As Hollywood continues to be rocked by one scandal after another, the latest person to find themselves in the crosshairs is The Flash showrunner Andrew Kreisberg.
The producer, who’s also a key player in The CW’s other superhero series – Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl – has been suspended tonight over sexual harassment allegations, reports Variety. Warner Bros. TV Group has launched a formal investigation into what many are deeming “inappropriate behavior” by Kreisberg, with 15 women and 4 men coming forward with disturbing tales.
“We have recently been made aware of allegations of misconduct against Andrew Kreisberg,” said Warner Bros. TV Group. “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.”
Though the showrunner denies any and all allegations, there’s been an overwhelming amount of stories about him “frequently touching people without their permission, asking for massages from uncomfortable female staff members, and kissing women without asking.” Meanwhile, every source Variety spoke with cited a “constant stream of sexualized comments about women’s appearances, their clothes, and their perceived desirability.”
“We were recently made aware of some deeply troubling allegations regarding one of our showrunners,” said Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter, who head Berlanti Productions which oversee Kreisberg’s shows. “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’s safe to work in and safe to speak up about if it isn’t.”
Those who worked for Kreisberg say that his role as executive producer on The CW’s top shows gave him a lot of power, which ultimately, went to his head.
“The power went to his head,” says a male writer. “It became clear to me that it would be very dangerous, career-wise, for me to confront him about his behavior.”
When it came to meetings, women would often avoid sitting next to him on the couch, as he would keep trying to get closer and closer to them no matter how much they tried to move away. Not only that, but Kreisberg would often make wildly inappropriate comments, look at photos of nude women around female staff, put people in incredibly uncomfortable situations and more.
Variety’s got the full report and if you’re interested, you can head on over there via the link below. While the showrunner denies everything that’s been said, it’s hard to ignore how many disturbing stories there are from his staff and we don’t imagine we’ll be seeing him back working on The Flash any time soon.