a few days ago, and my gosh! Season 4 of Angel is THE worst thing of the Buffyverse. It’s ridiculous how awful it was.
S2, 3 ,& 5 of Angel are really good
Spike was a fresh of breath air in the final season of Angel. The final seasons of both Buffy and Angel are shockingly good, even today.
5 might actually be my favorite season. It was a lot of fun, and whatever you might think about the quality of the show itself, the final scene of the finale might be the best last moment of any show.
I do NOT remember Wesley’s final scene being that sad back when that episode first aired. I rewatched that and had to fight to not bawl my eyes out when Ilyria asked “shall I lie to you now?”.
It might actually be good that they didn’t get a Season 6, and then walk back all the impactful moments of 5.
Marti Noxon took over for Whedon in S6.
I know it’s not the popular opinion but I loved 6 & 7. I thought Noxon brought a lot more complexity to the show than she is credited. Yes, the Willow “magic = drugs” story was incredibly dumb and yes, 6 struggled to marry the “Buffy back from Heaven” story with the Dark Willow story but I still think it’s pretty fantastic. I know SMG wasn’t happy with the more dour approach to the character but I would argue that it was a more mature approach. You can’t be Captain Quip your whole life. And ffs, consider that storyline. She was dead. She was for all intents and purposes IN HEAVEN. And her friends, in their grief and fear for the world, resurrected her. That’s a killer premise. And I also know that the Spike story was really icky. Yeah, it was *supposed* to be.I dunno, man. The only season of that show I ever feel like I struggle through is the first. Everything else is gold imho.
No-one seems to talk about how ahead of its time Season 6 was with its villains.
I felt the magic = drugs allegory wasn’t just dumb. It ruined a really good multi-season character arc they had been building for Willow since season 2. But aside from that (well that, and all the rape stuff), S6 wasn’t as bad as I remembered (I recently rewatched Buffy/Angel).
The magic=drug allegory was bad on different levels. Magic had never been shown to have that effect previously- but that’s not a deal breaker. They still could’ve done some kind of allegory about addiction in regards to Willow using too much magic. But instead they made it such an on-the-nose allegory, with crap like a scuzzy magic dealer and her getting high on magic and such nonsense. The show’s usual allegories for teenage struggles were a little more subtle or hidden in the subtext of the plotting- this was just handled as a one to one replacement for drug use and it came across terribly.
EXACTLY. For seasons they showed how quickly she resorted to fixing a problem with magic. Particularly dark magic, and against the insistence of those that knew better. The way S6 started should’ve been a perfect culmination of how she started to lose herself to the dark magic. Now it’s not just how often she resorts to magic so solve problems, but how often she’s dipping into the dark magic to find more permanent solutions for their problems.You can still run the storyline of Tara being concerned about Willow’s use of magic, and how Tara is the only light in the darkness for Willow. Willow can still swear off magic because by that point the only magic she DOES know is dark magic. You can have Giles still feeling guilty about failing Willow because he only saw himself as Buffy’s Watcher and never considered taking Willow under his wing to ensure she learned to use magic responsibly. You can even kill Tara off in the exact same way, which would allow Willow’s anger toward Buffy and how she never took the Trio seriously more poignant.
Hidden in the subtext? When Buffy sleeps with Angel, he literally turns into a a different person, who happens to be a monster. The metaphors were never that subtle.
I enjoy most of S6 but S7 can be painfully boring.
The story that went around was that Willow was supposed to break bad at the Season 6 midpoint and she’d be the main villain for all of Season 6’s back half, like every season before that had a midseason twist. But they changed their minds and suddenly had to fill in like mad until everyone was ready to kick that story off in the last 2-3 episodes. So the unrelenting misery of S6, the Buffy/Spike toxic relationship etc were all hugely padded out beyond the original plan.
That makes sense given the premise of the season. Willow oversteps by bringing Buffy back, which starts her down the road toward Big Bad. And Noxon wanting the show to reflect the harsher parts of maturity, which I could see including how people accept or reject responsibility for misdeeds. I was somehow unaware of the Hannigan rumors that she didn’t want to do the story. I wonder if that’s a bit of a pro wrestling related “buying into your own character” issue. Obviously it’s a problem actors in general have had in the past but it seems to happen a lot in wrestling.
To be fair, having Willow as evil for a full half a season, killing probably way more than the people she did kill etc would have been a moral event horizon that it would have been very difficult to pull her back from. Bringing Willow back after really killing just one guy was convincingly tough enough, and she had only just stepped over the dark side enough that Xander bringing her back was plausible.So I think Hannigan, if it was her call, probably had a point. Willow going evil for that long may have meant it not being convincing at all to bring her back from the dark side.
