We just learned that there was rule specifically about not leaving Trachtenberg on her own with Whedon. That means the majority knew. What are the chances Minear and Espenson didn't know?
Good point, though Minear was on AtS, not BtVS. He apparently knew about what was going on with Charisma.
I wonder how much the writing staff had to deal with, and how many (if not all) were aware of what was going on with stuff like Michelle. And if they were made to feel that they couldn't do anything about it or if they didn't care or any of the above?
Speaking of the writers, another person I would love to hear from is Marti Noxon. I mean come Season 6, she pretty much took up the reins for the show while Joss was doing Firefly. I'm sure whatever terror he was bringing wasn't just exclusive to the cast, I wonder how their relationship really was.
There is a fan comment on another forum that during one of the cast and writer reunions (I think Paley Fest?) that Charisma and Marti both laughed about seperate experiences where Joss called them into the office and made them feel they were going to be fired as a "joke."
But their shared laughter came off as a bit nervous/awkward, as if they both wanted to say something else.
EDIT: oh geez, she's weighed in. Good for her though
Wasn't it said Whedon had favorites? I can't imagine Head would fit into Whedon's M.O. He's an older male with standing than young female newcomers who Whedon can easily take more advantage of and exert power over, so I can't imagine how Head would be a witness to that. Judging by his abuse, it wasn't in the open, Scott Rudin abusive, it was more petty person to person where Whedon could just sit you down in a room and do it that way more passively even. You may not even know he's doing it. It's more manipulative.
Fans have speculated on Whedon's favorites for years. Denisof and Hannigan are godparents to at least one of his kids, he liked working with Amy Acker and Eliza Dushku a lot. Acker, Dushku and Denisof all showed up in other projects, along with people like Fillion and Tudyk. He seemed to run hot and cold on James Marsters, Marsters has stated that he didn't feel like a favorite.
We know Carpenter definitely wasn't and hasn't associated with him since the shows ended. There were a LOT of rumors of a feud between him and Gellar during the last few seasons and her husband got involved, and he'd occasionally make thinly veiled cracks about them and her career afterward. And there was the narrative that she was "difficult to work with" that probably started with him, as when usually when an actress is labeled as that it means she said "no" to the wrong guy. And it's difficult to find anything positive about him and Boreanaz; despite some crap the latter has allegedly pulled, he at least still seems to be on friendly terms with Gellar and Carpenter and speaks highly of AtS (mostly Greenwalt's baby), but less on BtVS and WHedon. Whedon has said he had issues with the character of Angel because he reminded him of the jocks that used to beat him up; Boreanaz was a jock who likes sports. Both he and Gellar both support the Buffy/Angel ship, and Whedon seems weirdly interested in punishing the characters for wanting to be together.
Nicholas Brendon was told not to work out anymore because Spike was the new heart throb and Xander was meant to be a stand in for Joss, who didn't have NB's looks. Brendon is a mess of a human being now, but in light of this work environment, it makes you wonder how much of a role it played in what he's like now. Not that it excuses his behavior, but we could potentially understand it better