An Editor For DC Comics Has Been Fired Following Sexual Assault Allegations

DC Comics editor Eddie Berganza has been fired by the company after at least three different women, all of whom were former employees at DC, alleged that he sexually assaulted them. The accusations first came to light in a piece on Buzzfeed, which reported that DC promoted Berganza even after at least two women allegedly reported that he forcibly kissed and grope them. On Saturday, one day after BuzzFeed News' report, DC announced it was suspending Berganza and launching a review into the matter. He was fired two days later.

In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, DC Entertainment said, "We are committed to eradicating harassment and ensuring that all employees, as well as our freelance community, are aware of our policies, are comfortable reporting any concerns and feel supported by our Company."

The BuzzFeed piece shared detailed allegations from Liz Gehrlein Marsham, then a new DC employee, who said Berganza kissed and groped her at a New York bar. Cartoonist Joan Hilty also said Berganza kissed and groped her at the same bar in the early 2000s. And then in 2010, former DC editor Janelle Asselin organized a group of employees to file a joint complaint to HR about Berganza. Instead of being investigated, or fired, Berganaza was named executive editor later that same year. It wasn't until 2012 that Berganza was demoted to story editor after allegations that he forcibly kissed a woman at WonderCon surfaced in a Bleeding Cool article.

On Monday morning, author and comic book writer Marjorie Liu took to Twitter to share that she had "lost count of how many times [she] explicitly told DC editorial that [she] wouldn’t write for them because of Berganza."

Berganza had been an employee at DC Comics for 25 years, and was a group editor who oversaw production of major titles, including Superman, Supergirl, and Wonder Woman. Before he was fired, he was overseeing Dark Knights: Metal, a special series that is reportedly one of DC's biggest-selling titles.

You don't need me to tell you that the male-dominated comic book world has long ignored, abused, and generally mistreated many women who have dared to speak out in the industry... even just creatively. And while that is slowly changing, with the popularity of Wonder Woman and women-led comics from the likes of Gabby Rivera and Rainbow Rowell, the Berganza story is clear and undeniable proof that we still have a very long way to go. Here's hoping this is only the first of many steps in the right direction.