Joss Whedon accused of ‘high-school nerd’ mentality: ‘It’s not an excuse to mistreat people’

Whedon has been repeatedly accused of fostering a ‘toxic workplace’

Joss Whedon has been accused of acting with a “high-school” mentality on the set of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

In a new book charting the history of the show by Evan Ross Katz, actor Danny Strong, who played Jonathan Levinson on the series, made a number of claims regarding Whedon’s on-set behaviour.

Strong said: “These stories, they’re sort of atypical in creating this petty, almost high-school-like environment in pitting the pretty girls all against each other. I’m sure there’s a lot of psychological depth about what that says about Joss.”

The actor, who also co-created Empire, added: “It seems like who it was toxic for was the really attractive women. That was who he was creating really unpleasant working experiences for. And it’s not in your typical sexual-harasser way.”

He also addressed Whedon’s attitudes towards women: “I think that this mentality that we’re seeing in him is kind of like this high-school nerd who’s angry that the pretty girls didn’t like him and he gets older and he’s gonna lash out at the pretty girls or hook up with some of the pretty girls, and the pretty girls that don’t want to hook up with him he’s going to lash out at them in some way or turn other girls against them.”

Strong said: “I just want to say if you’re in your mid-thirties, f*** you. That’s not an excuse. You should know better by then. You’re very rich. You’re very successful. Give me a f****** break that you’re still talking about being the high-school nerd that didn’t get the girls. It’s not an excuse to mistreat people.”

Strong also discussed his own time around Whedon: “Look, my experience on the set was a very positive experience, including my interactions with Joss. And so I wasn’t aware of how toxic the set was for some.”

Charisma Carpenter, who starred in Buffy as Cordelia, has previously accused Whedon of being verbally abusive and discriminating against her while she was pregnant.

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Whedon has also been criticised by Gal Gadot and Ray Fisher for his on-set behaviour during reshoots of Justice League. Whedon has denied all accusations and has said: “I’m one of the nicer showrunners.” He added that Fisher’s allegations were “false and unjust”.

The Independent has contacted representatives for Whedon for comment.