DC Comics Fires Longtime Editor Following Sexual Harassment Claims

The decision came two days after Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment launched a review into revelations that Eddie Berganza was promoted despite allegations he forcibly kissed and tried to grope colleagues.

Eddie Berganza, a high-ranking editor at DC Comics, was fired Monday following a BuzzFeed News report detailing years of sexual harassment allegations against him.

In announcing Berganza's termination, representatives for Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment told BuzzFeed News they were "committed to eradicating harassment."

Berganza, a 25-year veteran at DC Comics, 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 at the moment.

Two women who worked at DC told BuzzFeed News that Berganza either forcibly kissed them, or attempted to do so, in the early to mid-2000s. Several people complained to the company's human resources department in 2010, when Berganza was up for a promotion to executive editor. Berganza still received the promotion, but was demoted to group editor in 2012 after another woman said he kissed her without her consent at a comics convention.

BuzzFeed News published a story Friday detailing the allegations, with the women speaking about the incidents publicly for the first time. Everyone who said they complained about Berganza to DC's human resources department in 2010 has since left the company, and some comics professionals said they turned down offers to work on titles that Berganza oversaw because of the allegations against him.

On Saturday, one day after BuzzFeed News' report, DC announced it was suspending Berganza and launching a "prompt yet careful review into next steps." He was fired two days later.

"DC prides itself on being a premier destination for top talent as well as an amazing creatively collaborative place to work that is a safe and secure environment for our employees and extended freelance family," Diane Nelson, president of DC Entertainment, wrote in an email to employees on Saturday.

On Monday, according to an email obtained by BuzzFeed, Nelson told freelancers who work with DC, “Our doors are always open and we look forward to working with our employees and our talent community to do better as an organization and as a leader in the comics industry.”

DC Comics is part of DC Entertainment, which is owned by Warner Bros., and is getting ready to release the first film adaptation of its Justice League comics on Nov. 17.

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