By Chris Snellgrove | Published
It has been a very difficult time to be a fan Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Last year, Michelle Trachtenberg, who played Buffy’s sister, died tragically. Last week, Hulu officially killed the revival of the TV show that would have brought Buffy Summers back to the small screen. Recently, Nicholas Brendon, who played the role of Xander Harris, died at the age of 54.
It didn’t take long for his first Buffy costars write memorial posts on social media such as Instagram; some were better than others, but all went their own way. However, as someone who has been with Xander’s character since before his death, I am haunted by a secret that fans don’t want to talk about. You see, Nicholas Brendon hated Sarah Michelle Gellar, and made a series of outrageous, public allegations about her just days before she died.
Zeppo’s Last Ride
This happened in the form of Facebook, where Nicholas Brendon lived on March 14, less than a week before his sudden death. The video seems so surreal now: Brendon keeps moving back and forth in a rocking chair (he had an eclectic love of rocking chairs) while coughing violently; he blamed his cigarette smoke, joking at one point that he sounded like Bane. During the 45-minute video, he discussed several aspects of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer before suddenly and unexpectedly accusing lead actress Sarah Michelle Gellar of various accusations.
Commentary began on a negative note, with Nicholas Brendon saying, “I believe the way the game ended it shouldn’t have ended the way it did.” However, he soon singled out Sarah Michelle Gellar, saying “She worked hard, but she made the show kind of fun.” Specifically, he hated that “He told everyone that he was leaving very late in the series, so Chris Snellgrove Joss [Whedon] I wasn’t ready for that…it wasn’t good for the crew, the cast or the show.”
Amazing Protection for Canceled Icon
Speaking of the contending runner, Brendon seemed to be one of the last Buffy players to openly support Joss Whedon. In the same Facebook video, he argued that Hulu shouldn’t have tried to reboot Buffy without Whedon’s involvement; however, Whedon quietly retired from public and professional life after many allegations that he created a hostile work environment and was personally toxic towards his actors. After Cordelia’s character Charisma Carpenter made a series of nasty allegations about Whedon, she was clearly backed up Buffy actors like David Boreanaz, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Sarah Michelle Gellar.
Although Brendon rarely criticizes Gellar publicly, many read his defense of Whedon as an indirect criticism of him. For example, the Buffy Summers actress gave a short and simple statement of support for Charisma Carpenter, writing, “I stand with all survivors of abuse.” At the time, Brendon supported Whedon and downplayed the allegations against him, saying they were “bullsh*t…cancel the culture.”
In that haunting Facebook video shortly before he died, Brendon didn’t speak: in addition to continuing to fully support Whedon, he also accused Gellar of wanting to quit acting. Buffy the Vampire Slayer after Season 7. Previously, Gellar said she wanted to leave the show because she was physically and mentally exhausted; she wanted to enjoy life with her new husband (Freddie Prinze, Jr.), and she felt there was nothing new she could do with her character. That didn’t help, like many Buffy fans, he really hated Season 6.
Farewell to our Childhood Hero
Sadly, Brendon saw her departure as a personal attack that took away his meal ticket. To some extent, he was right: he didn’t have big roles after that Buffy it’s over. Undoubtedly, however, this was due to his skills as an actor and because of his social addiction to drugs and alcohol. By all accounts, Gellar was always supportive of Brendan, whose struggles go way back Buffy days. But that support didn’t stop Brendon from seeing him as an enemy in the end.
All this adds another layer of tragedy to the sudden death of Nicholas Brendon. His career peaked decades ago, and he apparently resented Sarah Michelle Gellar for leaving the show and prematurely ending the biggest role she could have had. Given enough time, Brendon could be a part of any future reboot efforts Buffy the Vampire Slayer. However, now he was taken from us too soon, and in a horrible way, he died hating the woman who helped make him famous.
