{"id":100128,"date":"2017-11-13T12:17:19","date_gmt":"2017-11-13T12:17:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/?p=100128"},"modified":"2017-11-13T12:17:19","modified_gmt":"2017-11-13T12:17:19","slug":"the-flash-showrunner-suspended-over-sexual-harassment-allegations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/news\/the-flash-showrunner-suspended-over-sexual-harassment-allegations\/","title":{"rendered":"The Flash showrunner suspended over sexual harassment allegations"},"content":{"rendered":"

There was very upsetting news from the Arrowverse over the weekend, as it was revealed that Andrew Kreisberg,\u00a0showrunner on The Flash<\/em> <\/strong>and executive producer on Supergirl<\/em><\/strong>, Arrow<\/em><\/strong> and Legends Of Tomorrow<\/em><\/strong>, has been suspended from his duties by The CW and Warner Bros due to allegations of sexual harassment.<\/p>\n

Variety<\/a> reported on Friday that Kreisberg, one of the key figures in Greg Berlanti’s superhero TV universe, is the subject of an investigation following behaviour that is described as “toxic”, “inappropriate”, and “ongoing and escalating over time,” with\u00a019 sources reporting his actions.<\/p>\n

Berlanti and fellow producer Sarah Schechter made a statement, saying “We were recently made aware of some deeply troubling allegations regarding one of our showrunners. We have been encouraging and fully cooperating with the investigation into this by Warner Bros. There is nothing more important to us than the safety and well-being of our cast, crew, writers, producers and any staff. We do not tolerate harassment and are committed to doing everything we can to make an environment that\u2019s safe to work in and safe to speak up about if it isn\u2019t.”<\/p>\n

Warner Bros TV Group issued a similar statement: “We have recently been made aware of allegations of misconduct against Andrew Kreisberg. We have suspended Mr. Kreisberg and are conducting an internal investigation. We take all allegations of misconduct extremely seriously, and are committed to creating a safe working environment for our employees and everyone involved in our productions.”<\/p>\n

In Variety’s report, there’s something of a confused image being painted of the structures that were in place to report this kind of behaviour. The sources did not go to the human resources team “on the assumption that they would pay a price for that, given how important his position was at the company,” and an investigation started as word spread. One of the sources, “a high-level female producer” said that she reported Kreisberg’s behaviour to a senior executive but, in her words, “There was zero response. Nothing happened. Nothing changed.” Meanwhile, Variety’s sources claim that Berlanti was\u00a0not made aware\u00a0of any reports and “if he had, he would have directed them to human resources.” Kreisberg has denied all the allegations, which are detailed in the article.<\/p>\n

In the days following, Supergirl<\/em><\/strong> stars Melissa Benoist and Chyler Leigh and Arrow<\/em><\/strong>‘s Emily Bett Rickards took to social media to emphasise the importance of standing up and speaking out, and to criticise the culture of turning a blind eye.<\/p>\n

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\u2764\ufe0f pic.twitter.com\/bIAcZWrYOT<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Melissa Benoist (@MelissaBenoist) November 13, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n