Sarah Michelle Gellar has spoken out in the wake of Michelle Trachtenberg’s passing.
News broke on Wednesday (February 26) that the Gossip Girl and Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum had sadly died at the age of 39.
It’s believed Trachtenberg died from natural causes and was found in her New York home.
The actress reportedly have a liver transplant in the months leading up to her death, says PEOPLE, which may have lead to ‘complications’.
An official cause of death is yet to be shared, however.
Confirming her death, the late actress’ representatives said: “It is with great sadness to confirm that Michelle Trachtenberg has passed away. The family requests privacy for their loss.”
Tributes have been rolling in for Trachtenberg following her unexpected passing, with her Buffy the Vampire Slayer co-stars leading the heartfelt messages.
Elsewhere, Blake Lively, whom she starred in Gossip Girl with, shared a moving message about the late 39-year-old.
Sharing a snap of them together on the set of the iconic 00s drama, Lively penned: “This is the first day I met Michelle. She was electricity. You knew when she entered a room because the vibration changed. Everything she did, she did 200 percent.”
Now Sarah Michelle Gellar has also addressed Trachtenberg’s death.
Buffy stars Sarah Michelle Gellar and Michelle Trachtenberg pictured in 2008 (Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage)
Taking to social media, the actress said while sharing a series of photos of them together: “Michelle, listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will always love you. The hardest thing in this world, is to live in it. I will be brave. I will live… for you.”
In the first few minutes of the heartfelt post being shared it garnered thousands of likes.
As well as Buffy and Gossip Girl, Trachtenberg starred in movies like Ice Princess, 17 Again, EuroTrip, and Harriet the Spy.
Sex and the City favorite Kim Cattrall played ice rink owner and former skater in Ice Princess, and shared a snap of her with Trachtenberg in the movie together on her Instagram grid.
“Rest in peace sweet Michelle,” penned the 68-year-old alongside the photo.
Ed Westwick was one of the first celebrities to pay tribute to Trachtenberg (edwestwick/Instagram)
Meanwhile, Ed Westwick was one of the first people to publicly address Trachtenberg’s death.
Sharing a photo to his Story of the late actress as her Gossip Girl character Georgina Sparks, he wrote: “So sad to hear of the passing of @michelletrachtenberg.”
“Sending prayers,” he added alongside a heart and prayer hand emoji.
Gossip Girl star Michelle Trachtenberg has passed away at the age of 39 and her family, police, and co-stars have spoken out.
Yesterday morning (February 26), Michelle Trachtenberg was found in her apartment at One Columbus Place in New York City.
The 39-year-old actor was best known for her recurring roles in series such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl however, she also appeared in movies like Ice Princess and 17 Again.
Michelle Trachtenberg has passed away at the age of 39 (Getty Images/ Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic)
What Michelle Trachtenberg’s family said
Trachtenberg began her career as an actor at the age of three, appearing in Nickelodeon television series Adventures of Pete and Pete alongside multiple other productions for the channel before going on to star in 2004 release Eurotrip and then her iconic roles in Buffy and Gossip Girl.
Supporting her along the way were Trachtenberg’s parents and sister. The actor reflected how her mom had ‘always been there’ for her in an interview with Blackfilm in March 2005.
A representative of her family confirmed Trachtenberg’s passing in a statement.
It reads: “It is with great sadness to confirm that Michelle Trachtenberg has passed away. The family requests privacy for their loss.”
And New York Police Department has commented on Trachtenberg’s passing too, noting her passing is not being investigated as suspicious.
Trachtenberg starred in ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ (Getty Images/ Albert L. Ortega/WireImage)
What police have said about the death of Michelle Trachtenberg
The NYPD said in a statement: “Criminality is not suspected. The medical examiner will determine the cause of death.
“The investigation remains ongoing.”
UNILAD has previously contacted NYPD for comment.
Co-stars of Trachtenberg’s have also since taken to social media to pay tribute to the actor.
Trachtenberg starred in Gossip Girl (Getty Images/ DISCIULLO/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
What Trachtenberg’s co-stars have said
Trachtenberg’s Gossip Girl co-star Blake Lively took to her Instagram story to share a photograph from the day the pair met on set of the hit drama.