If they could pull a face turn on Faith they could do the same on Willow.
Not really the same situation. Faith was a recurring character in one season who blew up big time so they kept bringing her back, and it took a lot to drag her back to the light side (spanning almost all of her later appearances on Buffy and Angel). It takes like four years for her to really earn her way back to being a full-time good guy.Willow was a regular from day one on Buffy who was probably the nicest person on the cast. Turning her into a one-off murderer was a big thing, having her as a big bad for half a season causing (presumably) far more carnage and then reverting her to a hero again in Season 7 would have been a much bigger case of whiplash.
Why presumably more carnage? The thing is we only have what actually happened on screen and then rumors to go from. And okay, let’s use a different example. Angel went from murderous Big Bad in S2 to hero again by midway through S3. Who’s to say Willow couldn’t have gone through similar? It’s entirely possible but we’ll never know because it didn’t happen.
Angel was transformed into a literally different being, whilst Willow was still Willow, just consumed by her own power and her morality removed by rage at Tara’s death. How culpable Angel was for stuff that Angelus did was questionable, although he felt guilt over it to the extent that he left Sunnydale forever, and apart from Buffy most of the gang never really trusted him again in S3 (eventually, after several years of hearing him saving the day in LA, Willow did as well, and Cordelia obviously).
Reasonable points. But I don’t think it matters what WE think about the storyline because, again, it didn’t happen. We got what we got.
Your excuses for assholes just enables them.
Congrats on helping your own boss be a piece of shit to other people.
Whedon was away for most of s6 & parts of 7 (came back to write/direct the musical, a few other eps, and continued to oversee to a certain extent from a distance, more in s7, after Firefly was canceled). SMG had a hard time in 6 because Noxon wanted to take the show to some dark places, and SMG didn’t always think it fit the character. Today she’d likely have an exec producer role and and a bit more say in things, but she didn’t have that kind of power then, so she showed up and did what was asked.I think that’s what both Prinze and Caulfield are kind of alluding to – she worked her ass off, even under stressful situations – because she believed in the character, but also because she didn’t have much choice. I think it was also hard for her, in a weird way, because even though Whedon didn’t treat her great, she kind of trusted him as a creator and director (which is at least partly indicative of how manipulative he could be) – when Noxon asked her to do dark things, the same level of trust wasn’t there – I think that was hard for both of them.In the end, as a fan, I think it all came together. Aside from a few bad eps, S6 has aged really well and it seems to me even smarter than it did back then. But I don’t think many of them had fun making it.
I think it was also hard for her, in a weird way, because even though
Whedon didn’t treat her great, she kind of trusted him as a creator and
director (which is at least partly indicative of how manipulative he
could be) – when Noxon asked her to do dark things, the same level of
trust wasn’t there – I think that was hard for both of them.
There’s also the issue that season 6 had to focus more on Buffy wallowing in misery than the writers originally intended, because their initial plans to make Willow the Big Bad for most of the season got torpedoed at the last minute and they had to pad out the other storylines to fill space.If the stories are accurate that Alyson Hannigan herself balked at doing the extended Dark Willow storyline, that would almost certainly have stuck in Gellar’s craw as well: She’s the responsible one who works harder than anyone to meet the demands of her role, and now she has to do even more unflattering shit she disagrees with because her costar refuses to do the same?
From most things I’ve read and been able to glean from, Hannigan was part of Whedon’s in crowd (parties at his place, Shakespeare nights, etc.), and much of that group has had little to say about any of the allegations or revelations of the past two years. I don’t think they’re “protecting him” per se, but from the sounds of things, he was very good at mediating between Mr Charming and pure rage asshole, depending on who was around, and a lot of them just didn’t see it (there’s a reason why so many have worked with him repeatedly beyond just the material).
Tony Head, who was part of that ingroup, was mortified to read the stories because Whedon was not like that around him or anywhere in his sight, but also noted the power dynamics from being an experienced, older actor with profile versus all the young actors without, were really different. He supported the other castmembers and said he’d have spoken out at the time if he’d known.
