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Many female actors have, over the years, been labeled difficult on set because they stand up for themselves. The issue was even more rampant in the ’90s. And Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar can attest to that. According to her co-star on the series, the star was once called a b**** on set.

Sarah Michelle Gellar played Buffy for 7 seasons

370100 02: Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers stars in 20th Century Fox’s “Buffy The Vampire Slayer Year 5.” (Photo by Online USA)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer debuted on The WB on March 10, 1997. Gellar starred as the titular not-so-average teen. When she isn’t in school, Buffy spends her time fighting demons (especially vampires), preventing evil from taking over the happy fictional town of Sunnydale.

The character of Buffy was created to challenge the stereotypical female horror film victims. She debuted in the film of the same name, played by Kristy Swanson. Gellar took over the role when it was made into a show, with the writer of the original film, Joss Whedon, at the helm.

Buffy was one of the supernatural titans on TV at the time. It drew in a massive audience, and even led to a spinoff, Angel. Buffy ran for an impressive seven seasons, surviving a network upheaval and not one, but two deaths for Gellar’s character. But it wasn’t all good behind-the-scenes.

Sarah Michelle Gellar was treated poorly on the set of ‘Buffy’

Gellar delivered a flawless performance as Buffy for all the seven seasons the show was on. She worked tirelessly — in fact, in order to get a break, her character became a rat for an episode. Still, the actor didn’t receive the credit she deserved despite working 15-hour work days.

In a 2023 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Gellar, her husband Freddie Prinze Jr., and some of her former co-stars addressed the treatment she received during her time on the Buffy set. “She had to deal with a lot of b******t on the show for all seven years it was on. The stuff they pressed upon her, without any credit or real salary,” Prinze Jr. said.

“There was a tremendous amount of resentment and animosity toward her from a certain someone, and I suppose now we can all guess who,” Gellar’s co-star Emma Caulfield said, hinting at Whedon. Another of her co-stars, Seth Green, admitted that working on Buffy was tough, but Gellar tried using her status as No. 1 on the call sheet to point out the toxic environment.

Green said the cast was being forced to work grueling hours in sometimes unsafe conditions. However, when Gellar tried pointing out the toxicity on set, she would be labeled as difficult. “I saw her get called a b****, a diva, all these things that she’s not — just because she was taking the mantle of saying and doing the right thing,” Green recalled.

Sarah Michelle Gellar is a force on sets today

Gellar’s fighting spirit has lived on, even as she takes on more executive roles in the sets she works in. The actor told THR that she experienced sexism on the set of Wolf Pack, where the crew would intentionally refuse to forward her items for approval but do so for a male actor, despite being an executive producer on the series. 

The star said she pointed it out and told them to adjust accordingly, saying, “I’ve earned the right to stand where I am.” Gellar also said she gives her phone number to young female actors on set to make them feel comfortable, recalling an incident where she fired a crewmember because they kept offering back rubs to cast members. “I hope that I’ve set up an infrastructure, a safety net for these actors that I didn’t have,” she said.

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