Yahoo News Flash star stands behind producer's harassment accusers
The Flash star Grant Gustin has offered his support to victims of sexual harassment, following his producer Andrew Kreisberg being suspended over similar allegations.
Kreisberg has strongly denied allegations from 19 current and former co-workers that he created a toxic work environment through overt harassment and inappropriate touching of staff members.
These allegations have understandably rocked the DC TV community, which encompasses actors, writers and crew members from The CW's Arrow, Supergirl, The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow.
Supergirl actress Melissa Benoist, Legends of Tomorrow's Caity Lotz as well as Arrow's Emily Bett Rickards and Stephen Amell have all come forward over the last several days to show support for the alleged victims.
Now, The Flash's Grant Gustin has penned his own soul-baring statement, in which he says the #MeToo movement and recent stories of sexual harassment in his industry have him striving to become "a better man" and a "better ally".
A post shared by Grant Gustin (@grantgust) on Nov 13, 2017 at 10:04pm PST
"I can sometimes forget that I live in a world where not everyone has the same rights and privileges as I do. I realize that's my privilege that makes me forget," he wrote on Instagram.
"Hearing of different men, again and again, especially in the industry that I work in, treating women as if they are less than, and both physically and emotionally abusing them has become a daily occurrence. This is not ok. This can't become our new normal."
He continued: "I especially want all of the women in my life to know that I hear them, I stand with them, and I support them."
Last Friday, Warner Bros and ArrowVerse executive producer Greg Berlanti publicly announced that they would be benching their colleague Andrew Kreisberg while conducting their own internal investigation.
"We were recently made aware of some deeply troubling allegations regarding one of our showrunners," Berlanti said in a statement. "We have been encouraging and fully cooperating with the investigation into this by Warner Bros.
"There is nothing more important to us than the safety and well-being of our cast, crew, writers, producers and any staff. We do not tolerate harassment and are committed to doing everything we can to make an environment that's safe to work in and safe to speak up about if it isn't."
Kreisberg continues to strenuously deny allegations that he ever crossed sexual boundaries in the workplace.
"I have made comments on women's appearances and clothes in my capacity as an executive producer, but they were not sexualised," he has said.
"I have proudly mentored both male and female colleagues for many years. But never in what I believe to be an unwanted way and certainly never in a sexual way."
Rape Crisis England and Wales works towards the elimination of sexual violence. If you've been affected by the issues raised in this story, you can access more information on their website or by calling the National Rape Crisis Helpline on 0808 802 9999. Rape Crisis Scotland's helpline number is 08088 01 03 02.
Readers in the US are encouraged to contact RAINN, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800-656-4673.
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