I know that I’m slightly biased because we share a mutual friend but I feel a little defensive of Nicky Brendan eating shit for tacitly supporting Whedon when Tudyk and Fillion have faced, as far as I’ve seen, nowhere near the same level of grief and have been just as, if not more, supportive. Cynically I think it’s easier to dunk on Brendan because his post Whedon career hasn’t been as successful as theirs.
struggles with substance misuse and depression have overshadowed his professional career. Brendon has attracted public attention for his multiple arrests and convictions on a variety of charges since 2010.^ This probably doesn’t help his image. It sounds like he’s struggling, and I hope things turn around for him.
I remember Tudyk being raked pretty hard after he jumped to Whedon’s defense when Ray Fisher’s allegations first came out. But there’s probably some truth to the correlation between their levels of success and how much crap they get (btw, I really liked that low-budge sci-fi thriller, Coherence, that Brendan was in a few years ago).
How’s Emma Caulfield doing, these days? I’ve only kept somewhat aware of her over the years, but I know she had a right-wing crank phase, and a recent health issue.
She’s semi-attached to Marvel’s TV side these days. Semi-prominent role in WandaVision, fairly certain she’s supposed to return for the Agatha Harkness series.
Emma Caulfield was in WandaVision & I think going to play the same character on the new Kathryn Hahn-starring Agatha show. Glad to see more of her. Anya was my favorite character on Buffy.
She did a great job there! I guess I was more curious what the public temperature was on her, these days. Didn’t know if she was more in the Sarah or Charisma camp (yas, queen) or Nicholas Brendan and Adam Baldwin camp (big big big yikes).
FWIW, she seems to have left twitter when Musk took over, but her last tweet very much points to her being a lefty…
Shes good friends with both SMG and Charisma.This is a good quote from her from 2016:“I used to be a Republican. I used to hate the Beatles. Conclusion, I was once an asshole.”
I was just thinking how disappointed I was finding out back in the day that she was a chud. Thank you for the update.
Ehhhh… I don’t think it’s entirely fair to lump Brendan in with Baldwin. Brendan has a lot of addiction and mental health issues. Baldwin is just a turd.ETA I know addiction IS a mental health issue, to be clear. Last I knew his problems were drugs, booze, and depression. And he has been clean & sober for stretches but fallen off a few times.
Emma Caulfield had a right-wing crank phase? When?
In addition to WandaVision, I remember her on an episode of Leverage (original flavor). And yeah, she has MS, which probably hinders things.
She was recently diagnosed with MS.
Anybody want to have the nepo-baby rap about Freddie Jr.? Let’s run it down:
1. Born to a famous person (extra points because he went out early and tragically)
2. Very very pretty
3. No other discernible talent
4. Married chick much famous-er than him
5. Always has more to say about…things
Aw, no discernable talent? I always kinda liked him, and he seems like a nice guy. No love for She’s All That? Then again I was a teenager in the latter half of the 90s, so I guess he’s keyed to a particular time in my life that I remember fondly. But I’m always happy when he pops up. He was so funny on his episode of Psych.
Damn you! Puncturing my carefully inflated balloon of snark with the sharp pinprick of your honest appreciation of Junior’s body of work!
I’M SENSITIVE ABOUT MY 90’S ICONS, OKAY?
OH-kay!
Just came back to let you know that he is also a good voice actor. Didn’t know if you had heard. 🙂
in the last 18 hours…
I feel like now I have save this page so that I can come back and remind you periodically.
balloon-like in the sense of being extremely thin?
She’s All That is brilliant and probably the second best ‘teen’ movie of 1999 (and there were a lot)Also those Scooby Doo films were okay.
Is Clueless first best?
Nah, Can’t Hardly Wait.
That’s a great one, but it was not 1999 (which I also only belatedly noticed was part of his claim of She’s All That being second best). I remember it came out in 1998 because that’s the year I graduated high school and we saw it and it stuck because it was their graduation party and also I was graduating.
I have to assume that the first best would be 10 Things I Hate About You, which would have to be in the running for best teen movie of the 90s, period full stop.
But wrightstuff is right, that was a stacked year for teen movies: https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/all-1999-teen-movies-ranked/
(I don’t know how much I’d call Election a “teen” movie, but it is set primarily in a high school, so whatever).
Oh yeah! 10 Things I Hate About You is definitely one of those movies I’ll watch whenever it’s on. Yeah there are a few of those I wouldn’t necessarily call “teen movies.” The Wood, Election, Never Been Kissed… But I’m sure teens liked them. I saw Election on a date. lol I was a freshman in college.
Is no one in this godforsaken thread going to mention Summer Catch?
10 Things…Clueless was 1995 and therefore disqualified.
Oh wait, you said of 1999. Not Clueless then.
