Sarah Michelle Gellar says she was pitted against her "Buffy the Vampire Slayer " costars.- "The set we were on and the world we were in was pitting us against each other," she said.
Sarah Michelle Gellar opened up about being pitted against her "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" costars.
"I think that unfortunately, the set we were on and the world we were in was pitting us against each other," Gellar said in the new book "Into Every Generation a Slayer Is Born: How Buffy Staked Our Heart" by Evan Ross Katz.
Per Buzzfeed, the "I Know What You Did Last Summer" actress also revealed she was jealous of the work/life balance her costars (including Alyson Hannigan, Charisma Carpenter, David Boreanaz, and Nicholas Brendon) had.
"I was the one that was always working and sometimes I would be resentful of the fact that they didn't have to work all the time," Gellar said.
The actress ultimately said that she has "great" relationships with her former "Buffy" castmates today, and chalked up any on-set tensions to working "really hard hours" and being "young."
"We had ups and downs. Everybody had arguments," Gellar said. "There are times where I wish I could have done things differently, but I didn't know how to handle the stress that I was under."
"I think it would have been different if it was today," she added.
This isn't the first time a former "Buffy" star has spoken out about the working conditions while filming.
In February 2021, Carpenter (who played Cordelia Chase on the show) said that "Buffy" creator Joss Whedon "abused" his power on set.
"Joss Whedon abused his power on numerous occasions while working on the sets of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and 'Angel,'" Carpenter wrote in part in a statement posted to social media. "While he found his misconduct amusing, it only served to intensify my performance anxiety, disempower me, and alienate me from my peers."
Gellar seemingly responded to Carpenter's claims shortly thereafter, writing in a post on Instagram: "While I am proud to have my name associated with Buffy Summers, I don't want to forever be associated with the name Joss Whedon... I stand with all survivors of abuse and am proud of them for speaking out."
"Into Every Generation a Slayer Is Born: How Buffy Staked Our Hearts" is available now on Amazon and Bookshop.