Dominik Bindl/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — Eliza Dushku has joined her other Buffy the Vampire Slayer co-stars in applauding Charisma Carpenter’s recent revelations of “abuse” she claims she suffered during production from show creator Joss Whedon.
Dushku, who played Faith on the show, Instagrammed Carpenter about her “powerful” message. “[M]y heart aches for you & I’m so sorry you have held this for so long,” Dushku wrote.
“Thank you. I hadn’t known it and I won’t forget it.”
She also said, “Neglecting to ‘name’ the power/gender/sexual/racial abuse epidemic in the entertainment industry (and for that matter society in general), enables the abusers and only emboldens and ultimately fortifies abusive systems.”
This isn’t the first time Dushku has spoken out on these matters. In 2018, she claimed that as a 12-year-old she was groomed and “sexually molested” by the then-36-year-old stunt coordinator Joel Kramer when the pair worked on the 1994 Arnold Schwarzenegger film True Lies.
At the time, a “gutted” Kramer told The Hollywood Reporter the accusations were “atrocious lies,” and added, “We took care of her like she was our kid.”
Eliza Dushku also claimed in 2018 that she was constantly sexually harassed by lewd jokes and comments on the set of Bull by co-star Michael Weatherly — and that when she objected to them, she was fired. She revealed later that she’d received a settlement from CBS of $9.5 million, equal to what her contract had stipulated she would’ve earned for six seasons on the legal drama, even though she appeared in just one.
Weatherly subsequently issued a statement saying he was “mortified” when he learned he’d offended Dushku “and immediately apologized.” He added, “After reflecting on this further, I better understand that what I said was both not funny and not appropriate and I am sorry and regret the pain this caused Eliza.”
By Stephen Iervolino
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