Any ‘90s teen film that included one of those ridiculous “spontaneously” choreographed dance scenes, is inherently non-brilliant. She’s All That had two of them, plus a fake rap battle.
I don’t think it was spontaneous. If I recall, the DJ mentioned that they they all knew the dance. I think it was a class thing they had organized. The one at prom. I don’t remember the second one…
Same here. I think She’s All That takes a normal cliched high school script and then succeeds strictly on the charisma of its stars. FP Jr. was always likeable in everything though most of the roles he got were pretty thankless.
It’s funny. You can tell who’s the millenial and who’s the zoomer. I’m a millenial, was a teen in the 90’s. I remember when he was all over the damn place in the late 90’s. She’s All That, I know What You Did Last Summer (and it’s sequel).
And as always, Gen X completely ignored. lol I was born in 1980, so just made the X cutoff.
Ooh, are you sure you’re not a Xennial? I was also a teen in the 90s and I go by that generational tag.(Generational tags are all dumb. But I still abide by them sometimes.)
Are you saying Kinja Caffeine Spider is a zoomer? Wrong direction, I’m pretty sure he’s Gen X on the older end. And trying to make a sarcastic comment based on a hot topic of discourse in the internet zeitgeist.
I have enormous confidence in Steve Franks, along with James Roday and Dule Hill. They know all the inside gossip, I’m confident that they had a “No assholes” policy, and if they want Freddie on their show then that’s good enough for me.
Yeah, I truly don’t think a show like that would work if there were any divas involved, even for the guest stars. The chemistry was always too great.
While I cant speak to his career outside of the show, he crushed it in Rebels as Kanan.
Prinze’s voice work on the Iron Bull character was exemplary and made it one of the best companions in DA:Inquisition.
“No discernible talent” coming from that particular commenter is pretty ironic.
all this nepo baby stuff is bullshit, if your daddies a race car driver you might surprise surprise become a race car driver. its not his fault you dont like him.
I used to work part time and over summers at the company my dad worked at. So did my brother.
You said I don’t like him. I did not.
And yes, it is his fault I don’t like him. He should be more likable to people he has never, and probably will never meet.
Isn’t your father a famous funk musician?
This is a weird memory you jogged: I used to work at a supermarket, and the store manager was one of the sons of the owner. The word around the store was he was really depressed at managing a supermarket, and he was a disappointment to the old man because he wanted to be a race car driver instead of being in the family business. Yep.
“It’s his fault I don’t like him”
Whoa, and that kills every other point you have to make right there. Your own views are your own responsibility and fault.
Well if you’re too stupid to read a joke that’s right in front of you, you’re not worth replying to……ah shit!
This is nobody’s fault really but trust me when I say that you are taking the Kinja Caffeine Spider waaaay too seriously.
How could he “be more likeable” to you, specifically?
I’m glad you asked…
Following in the same career as a parent isn’t what nepotism means.
It’s not about going into the same profession as your parents. It’s getting unfair advantages in gaining entry to a multi-billion dollar business, advantages that others who may be just as talented do not have.
Hey, Freddie Prinz, Jr. wrote for the WWE for years! Yes, they actually write those angles out.
What’d it take them, five minutes?
Sadly it wouldn’t matter if they took a month to write out angles. Between unexpected injuries and Vince rewriting every goddamn thing an hour before air, those writers were never going to succeed.
And got called a Scooby Dooby Douchebag last week. Quality television
He was quite good as Kanan Jarrus in Star Wars Rebels; beyond that, I don’t really have much to say about him. I mean, what little I’ve seen of him in interviews and articles makes him seem like a decent guy, but I’m sure as soon as I say that someone will point to a claim that he eats endangered orchids braised in the blood of baby seals or something.
He’s a pretty talented voice actor. Kanan from Star Wars: Rebels and The Iron Bull from Dragon Age.
Freddie Prinze Jr.: “But I was in a Star War!”
Kelly Marie Tran: “Fuck you, who wasn’t?”
he was so great as Kanan, my favourite Star Wars character ever too
And the jarhead in Mass Effect 3! I could take or leave the character himself but I like Prinze’s performance.
IRON FUCKING BULL
He’s a fine actor, he was excellent in the few games he’s done voice acting for. What the fuck climbed up your asshole. I think he’s even more fantastic for speaking more about it and is a sign of a supportive husband. Joss Whedon can go get fucked.
You climbed up my asshole, Miss…”Anxiety” is it? Yes, some username/comment synergy there.
And yes, Whedon can go get fucked…hopefully by you.
