This year marks the 25th anniversary of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and its impact still has fans in a chokehold.
And to celebrate, series star Sarah Michelle Gellar sat down with Evan Ross Katz for his new book, Into Every Generation a Slayer Is Born: How Buffy Staked Our Hearts, where she reflected on her time on set, which included some "heated moments" with her onscreen BFF, Alyson Hannigan.
"Look, we worked really hard hours. We were young, we had ups and downs. Everybody had arguments,” Sarah told Evan. “There were times where David [Boreanaz] could be a handful. He never really was to me, but I’m sure [he was]."
"It wasn’t rosy. Nobody gets along all the time. And Alyson and I had moments. There’s no question. But you’re young.”
"I think that unfortunately, the set we were on and the world we were in was pitting us against each other,” she added. “I think it would have been different if it was today. It would have been a very different relationship. But we have a great relationship now.”
And this isn't the first time Sarah and other cast members have spoken out about the toxic work environment on set, which could be attributed to series creator Joss Whedon. In February 2021, Charisma Carpenter called out Joss for his alleged abuse.
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Sarah went on to say that she's "not excusing" her behavior, either. Looking back, there were incidents she wishes she would've handled differently.
"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 was really young, and I didn’t have any outside life. 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. It ebbs and flows, and anyone that tells you they get along with everyone all the time, it’s just not true."
And while many rumors penned Sarah as the root of the alleged feud with Alyson and other issues on set, her castmates believed otherwise.
Emma Caulfield, who played Anya on the show, told author Evan Ross Katz this:
"She was the lead on the show. It was an ensemble cast absolutely, but the show lived and died with her. There's a level of power there and a level of voice that needs to be accounted for. And if that isn't received well by certain people who have very large egos and who have no interest in working in that fashion, then yeah, there's going to be conflict. There are so many examples of what happened from the top down of, 'This will really make the girls hate each other. This will make the men angry. This is going to stir some toxic shit.' And … and it did."
Although Alyson wasn't available for interview for Evan's book, she has talked about her relationship with Sarah on set. In an interview with HuffPost Live, Alyson said Sarah "worked 18-hour days for years" and that she "was incredibly professional, worked her butt off for seven years, and gave amazing television."
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But that alleged drama is in the past! Because as both Sarah and Alyson mentioned, they're friends now and on good terms.
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