She wrote: “This is the first day I met Michelle. She was electricity. You knew when she entered a room because the vibration changed. Everything she did, she did 200 percent.
“She laughed the fullest at someone’s joke, she faced authority head on when she felt something was wrong, she cared deeply about her work, she was proud to be a part of this community and industry as painful as it could be sometimes, she was fiercely loyal to her friends and brave for those she loved, she was big and bold and distinctly herself.”
“Time passes,” Lively continued. “You take for granted that you get the chance to see an old friend. To paraphrase, the real tragedies in life are the ones that blindside you on an idle Tuesday.”
Her post concluded: “The world lost a deeply sensitive and good person in Michelle. May her work and her huge heart be remembered by those who were lucky enough to experience her fire.”
Another Gossip Girl co-star, Ed Westwick, also paid tribute to Trachtenberg, writing on his story: “So sad to hear of the passing of @michelletrachtenberg sending prayers,” accompanied with a prayer emoji and a white heart.
The White Gold star posted the heartfelt message along with a photo of Trachtenberg playing Georgina in the popular TV series.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast member James Marsters also praised Trachtenberg as being a ‘fiercely intelligent, howlingly funny, and a very talented person’.
Marsters resolved: “She died much too young, and leaves behind scores of people who knew and loved her. My heart goes out to her family who are good people, and are suffering the greatest loss anyone could bear. I hope everyone can give them space to heal in this most difficult time. Godspeed Michelle. You are missed.”
Decades after its release, people are still talking about Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
The well-loved TV series made its debut in 1997, and went on to run for seven seasons.
Sarah Michelle Gellar portrayed the lead of Buffy, while the likes of How I Met Your Mother star Alyson Hannigan, James Marsters, and Michelle Trachtenberg made names for themselves on the drama series too.
Buffy officially ended in 2003, and 22 years later, fans of the show are still sharing their theories about it.
Buffy the Vampire slayer was hugely popular in the 90s and 00s (Getty Images)
One person who still gives the 00s favorite series the time of day is Charisma Carpenter, who played Cordelia Chase in Buffy and its spin-off series, Angel.
The two characters had a love-hate relationship with one another, with Cordelia being the resident ‘mean girl’ on the show.
Carpenter often chats about the series on her TikTok page, where she answers a lot of fans’ comments and questions.
In recent days, one person shared their theory to the actress. They suggested: “Cordy was a better friend to Buffy than most of the scoobies.”
“Ooo, this is such an unpopular take,” Carpenter began her response to the Buffy fan.
“This is gonna cause some controversy,” she went on.
“You really think so? You think that Cordy was a better friend to Buffy than the Scoobies? Holy sh*t. I’m gonna need a bullet point dissertation and all the ways you can prove that to be true.”
The actress then urged her followers to share their thoughts in the comments section.
“Get busy. I need to know. Tell me in the comments immediately. Immediately,” Carpenter said.
“You got to tell me all the ways that you can prove that Cordy was a better friend to Buffy than her Scooby Gang. Also, was Cordy a Scooby, a reluctant Scooby. a Scooby nonetheless? Give it to me in the comments. I need to know.”
Responding to her request, one person replied: “She wouldn’t have let them kick Buffy out of her own house!”
Sarah Michelle Gellar and Charisma Carpenter were co-stars on Buffy (Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
“Cordelia saw Buffy as Buffy, her actual ‘friends’ only saw her as the slayer,” suggested another.
A third added: “Having recently re watched this back. Yes. Cordy and Tara were better friends than Willow and Xander.”
Another person echoed similar sentiments and praised Cordelia for always being honest.
Someone else insisted: “This is not unpopular. This is the only take.”
If you’re wanting to rewatch Buffy to refresh your memory on such matters, all seven seasons are available to stream on Hulu.
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I have had a theory since Welcome to the Hellmouth. That Cordelia was not mean so much as she was just brutally honest and the Scooby’s could not handle the truth.
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The X Factor has issued a statement following Liam Payne’s untimely death at the age of 31.
