Sarah Michelle Gellar Addresses Claims of Being Difficult on Buffy Set

‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ aired from 1997 to 2003. The cast and crew of the WB and later UPN show allegedly worked under harsh conditions while filming. It also included allegations of misconduct against Joss Whedon, the show’s creator.

As the titular Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sarah Michelle Gellar was given a lot of responsibility at the time which drew criticism from others on the set.

While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Gellar’s co-star Seth Green who played werewolf Oz on the show recounted how she was considered a “b*tch” for merely sticking up for the entire crew back then.

That show was just hard. We were working crazy hours, and a lot of things that got pushed weren’t necessarily safe or under the best conditions. Sarah was always the first one to say, ‘We agreed this was a 13-hour day and it’s hour 15 — we’ve got to wrap,’ or, ‘Hey, this shot doesn’t seem safe,’ when nobody else would stick up for the cast and crew.’ I saw her get called a b*tch, a diva, all these things that she’s not — just because she was taking the mantle of saying and doing the right thing.

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Gellar told the outlet that, “if people think you’re a b*tch, it’s almost better. There’s less expectation that way.” She continued by saying, “there was a time when I had a reputation of being … ‘difficult.’ Anyone that knows me knows it came from the fact that I always put in 100 percent. I never understood people who don’t. I’ve mellowed a bit in [my expectations of others] — I think because I got burned out.”

In Evan Ross Katz’s ‘Into Every Generation a Slayer Is Born: How Buffy Staked Our Hearts,’ some of Gellar’s other costars have spoken out in her support. Though she did not mention Whedon by name in the THR interview and stated that she will “never tell my full story because I don’t get anything out of it,” her husband Freddie Prinze Jr. also spoke to the outlet about what she faced on ‘Buffy.’

Freddie revealed that “she had to deal with a lot of bulls— 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.” The character’s message of strength and perseverance is one that fans even now -cling to and it’s one she hopes doesn’t change, especially in light of the claims against the show’s creator.

Sarah is now starring and executive producing the ‘Teen Wolf’ spinoff series ‘Wolf Pack’ on Paramount+. ‘Wolf Pack’ premieres on Paramount+ on January 27. Keep an eye on Thirsty for the most latest updates.

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