DC Breaks Silence, Finally Addresses Harassment Issues

On Friday afternoon, DC Comics reportedly held an all-employees meeting to discuss the company's harassment issues, which had been a major point of discussion within the industry for the past few weeks. Following the day's events, DC issued a formal public statement about its new policies, finally ending a weeks-long drought of silence.

Following news that Vertigo editor Shelly Bond was being let go from DC in light of restructuring, there was a vocal outcry against the continued employment of editor Eddie Berganza. Though Bond's termination and Berganza's employment were unrelated, the move by DC led several people to name Berganza as the subject of previous harassment allegations. DC has refused to offer official comment on the matter.

Yesterday, however, at nearly the close of business on the West Coast, DC finally issued a brief statement, claiming to take allegations of harassment "very seriously," and revealing that an internal review of existing policies is underway.

DC's full statement, given to Comic Book Resources, can be read below:

DC Entertainment strives to foster a culture of inclusion, fairness and respect. While we cannot comment on specific personnel matters, DC takes allegations of discrimination and harassment very seriously, promptly investigates reports of misconduct and disciplines those who violate our standards and policies.

As part of our ongoing effort to provide an equitable working environment, we are reviewing our policies, expanding employee training on the topic and working with internal and external resources to ensure that these policies and procedures are respected and reinforced across the company.

That DC and parent company Warner Bros. have finally acknowledged the matter may be cause for hope that a culture of harassment will not be tolerated at the company, but for many this statement will be too little, too late.