Late 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' Star Nicholas Brendon Accused of 'Grooming' 17-Year-Old Girl Years Before His Death

Late Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Nicholas Brendon is facing accusations of "grooming" a 17-year-old girl years before he unexpectedly passed away from natural causes at age 54 on March 20.

“When I heard the news that he died, I cried out of pure relief,” Doe 1, a now-30-year-old member of the nearly 9,000-member Nicholas Brendon Awareness Facebook group, said in an interview with a news outlet on Friday, April 17.

The victim, a former aspiring actress, explained she met Brendon when she was 17, as she connected with him after he gave her "the biggest hug" at a fan convention.

“I was like, ‘Hey, I’m an actor. Can I give you my number? Like, can you help me out?'” she recalled telling the then-42-year-old. “He seemed all for it, and I was like, ‘Awesome!’ So we started texting, and it got flirty. I’m 17, talking to f------ Xander from Buffy. Wow.”

The victim recalled being "smitten as s---," noting Brendon started by asking for "cuddles" before eventually requesting for nude photos.

“I was like, ‘Bro, I’m 17.’ I was stupid enough to be like, ‘I don’t want you to get in trouble for having nudes of a 17-year-old on your phone.’ And he goes, ‘It’s OK, you’re the age of consent. Just send me the nudes.’ He actually looked up the age of consent [in South Carolina]," she alleged.

Doe 1 initially "tried to take tasteful nudes" by covering up her assets with a "scarf," but Brendon allegedly told her that wasn't "enough."

"And I was like, ‘I’m not comfortable with that.’ And he goes, ‘I’m famous. I’m giving you attention. You should be doing what I ask you to do,'" she claimed.

Though the victim tried to "appease him a couple more times," she explained he eventually "ghosted" her six months after their initial meeting.

“I was absolutely f------ devastated,” she reportedly said through tears. “I thought I was going to be able to date this man and that he was going to help me.”

She explained the trauma affected her future relationships, but it wasn't until years later – when she came across a TikTok posted by Brendon's ex-girlfriend Sarah Allison, who accused him of addiction-fueled abuse — that she realized her connection to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer actor wasn't a typical romantic connection.

“I really reflected and realized, ‘Oh, I was really groomed. This was worse than I had thought it was,'” she recalled.

Grooming is "the process of establishing and building a relationship with a child or young person to facilitate sexual abuse," per the National Office of Child Safety.

Though Doe 1 "felt a little bad celebrating" Brendon's death, she pointed out that she's "tired of bad people getting put on a pedestal just because they happen to do something that we literally all do."

"Yeah, we all die. It’s not special. It is not a special occurrence," she continued. "So why does he deserve accolades and grace now that he’s dead? He’s not special just because he died."