Aw how sweet, calling attention to my user name as if I’m supposed to be insulted? And No thanks, he feels more your type.
You can be whatever you want.
And, cool; I hear he’s a fabulous voice actor and devoted husband. I’ll even buy him a nice dinner.
He’s always like this
“Anybody want to have the nepo-baby rap about Freddie Jr.? Let’s run it down:”
Sure, he’s been in one movie in the past decade and other than Punky Brewster has done very little in TV in the last decade.
Did you want to argue that he’s beating offers off with a stick because he’s the son of some minor comic who is literally only notable because he died young and had a son who went into the business?
You should get a job or at least a real fucking hobby
He’s great in Mass Effect 3.
Disagree on talent… at least as a voice actor. He’s done excellent work in voice over, I wish he did more of it. His work in Star Wars Rebels and Dragon Age Inquisition were solid and he did alright in Mass Effect 3 as well, considering the limitations of the dialogue written for his character there. Can’t say he’s done any live action performances though that stuck with me.. but as a voice actor, he’s pretty good.
Are you kidding? His dad killed himself at the age of 21. He did not leave money or security. He grew up in Albuquerque, for Christ’s sake. The dude may have used his name, but who wouldn’t if it would help them get a job that was crazy competitive? He’s also been steadily employed in more than one field throughout a 20-year marriage, which marriage still apparently is going strong.Fuck that nepo-baby bullshit. I have a guy on my staff who is a complete and utter moron, unqualified in every way to earn a salary far larger than those of his peers. Want to guess who his dad is?
Or you could try not being such a dumb harpy.
Take your own aadvice.
Is that wisdom for an aardvark?
daamn this caaffeine!
I’m ok giving the nepo babies a chance (in entertainment). I understand the argument but most nepo babies without talent won’t last long in entertainment. Chet Hank’s isn’t headlining the Grammys with his rap performance. Will Smiths kids aren’t the stars of Summer blockbuster films year after year. I gladly take nepo babies having 15 mins of fame if it means getting Ben Stiller, Dan Levy, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Rashida Jones.
He’s turned out to be a fantastic voice actor, so he gets a pass.
so I hear
No.
As a voice actor, he’s decidedly Not Bad. One of the better voice actors in Mass Effect 3 and Dragon Age Inquisition.
I hope Junior’s reading this. I totally brought his fan club out today.
1) It’s not neoptism if there’s a inborn natural talent – racers Mick Schumacher & Dale Earnhardt, Jr; actors like Jamie Lee Curtis & Jane Fonda; artists like John Romita, Jr.& Andy Kubert; musicians like Ziggy Marley and Julian “Jude” Lennon; etc.2) Yes, he’s “so very very pretty”.3) has his own talents and certainly has more acting range than the Rock;4) I’m not jealous he married out of his league – but he is pretty;5) I’m proud he speaks up for his wife – more men should.
He’s been married to said “chick” for over 20 years! An awful lot of celebrities (and even a lot of normals) can’t seem to manage a marriage that well, so that’s an impressive feat.
an impressive feat:
(*raspberry sound*)
Just to say, Freddie is actually a relatively decent actor. He was in a season of 24, and often pops up in random stuff (like the recent Punky Brewster revival).Also, he’s a pretty good VOICE actor. He was in Star Wars: Rebels for 4 seasons, and played Iron Bull in Dragon Age: Inquisition, both roles he pulls off very well indeed.
well, pinch my loaf! I hear he may be a reasonable voice actor.
He does solid work in Star Wars Rebels.
Nah, I’m sick of the current ubiquity of the goddamn nepo-baby discussion as it is, thanks.
This rant alone makes me kind of love him.
Also, nepo babies only really annoy me when they can’t acknowledge the benefits it gave them, or if they try to give off a working class/indie vibe. Judd Apatow putting his children into half a dozen movie roles that he wrote for them just for Maude to turn around and say it was all her hard work is annoying – FPJ doing some goofy romcoms in his early 20s and then mostly dipping out of the industry the rest of his life seems pretty harmless.
His performance as Iron Bull was far and away the best thing about Dragon Age: Inquisition. The guy has talent but maybe hasn’t always been cast well.
Jealousy isn’t a good look, Joss
Don’t toss the joss, Hoss!
Just wanted to note how sweet it is that Prinze seems so proud of his wife. Shouldn’t be unusual, but it makes me happy.
I agree. He’s always been pretty much Mr. Michelle Gellar, and he clearly doesn’t have any ego problems over it. You’re right, it shouldn’t be unusual, but it is.
