Sarah Michelle Gellar Says 'Toxic Male Set' Pit Women Against Each Other

Sarah Michelle Gellar seems to finally be speaking out about her experiences on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

BtVS creator and showrunner Joss Whedon has been under scrutiny in recent years after his bad behavior on various sets and in his own marriage was called out by people present. At the time, Gellar noted that she “[stands] with all survivors of abuse and [is] proud of them for speaking out,” but opted not to say more than that.

This week, Gellar spoke about spending a long time on a “toxic” set, and the impact it had on her as a young performer, leaving many to believe that she was referring to Buffy and Whedon.

“For so long, I was on a set that I think was known for being an extremely toxic male set, and so that was ingrained in my head that that was what all sets were like, and that women were pitted against each other — that if women became friends, then we became too powerful, so you had to keep that down,” she said during TheWrap’s Power of Women Summit on Wednesday.

Gellar frequently shares posts on Instagram celebrating her friendships with other women, like Cruel Intentions co-star Selma Blair, so it’s no surprise to hear her admit that later experiences shifted the unfortunate viewpoint that set had ingrained in her.

“Now that I’ve had this opportunity to work with so many more women, and men that support women as well, I realized how easy an experience it can be,” she said, adding that “unfortunately we’re still in that place where all of those departments a lot of times need to be women for us to have a voice.”