How do you properly describe Buffy the Vampire Slayer? On the one hand, it's a teen horror series about a girl who has supernatural abilities; on the other, it's an intense exploration of the existential crises of growing up. It's a cult classic that has touched millions of lives. Buffy and its Joss Whedon-created sister series, Angel, have fans around the world who'll take a stake to the chest for these shows.
However, many people are unaware of all the internal drama that occurred behind the scenes of Angel and Buffy. Not only was there in-fighting, but there were alleged affairs, crew members posting on fan sites, and longtime characters written off on a whim.
It's hard to make a TV show - let alone seven seasons of a program - with the same people day in and out. During the height of Buffy and Angel, Whedon and company were making two shows at the same time, and though they were creatively flourishing, everyone was at odds. The following stories prove that you don't have to be friends with your team members to make great art - and really, you don't even have to be a good person.
James Marsters Felt Emotionally Wrecked After The Infamous Bathroom Scene
Without a doubt, the most controversial scene in Buffy occurs in Season 6. A heartbroken Spike (James Marsters) tries to force Buffy back into his life; he goes after her while she's at home. Marsters later spoke to the AV Club about that day on set, describing it as "the hardest day" of his professional life.
He explained, "I was curled up in a fetal position in between takes. I can't watch scenes like that. I choose not to. I won't go to a movie that has something like that. It's a specific hot button for me. It just really makes me crazy. It was really hard. It was just unbelievably hard."
David Boreanaz Didn't Want Nicholas Brendon At The 'Buffy' Reunion Shoot
When Entertainment Weekly got the cast of Buffy back together for a 20-year reunion, news leaked that Nicholas Brendon - who played Xander - had to be Photoshopped into the cover because David Boreanaz - who played Angel - didn't want him to be a part of the shoot. There's speculation that Brendon's substance abuse problems were the reason why, but there's no clear answer.
Brendon addressed the incident during the Buffy the Vampire Slayer panel at the Wales Comic-Con, saying, "David Boreanaz didn't want me at the photoshoot. I had a much later call time because he didn't want me there, but I don't know why."
Joss Whedon Allegedly Had Multiple Affairs With Women On Set
In an article for The Wrap in 2017, Joss Whedon's ex-wife Kai Cole alleged that the creator and driving force behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer had "multiple affairs" on the set of the show. Cole explained:
When he was done with our marriage and finally ready to tell the truth, he wrote [to] me, "When I was running Buffy I was surrounded by beautiful, needy, aggressive young women. It felt like I had a disease, like something from a Greek myth. Suddenly I am a powerful producer and the world is laid out at my feet and I can't touch it." But he did touch it.
Whedon has never spoken out formally against Cole, and none of the alleged women have come forward to confirm or deny the accusations.
James Marsters's Head Reportedly Bled From The Constant Hair Bleach
Working on a television show - especially one as cool and interesting as Buffy the Vampire Slayer - should be fun. Sure, it's work, but you're pretending to be a vampire or werewolf - it's not exactly digging ditches. However, James Marsters said that the experience of making the show was harsh.
He told a crowd at New York Comic-Con in 2010, "I've never been to war... But the enemy is time, and time always wins." Aside from this tongue-in-cheek observation, Marsters reportedly said he had to bleach his hair every 10 days, which made his scalp bleed constantly.
Charisma Carpenter Didn't Know Her Character Was Going To Be Offed
By the end of Angel's fourth season, character Cordelia Chase, played by Charisma Carpenter, was still in a coma after having her form taken over by an evil entity. When Season 5 premiered, she got written out of the show forever. At the time, no one knew why production promptly dropped her. Even Carpenter, who played Chase for nearly a decade, was clueless about why she was fired - that is until the press reached out to her.
At Dragon Con 2009, she claimed her storyline got scrapped because of an unexpected pregnancy, and rather than write around her, Joss Whedon surreptitiously fired her. She told fans that when she got pregnant, Whedon "had a different way of seeing the season go." She continued:
I think Joss was, honestly, mad. I think he was mad at me and I say that in a loving way, which is - it's a very complicated dynamic working for somebody for so many years and expectations, and also being on a show for eight years, you gotta live your life.
And sometimes living your life gets in the way of maybe the creator's vision for the future. And that becomes conflict, and that was my experience.
Sarah Michelle Gellar Felt Season 6 Was A Betrayal To Buffy
Season 6 of Buffy is dark. Buffy (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar) returns from the afterlife and actively hates being alive - she has no money or marketable skills, and everyone is moving on without her. As if this weren't enough, she enters an unhealthy relationship with her former big bad, and a complete creep accidentally offs her best friend's girlfriend. It's rough stuff.
I've always said that Season 6 was not my favorite. I felt it betrayed who she was. Even just getting to talk to Joss and be able to get his opinion was not as easy when he's not upstairs. He had three shows. He had Angel and Firefly, so that was hard.
However, Joss Whedon disagreed, telling the magazine:
I love Season 6. Marti [Noxon, the Season 6 showrunner] and I wanted to talk about an unhealthy relationship. It was borderline [injurious] until it actually became [such]. It was on both sides. It wasn't just that she was with someone dark - she found the darkness within herself. This has to do with the consequences of power.
