'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' star Sarah Michelle Gellar explains why people may think she's 'difficult'
Sarah Michelle Gellar shared her thoughts on why she became known as being "difficult" behind the scenes of her acting projects.
In a YouTube video that was posted on Tuesday, the 47-year-old actress took part in fitness brand Alo's "Break the Ice" segment, in which celebrities answer questions while soaking in a cold plunge tub. During the interview, Gellar was asked about the biggest misconception that people have about her.
"I think sometimes people might think that I'm difficult because I have high expectations and a very hard work ethic and I want everyone to sort of have that, so I can come across, I think, a little intense sometimes," the "Cruel Intentions" star said.
Gellar has worked in the industry since she was a child after making her film debut at the age of 6 in the 1983 TV movie "An Invasion of Privacy." In 1993, the actress landed her breakthrough role as Kendall Hart on the soap opera "All My Children," earning a Daytime Emmy Award for her performance.
Gellar has credited her experience on the show with helping her develop the discipline that she would need to maintain a long career in Hollywood.
"I made incredible friends at that time and I learned incredible work habits, and soap operas are an intense amount of work, and I'm incredibly grateful for that time and the people that I met," Gellar said during an interview with TV Insider in 2021.
In a 2023 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Gellar reflected on how her strong work ethic has been misconstrued during her career.
"If people think you’re a b----, it’s almost better," she said. "There’s less expectation that way."
"There was a time when I had a reputation of being… difficult," she added, using air quotes.
Gellar continued, "Anyone that knows me knows it came from the fact that I always put in 100 percent. I never understood people who don’t. I’ve mellowed a bit in [my expectations of others] — I think because I got burned out."
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While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Gellar's former "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" co-star Seth Green recalled how she was labeled as a "b----" and "diva" when she stood up for her colleagues. Gellar starred as Buffy Summers on the hit show from 1997 to 2003.
Green, who played Daniel "Oz" Osbourne"on the series from 1997 to 2000, explained that Gellar used her position at the top of the show's call sheet to push for better working conditions and hours for her co-stars and the crew.
"That show was just hard," the 50-year-old actor told the outlet. "We were working crazy hours, and a lot of things that got pushed weren’t necessarily safe or under the best conditions."
"Sarah was always the first one to say, ‘We agreed this was a 13-hour day and it’s hour 15 — we’ve got to wrap,’ or, ‘Hey, this shot doesn’t seem safe,’ when nobody else would stick up for the cast and crew," he continued. "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."
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Over the past few years, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" creator and showrunner Joss Whedon has been accused of having fostered a toxic work environment on the show's set.
During a 2022 appearance at The Wrap's Power Women Summit, Gellar recalled spending many years working on an "extremely toxic male set," which many fans interpreted as a reference to how Whedon ran "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Gellar weighed in on how she has mostly avoided discussing the accusations.
"I’ve come to a good place with it, where it’s easier to talk about," she said. "I’ll never tell my full story because I don’t get anything out of it. I’ve said all I’m going to say because nobody wins. Everybody loses."
Gellar also reflected on how the controversy over Whedon's behavior may have affected the legacy of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
"I’m not the only person facing this, and I hope the legacy hasn’t changed," she told the outlet. "I hope that it gives the success back to the people that put in all of the work."
"I will always be proud of ‘Buffy.’ I will always be proud of what my castmates did, what I did. Was it an ideal working situation? Absolutely not," she said.
"But it’s OK to love ‘Buffy’ for what we created because I think it’s pretty spectacular."