Buffy the Vampire Slayer was one of those television shows that made such a mark that essentially everybody that was a major part of it is best known from their time on it. That’s certainly the case for Emma Caulfield, who played the demon Anya on the series. In recent years some of the luster of the show has faded following allegations of abuse against creator Joss Whedon, but it does not appear the situation has impacted Caulfield’s view of the show.
Emma Caulfield, who more recently appeared in WandaVision, and will be reprising her role in the forthcoming Agatha: Coven of Chaos, recently spoke with Vanity Fair about a variety of topics, including her revelation that she is fighting MS. She was asked about her current feelings about Buffy, she said she doesn’t really have any. She sees the show simply as a good job that helped her career. Caulfield explains…
I don’t have a feeling about it. I mean, it was a job. . . . It helped me buy my first home. I made some lifelong friends there. I got to play someone super ridiculous, which was really fun. It allowed me to discover that I could be funny. I mean, not dry Emma sarcasm, but actually get a line and go, ‘All right, I’m going to tweak it to this,’ make it something completely weird that makes people laugh. That was something very fun for me to realize that I could do. I think I’ve honed that skill pretty well at this point. All the stuff with Joss and all those revelations? Like, yeah, we all knew that. It’s like, ‘Oh, that’s out now? Great. Phew.’
A variety of allegations have surfaced over the last few years against writer/director Joss Whedon that date back as far as his time working on Buffy. Actors like Charisma Carpenter have come forward to speak about the abuse she claims she experienced directly. Several other Buffy stars, like Caulfield, have not confirmed specifics, but have also not come to Whedon’s defense. While Whedon has denied all allegations, Caulfield does say here that she was one of the people aware at the time of what was allegedly going on. Whedon has also been accused of abuse on the set of Justice League by Ray Fisher.
While these accusations becoming public could conceivably tarnish Emma Caulfield’s view of her time on Buffy, the fact that she says here that she always saw it simply as a good job likely prevents her from feeling too strongly. When asked if the Whedon allegations complicate her view of the show, she says…
Not at all. Everything about what worked about that show worked. It’s in the vault. You can’t go back and look at it and go, ‘Well, fuck that show because of Joss.’ Why? I don’t want to waste my time right now talking about Joss Whedon. I have spent so long talking about that man and I do not wish to continue to talk about him. . . . Let him go be him somewhere else. I’ve taken everything great from that time of my life.
While it may have been a job that let Emma Caulfield buy a house, it was still an important time for her, as she says she made lifelong friends. In the end, she’s not going to let the acts of another damage that part of the Buffy experience for her.