by Chris Tobias

For eight years, we here at Take Back the Sky lobbied SpaceX to name their first Crew Dragon spacecraft after Serenity. While our campaign ultimately wasn’t successful, the process was a labor of love for all involved, not only because we believed in private spaceflight and the exploration of space by the people, for the people, but also because we are all fans of Firefly and Serenity, the space-western TV series and motion picture that are the creations of Hollywood writer, director and producer Joss Whedon.

As a movement that derives its very identity from one of Joss Whedon’s creations, it would be remiss of us not to acknowledge the recent controversy that has surrounded him in the wake of allegations by actors with whom he has worked that he created a toxic and abusive work environment on set. As a co-founder of Take Back the Sky and someone who has been very involved in the Browncoat community on many levels, I felt it would be appropriate if I were the one to do so.

I am not interested in rehashing in fine detail all of the statements and subsequent speculation that have been ever-present on the internet– especially on social media– since Charisma Carpenter (the actress who played Cordelia Chase on both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel) first issued a statement on February 10 via Twitter that “Joss Whedon abused his power on numerous occasions… on the sets of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.” Anyone who is not already aware of them who has a laptop or smartphone can easily use his or her search engine of choice to find all the details. What I do think is worth addressing is what the proper response might be to what we now know.

The way I see it, there are two questions that should be asked in the wake of the recent allegations against Joss Whedon: 1) “Is it appropriate for the fans to hold him accountable?” and 2) “Should this affect how we view his work?”