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Television writer and Wynonna Earp creator Emily Andras shares a tweet thread about Joss Whedon, renewing conversations about separating the art from the artist. Given the recent 20th anniversary of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's finale, Whedon's most influential project and its complicated legacy have resurfaced in headlines. The cast of Buffy and its spinoff Angel has spoken out over the past few years about how Whedon caused a toxic work environment, citing his bullying, verbal abuse, and tendency to pit people against one another. These revelations came on the heels of an investigation into Whedon's behavior on the set of 2017's Justice League movie.Andras shared a tweet thread to discuss the importance of separating Whedon's art from who he is as a person. Andras credited the Buffy creator and Avengers director for “groundbreaking, cultural work that moved us all”, stressing the dangers of pretending that bad people can't produce entertaining and even important works. Andras's argument, which noted that dismissing Whedon's work “helps no one & protects nobody moving forward”, drew but also some pushback. You can read Andras's thread, in addition to some responses, below:

While some Scooby Gang characters like Giles received happy endings at the conclusion of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, canonical comic book continuations reveal a grisly fate for the Watcher. After the show ended with Season 7, several more "seasons" were produced in the form of official canon comics from Dark Horse Comics and creator Joss Whedon. While BOOM! Studios is currently continuing the legacy of Buffy through its Slayerverse, the Slayerverse compiles stories from different universes of Buffy. Audiences follow the same characters with origins and mythos slightly tweaked from how they are presented in the TV show.

Spoilers for Angel #8 ahead!One of the perks of the Slayerverse is that the different universes within it help re-contextualize the more officially canonized versions of both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. For those unaware, the Slayerverse is essentially the Buffy the Vampire Slayer version of the multiverse, made up of many universes centering around Buffy and the Scooby Gang. These different realities tweak the official canon to present scenarios such as Willow as the Vampire Slayer, an older Buffy in the middle of a post-apocalyptic future, or even Buffy as a zombie.

The character Xavin from The Runaways was ground-breaking for being Marvel's first gender-fluid hero, but Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon almost undid that progress. In the mid-2000s The Runaways, along with the New X-Men and Young Avengers, were Marvel’s first earnest attempts at new socially diverse teams of young people of varying, backgrounds, body types, races, and sexual identities. Proper representation can be a rocky road, but when Brian K. Vaughan introduced the gender-fluid Skrull character Xavin midway through the series' second volume, they seemed like a natural fit. Unfortunately when Whedon took over The Runaways in 2008, he made a change to Xavin’s identity that, while intended to be celebratory, wound up making the book look tone-deaf and reductive.

Joss Whedon has denied accusations of verbal abuse towards Charisma Carpenter. Carpenter played Cordelia on Buffy and its spin-off show Angel, both of which Whedon created. Carpenter, along with several others who have worked alongside Whedon, has claimed that he was abusive on set.

Actor Ray Fisher has responded to Joss Whedon's criticisms of the Justice League cast in a new interview. Fisher has been vocal about his disdain for Whedon in the past year, citing the clashes the two had over his role as Cyborg in Zack Snyder's Justice League. Whedon was brought onboard to direct reshoots for the film in 2017 after Snyder left the film due to a family tragedy, as well as creative differences with the studio.

In 2015, Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron received a fair share of criticism for the treatment of Black Widow - but the Marvel Cinematic Universe wasn't the only source of controversy. The Silver Age superhero has a long and storied history, appearing in over 50 years' worth of comic books, television show and supplemental material. Marvel may have decided that Natasha Romanoff's fertility was a key issue during the Avenger' sequel, but the company has made this mistake before.

Warning: contains spoilers for Superman: Son of Kal-El #3!

As allegations of abuse continue to mount against Joss Whedon, it has become increasingly difficult to keep track of which cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayerand Angel have made specific allegations of professional misconduct. It is important to make this distinction, as many have stepped forward to voice their emotional for their co-stars without speaking specifically about any abuse they may have experienced personally.

Warning: contains spoilers for Black Widow #4!