DC Comics Top Editor Eddie Berganza brehs

[Bryan Danielson]

At DC Comics, An Editor Rose Through The Ranks Even After Being Accused Of Sexual Harassment

At DC Comics, An Editor Rose Through The Ranks Even After Being Accused Of Sexual Harassment
At least two female employees at the publishing giant DC Comics accused a top editor of trying to forcibly kiss or grope them. He was promoted anyway. Two years later, he was accused of doing it again.

Posted on November 10, 2017, at 4:51 p.m.
By Jessica Testa (BuzzFeed News Reporter) Tyler Kingkade(BuzzFeed News Reporter) Jay Edidin (BuzzFeed Contributor)

Liz Gehrlein Marsham had been working at DC Comics for less than three weeks when she said a veteran editor named Eddie Berganza cornered her, stuck his tongue in her mouth, and attempted to grope her.

For Marsham, who was 29 at the time, a foot in the door of DC had been a dream come true. “I was so excited,” she told BuzzFeed News. “I ran around the office the first week taking pictures of things and sending them to my parents.”

Courtsey Janelle Asselin; Andrea Griggs

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Janelle Asselin (left), Liz Gehrlein Marsham (right).

But the six years after that 2006 encounter were a “period of slow heartbreak,” Marsham said. Berganza’s actions and DC’s response would change the course of her career — and become fodder for the rumor mill surrounding Berganza and the increasingly open secret of his misconduct. Marsham would be forced to choose between working under Berganza, who she said made her feel profoundly unsafe, or avoiding him at the cost of advancing the career she'd been so proud to start at DC.

“By the time I left,” Marsham said, “I was really demoralized. I was physically ill from being stressed all the time and trying to hide it. I just felt like I needed to get out, however I could.”

Within an industry that has created some of the most influential American fiction serving as the basis for blockbuster films, TV shows, and video games, Berganza has become notorious for the contrast between his personal conduct and professional success. Professionally, he’s moved through the ranks at DC from group editor to executive editor and back again, shepherding properties like Superman and Wonder Woman — properties that grow more valuable by the day as superhero movies dominate box offices and define pop culture. Berganza has become a quintessential company man at a big company inside an even bigger company; DC Comics is part of DC Entertainment, which is owned by Warner Bros., part of Time Warner Inc.

Martha

 

[parallax]

damn, that shyt is just flagrant. the fukk?

 

[Bigbigguy]

Everybody that keeps up with comic news have known about this for years but for some reason DC decided to keep him around

 

[Bryan Danielson]

Oh but wait

There’s more

While Berganza’s misconduct is alleged to have occurred years ago, with no fresh accusations suggesting he continues this behavior, the recent reckonings of powerful Hollywood figures like Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey have emboldened more victims across more industries to tell their stories. Now, for the first time, three women who say Berganza targeted them in the past have come forward to BuzzFeed News. Five people, including two of those women, confirmed that they spoke to higher-ups at DC about Berganza’s behavior.

Among the women who reported Berganza to human resources, none still work for DC. None are even working at mainstream comics publishers anymore; they’ve largely put superheroes behind them.

“We all left, and he’s still there,” said Janelle Asselin, a former DC editor who spearheaded the multi-employee HR complaint against Berganza in 2010. “That, to me, tells me what DC Comics’ priority is.”

Berganza did not respond to requests for comment for this story. A representative for DC Comics said DC and WB were “committed” to a harassment-free workplace. Unlike cases in other industries, the people who spoke to BuzzFeed News did not know of settlements, payouts, or nondisclosure agreements with women who say Berganza harassed them. Instead, what has kept many of these stories confined to gossip, blogs, and occasional social media posts is the small size of the comics industry, and fear of being blacklisted by the biggest publishers in comics.

For 25 years, Berganza has flourished at DC, while women — at least for the latter part of those years — either left the company or avoided it altogether because of him. The women with the most egregious stories about Berganza, expecting they’d be accused by some in their industry of engaging in a “witch hunt,” have kept quiet, scared of losing jobs, friends, and livelihoods. Until now.

Martha

 

[Ill Lou Malnati]

It's a known issue that DC has never wanted to address.

 

[Bryan Danielson]

Everybody that keeps up with comic news have known about this for years but for some reason DC decided to keep him around

It's a known issue that DC has never wanted to address.

Wow?


See I never heard about this shyt but yall brehs really saying cats been known this was going on?

And everyone from the employers to the DC defending stans and just been like "nothing to see here folks"

Martha

 

[Bryan Danielson]

It's over

Damn so another DC guy oust with some sexual misconduct

GOTDAMN..... this aint a good look

Martha

 

[ozzy]

didn't know about this wow and he his ugly too

 

[ozzy]

so is he going prison or rehab you know white they take them to rehab while black people prison

 

[Primetime]

Sexual harassment in the workplace at DC comics was actually a pretty big issue that flared up in the e-news like... a year or two ago... But for some reason, or like with a lot of the past Hollywood allegations, it seemed to kinda just.. smolder..

 

[Mic-Nificent]

Everybody that keeps up with comic news have known about this for years but for some reason DC decided to keep him around

I mentioned this in another thread, about how DC has a culture of enabling abuse and discrimination that everybody knows about. So of course some people responded with "Marvel does it too. ___ has worked for both companies. Stop being a stan".

There's a systemic issue at DC that been talked about among creators and fans for decades now.

 

[prophecypro]

Damn so another DC guy oust with some sexual misconduct

GOTDAMN..... this aint a good look

Martha

Add Ben Affleck and Allison Mack and DC getting accused across the multiverse

 

[Bryan Danielson]

Add Ben Affleck and Allison Mack and DC getting accused across the multiverse

That Allison Mack shyt is crazy though.....

Like its one thing to look at someone and imagine "man she looks like a freak"

But to get that confirmation

Martha

 

[prophecypro]

That Allison Mack shyt is crazy though.....

Like its one thing to look at someone and imagine "man she looks like a freak"

But to get that confirmation

Martha

Yeah that shyt would be kind of hot if not for, you know the actual kidnapping and shyt....

 

[Bryan Danielson]

‘The Flash’ Showrunner Andrew Kreisberg Suspended Amid Sexual Harassment Allegations

Add DC's FLASH showrunner brehs

These DC scandals

Martha