The ‘Get Low’ hitmaker died yesterday (October 16) after falling off a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
He is survived by his seven-year-old son Bear, whom he shared with ex partner Cheryl Tweedy (née Cole).
Payne first auditioned for the show in 2008 at the age of 14.
He returned two years later when he was placed in a band, which they named One Direction, alongside fellow music-hopefuls Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson.
Following Payne’s passing, the official The X Factor Twitter account has issued a statement.
It reads: “We are heartbroken by the sad passing of Liam Payne.
“He was immensely talented and, as part of One Direction, Liam will leave a lasting legacy on the music industry and fans around the world.
“Our thoughts are with his friends, family and all who loved him.”
We are heartbroken by the sad passing of Liam Payne. He was immensely talented and, as part of One Direction, Liam will leave a lasting legacy on the music industry and fans around the world. Our thoughts are with his friends, family and all who loved him.
Music fans have since said that The X Factor’s tribute has made Payne’s death ‘even more real’.
“This makes it even more real,” one person replied to the Twitter post.
Others paid tribute to the star. Someone wrote: “It’s hard to process such a loss. He touched so many lives with his music.”
“Heartbreaking loss of a true talent. Liam’s legacy will live on,” added another.
Music fans are heartbroken following Liam Payne’s passing (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
The Argentinian authorities said that Payne wasn’t able to be saved when the emergency services arrived at his hotel.
Emergency medical services director Alberto Crescenti said on on Argentina’s Todo Noticias TV channel: “At 17.04 through the 911 integrated public safety system, we were alerted of a person who was in an internal courtyard of the management of a south house hotel.
“Unfortunately, he had injuries that were incompatible with life, as a result of his fall, so we had to confirm his death, there was no possibility of resuscitation.”
Liam Payne shares his son with ex girlfriend Cheryl Tweedy (David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Universal Music)
In the hours leading up to his death, Payne had posted to his Snapchat Story.
In the video titled ‘Lovely Day in Argentina’, Payne said: “Today, we ride. We’re going to ride some horses.
“Think I’m going to play polo again, which is going to put me out of action for about six weeks.”
He continued: “It’s so hard to do, number one, my back and my neck from swinging that hammer around… or mallet, I think it’s called if you’re in the know. It hurts a lot, it’s very tough to do.”
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Sarah Michelle Gellar has shut down rumors of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot, saying ‘it doesn’t need to be done’.
The scream queen recently sat down with Indie Wire to address rumors about returning to the popular ’90s show.
While the actor has no bad words to say of the series, she has no plans to revisit it.
“I am very proud of the show that we created and it doesn’t need to be done,” Gellar said about reprising the role.
“We wrapped that up.”
Billy Bennight/ZUMA Press Wire/Alamy
The actor continued: “I love the way the show was left: ‘Every girl who has the power can have the power.’
“It’s set up perfectly for someone else to have the power. But like I said, the metaphors of Buffy were the horrors of adolescence. I think I look young, but I am not an adolescent.”
But does this potentially mean Gellar would pass her stake onto another slayer?
It’s unlikely, as while a reboot was reported to be in the works, news broke last year that it had been scrapped.
According to Collider, rather than have Buffy at the helm, the reboot would follow a new slayer, this time a young, Black, female lead.
The series was set to air on CW, with the original series creator Joss Whedon attached as an executive producer.
However, as Whedon has faced allegations of abusive behavior from his colleagues, ex-wife and even a few Buffy cast members, if a reboot is ever underway, the network might have to ditch Whedon.
In February 2021, Charisma Carpenter, who played Cordelia Chase in the original series, claimed the show creator made passive-aggressive comments toward her and even pressured her to abort her baby when she fell pregnant during the shooting of Buffy’s spin-off, Angel.
My truth. #IStandWithRayFisher
In a statement, she wrote: “In that closed-door meeting, he asked me if I was ‘going to keep it’ and manipulatively weaponized my womanhood and faith against me.
“He proceeded to attack my character, mock my religious beliefs, accuse me of sabotaging the show, and then unceremoniously fired me the following season once I gave birth.”
Following the statement, Gellar praised her former co-star.
She wrote: “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.
