WBTV Takes Action Amid Allegations.
In the wake of the Hollywood trove of sexual harassment allegations, it has now hit the comics industry with two of WB’s (who own DC comics) high ranking employee’s being accused of harassment and misconduct.
A statement released by Warner Bros. T.V. Group says that co-creator/executive producer of the Arrowverse T.V. Shows, Andrew Kreisberg has been temporarily stood down. They are conducting an investigation into allegations from multiple staff members of unwanted physical contact, verbal sexual harassment and creating a toxic environment. No names of accusers have been released due to fear of the possible backlash in their current or future employment. Warner Bros. has released a statement saying “We take these allegations very seriously and wish to provide a safe working environment.” Kreisberg has denied any allegations against him. Time will tell how this will affect the T.V. shows, particularly The Flash and Supergirl.
A second DC staff member, Eddie Berganza has also been accused of a history of sexual harassment towards female employees both in and out of the workplace in a recently released BuzzFeed article. A previously reported incident regarding this found Berganza demoted from Executive Editor to Group editor. The alleged victims mostly feared that reporting these actions would impact their future career opportunities, though some were still brave enough to come forward. For some, it affected their overall health and wellbeing and none of the women who reported the incidents are still working in the comic industry. All the allegations date back mostly from 2006-2010. But it seems Berganza has had a reputation for not respecting women throughout the industry. One female writer even refused the opportunity to work on a high profile title because he was the editor of the series and didn’t want to be professionally associated with his name. Another employee has been quoted saying “his reputation was a gross open secret.”
Currently, no action has been taken by DC towards Berganza, but they issued a similar statement as with Kreisberg about making the workplace a safe and healthy environment. He is currently running on one of DC’s top titles Dark Nights: Metal, with no fresh allegations made towards him. The current atmosphere in Hollywood of sexual harassment has given others strength to come forward and brought to light past incidents. This kind of behavior can cause immeasurable damage to a persons life and needs to be stopped. Hopefully, this is a step towards eradicating the fear and silence towards such actions.