Greg Berlanti of 'Supergirl' Says He Was 'Shocked' at Andrew Kreisberg Sexual Misconduct Allegations

“I was shocked, I was disappointed, I was confused."

Greg Berlanti
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HOLLYWOOD, CA - MARCH 13: Executive producer Greg Berlanti arrives at The Paley Center For Media's 33rd Annual PaleyFest Los Angeles presentation of 'Supergirl' at the Dolby Theatre on March 13, 2016 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Amanda Edwards/WireImage)

Greg Berlanti

Late last year,Variety broke the story on sexual misconduct allegations against Supergirl and The Flash showrunner Andrew Kreisberg. This week, Supergirl star Melissa Benoist spoke out about Kreisberg’s firing after 15 women and four men accused the producer of sexual harassment and physical misconduct. “I have to say that the way our show has recovered as a cast and a crew together,” Benoist said Monday. “We have an atmosphere on set now that I’m extremely proud of.”

Following those comments,Variety released an interview with producer Greg Berlanti, whose company Berlanti Productions oversees the two shows. In it, Berlanti addresses his reaction to the allegations and how his company is moving forward while continuing production. “I was shocked, I was disappointed, I was confused,” Berlanti said. “But my overwhelming desire then and to this moment was how can I fix this, how can I help people that may have been hurt in any way. That is still the predominant feeling I have about all of it. So that supersedes all of the other feelings and emotions.”

Kreisberg, who was also the executive producer of Arrow and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, has denied allegations that he requested massages from female staff members, made sexual comments on women about their appearance and kissed women without their consent.

Some speculated that Berlanti knew about the allegations long before the Variety story broke, but when asked when he found out, he told the reporter he had only known a week before the allegations were public. By that time Warner Bros. had already decided to suspend Kreisberg and open an internal investigation. “I first received an allegation about Andrew and harassment about a week before the Variety article came out,” Berlanti said. “ I went around to all the writer’s rooms and post rooms and up to the sets and encouraged everyone to report anything that they had known or seen and that they were safe to report it. [Warner Bros. TV] completed their investigation and shared the findings with us and then made their determination [to fire Kreisberg]. And we agreed with it.”

Berlanti’s comments on how everything has been since Kreisberg’s firing mirror Benoit’s. “I have to say I think everything’s been so much more open and positive,” he said. “I think everyone, everywhere we went really saw this crisis as an opportunity to — myself included — to create an incredibly positive place to work.”

Head here to read the full interview. 

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