Sarah Michelle Gellar is ‘so proud’ of the way Buffy became a powerful female role model

Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar has reflected on the ways her character broke ground with its powerful representation.

Gellar, who starred as the eponymous Buffy Summers from 1997 to 2003, made waves with her portrayal of the powerful teen vampire slayer, who remains one of the most beloved female characters ever to grace the small screen.

Despite continued reports of controversy on set of the show, with most claims surrounding the problematic behaviour of executive producer Joss Whedon, Gellar has also shared her pride at Buffy‘s enduring legacy in pop culture.

“As an actor, all you ever want to do is a show that affects people, that they love and holds up,” she told SFX magazine, via GamesRadar.

“That is your legacy. I am so proud of what we created. It’s been a tumultuous couple of years, and understanding the show and its legacy, there is good and bad to all of it. I have gotten to a place now where we can really appreciate the show for what we created.”

Gellar, who recently became one of the chosen few to be inducted into the homosexual hall of fame with the title of ‘Mother’, also reflected on the new wave of viewers discovering the show during the pandemic, explaining that she’s most proud of Buffy’s nuanced, “three-dimensional” character who remains well ahead of her time.

“I am so proud that during the pandemic, the show reached a whole new generation of people that still felt that it spoke to them, that it was still timely and it still meant something to them… Horror is one of the few genres where you get to do that.

“Having a character like Buffy, who is so three-dimensional and hits all those notes… you don’t just want to be the wife or the girlfriend.”

In recent years, allegations of Whedon’s inappropriate behaviour have dominated much of the conversation around Buffy.

Stars of the show Charisma Carpenter and Amber Benson have accused Joss Whedon of “toxic” abuse, while Gellar herself wrote on Instagram:

“While I am proud to have my name associated with Buffy Summers, I don’t want to be forever associated with the name Joss Whedon,” Gellar said.

Meanwhile, the cast and crew of Gellar’s new fantasy teen drama Wolf Pack have recently spoken out as how she “took care” of them on set.