Movies

Sarah Michelle Gellar says she’s had ‘my fair share of experiences’ as a young woman in Hollywood

September 17, 2022

Sarah Michelle Gellar says being a young woman in the entertainment industry “wasn’t easy”, but “victim blame and shame” keeps her from opening up publicly about these stories.

The buffy the vampire slayer alum, 45, returned to the game after a break of several years following Crazypeople the death of co-star Robin Williams will be present for his family with Freddie Prinze Jr. She has a principal role in the high school black comedy Revenge, now on Netflix, and is in production acting and executive producer Teen Wolf spin off Wolf Pack for Paramount+. She tells the New York Times she feels she is now in her “adult career” – and it’s a thousand miles from where she started.

As for where she started — and what she’s been through along the way — it’s been a journey. Asked by the outlet if she generally had good experiences as a teenager and young woman in the industry, Gellar – who won a Daytime Emmy at 18 for All my children — replied, “No. It was really hard. There weren’t any big female roles when I came in. It was the girlfriend role, the wife role. That’s why Buffy was so spectacular, because she really had something to do, and then we had I know what you did, where it is the women who have understood things. It was a new turn of events.”

It was only a part. The other was inappropriate behavior behind the scenes, which she talked about but made it clear she wasn’t going to elaborate on.

“There’s the other side of being a young girl in the business,” she continued. “Growing up in New York, I had a bit of street savvy, which is helpful. But no, it wasn’t easy. And I had my fair share of experiences, I just chose to not – I don’t I don’t win by telling my stories, emotionally, for me. I watch the people who tell their stories, and I’m so impressed. But in this world where people are tearing each other apart, and victims are blaming and humble, I just keep my stories here.”

Sarah Michelle Gellar was just 18 when she won a Daytime Emmy for her role in All My Children in 1995. (Photo: Getty Images)

Of course, while buffy – which ran from 1997 to 2003 – was spectacular when it came to her role, we now know that some of the women on set felt threatened by show creator and EP Joss Whedon. Whedon was accused of on-set misconduct by alums Charisma Carpenter, Michelle Trachtenberg and Amber Benson in 2021. Gellar stood with the victims at the time, saying she was “proud of them for speaking out.”

Whedon broke his silence about the buffy set grievances – and other allegations of misconduct – earlier this year. Two days later, Gellar shared a social media post that read, “I can’t go back to the past, but I can fight for the future.” In her NOW interview, she was asked if she wanted to elaborate and she talked about her efforts to create “a safe space” for young performers on the sets she finds herself on as a result of what she has learned and experienced.

“Especially now, I go into my projects as an executive producer,” she says. “Wolf Pack, for example. I got these two young girls and two young boys [acting] above. I’ve been very clear from day one that if there’s anything the production wants to talk to them about, I want them to come through me. Because I went there. And I want [the performers] to always have a safe space.”

Gellar also opened up about the wedding to Prinze, with the couple recently marking their 20th wedding anniversary.

“I think we live in a very disposable world right now,” she said. “When I was a kid, if your TV broke, you would take it to the repair shop and get your TV fixed. Now, if your TV breaks, you go and buy a new one. I think sometimes we look at relationships like that. You have to be willing to work. It’s something we’ve always been willing to do. You have ups and downs, but you don’t go away.

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 14: (L-R) Sarah Michelle Gellar and Charlotte Grace Prinze attend the Do Revenge LA After Special Screening Reception at The Hollywood Roosevelt on September 14, 2022 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Netflix) — Sarah Michelle Gellar brought her rarely seen daughter Charlotte Grace Prinze, 12, to an LA screening of Netlfix *Revenge* September 14, 2022. (Photo: Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Netflix)

Gellar also spoke about his role in Revenge and how his character in the comedy film is modeled after his famous cruel intentions character, Kathryn Merteuil. While she was the young star of so many projects, she is the advising director to the teens played by stars such as Camila Mendes and Maya Hawke.

“I wouldn’t want to be 17 again for anything,” Gellar said. “Thirty-two maybe, but not 17.”

This week, Gellar brought her 12-year-old daughter, Charlotte Prinze, with her to a screening of the film in Hollywood. The couple’s children – including son Rocky, 10 – are rarely seen, with Gellar usually hiding their faces when she posts pictures of them on social media.