Great, so he’s a Nepo Baby AND a Wife Guy…(I only recently learned these terms existed)
No, the Hive Mind has declared you can’t be proud of that, because that makes him a Wife Guy and therefore contemptible. It’s all in the most recent People We Get To Be Mad At index.
Ehhhhhh…. does it though? My understanding of the term “Wife Guy” is that it applies to pop culture guys whose ONLY public identity is tied to their marriage. And Prinze exists in the cultural consciousness outside of SMG.
I mean, the whole Wife Guy thing strikes me as faintly ridiculous anyway. I don’t think I’d ever use the term unironically.
Again just my understanding of it, but it seems to me a weird term in that the turnaround from neutral descriptor to epithet was like [*fingersnap*]. Something like SJW took a long time to turn into the dumbshit epithet it became. Whereas Wife Guy felt almost instantaneous. I didn’t think it had negative connotations when I first heard it, which was in relation to pre-scandal Ned from Try Guys. It wasn’t necessarily a *compliment*, just a way to describe a guy whose personality seemed intrinsically tied to his relationship. And within a year or less it was a condemnation.
The fact that she’s looking out for folks now cause there’s no one who could do that for her. She’s A-class.
“but her husband has plenty to say about the “bullshit” she endured”Plenty? Nah, not really.
It’s as if being an abusive dick has a type or something….?
66% ginger?
That’s some fun cherry picking of balding white guys. Not sure Bill Cosby fits there. Or Ezra Miller. Or Johnny Depp. Armie Hammer. Brad Pitt. Hmm. Seems like maybe there ISN’T a “type”.
Would any adult have been allowed to be alone with Trachtenberg or is the article trying to paint Whedon as a child molestor?
It’s a common misconception that a lot of articles have fostered. The rule was put in place because he was verbally/psychologically abusive and manipulative. And she happened to be a minor. Those statements sometimes get conflated. AV Club are not the first to do it.
The actor tells THR that Gellar dealt with “a lot of bullshit on that show for all seven years it was on.”
Wow, yeah 7 years of a boss that shitty probably really took it’s toll on her. I had a bad boss for just 6 months and was already dealing with all sorts of stress related issues. After that long, I see why she says a tell all wouldn’t help, it would probably just be pulling up so many daily issues that she’d rather keep trying to forget.
So I think ‘7 years of a lot of bullshit’ is probably the easiest and politest way to give a statement and move on.
I’ve always loved them as a couple, it’s great that they’ve stayed together all this time. Whenever they talk about their family in an interview it’s got such good energy. They both seem so family oriented.
“There was a tremendous amount of resentment and animosity [toward her] from a certain someone — and I suppose now we can all guess who”…. Frank Stallone?
Yeah, I also have no idea who she’s alluding to here.
I’m happy for SMG getting a bit of a recent bump but this article seems to ignore Ringer and The Crazy Ones. I understand why it might WANT to ignore those two shows but they did still happen.I know because I watched them both. The Crazy Ones mostly for SMG and Robin Williams, which didn’t seem like a comfortable fit for either. Ringer for SMG and Nestor Carbonell, who I’ve loved in just about everything he’s done, including Ringer and Bates Motel. (Batmanuel FTW) I thought Ringer actually had promise but was a bit of a mess.
Ahh, I remember Ringer. I’m getting a tad nostalgic thinking about those forgettable soapy CW shows. It was over a decade ago though!
Wow, speak of the devil…https://tvline.com/2023/01/18/sarah-michelle-gellar-ringer-season-2-cancelled-renewed-cw/
The fact that people cannot simply credit Prinze Jr. for supporting his wife through all of the trauma she had to endure is insane to me. The fact that his father was famous has nothing to do with what is being discussed here.
And good for Gellar for trying to create a safer environment for young actors. She went through her shit and is trying to make it better for others.
I am not a fan of either actor, but I do respect both of them for what is presented in this article.
I feel like while “Hollywood” gets a lot of flak for “tabloid” relationships, These two are low-key on the Tom Hanks/Rita Wilson level of normal, stable and loving. But it never get’s talked about.Good for them. Nothing but respect.
This is unfortunate. Part of the problem is this behavior get’s to exist in the darkness. VERY VERY few would behave this way if they know it would become public or might be……much like body cam’s affect Cop behavior.
She NEEDS to explicitly state her experiences as the star of that show and by whom so that the next person in her place hopefully doesn’t have to deal with it. Sunlight is the best cure for most of this questionable behavior and toxic culture.