‘Umbrella Academy’ showrunner accused of “toxic” behaviour

nme.com:

The Umbrella Academy has been accused of “toxic” behaviour while working on the hit Netflix drama.Steve Blackman, co-creator of the show, has been accused af “toxic, bullying, manipulative and retaliatory behaviour” while working on the series by 12 former writers and support staffers on the show according to a report in Rolling Stone.

One of the complaints include a female writing team whose contracts were abruptly ended.Other allegations made by former writers and staffers according to the report in Rolling Stone was a demand for “unwavering loyalty” with several claiming he would reduce roles or terminate the contracts of staff who disagreed with him.

As well as this, some claimed he used sexist, lewd, and disparaging comment.Responding to the accusations, a spokesman told Rolling Stone that he worked with a Human Resources department to ensure the women’s contracts were concluded “in full compliance with all policies and regulations.” They added that the decision was “solely based on performance and budget.” He has also denied any other allegations of retaliation.Blackman also was further accused of comments that sources said were found to be sexist, homophobic, and transphobic.In text messages seen by Rolling Stone provided to Human Resources as part of the initial 2023 complaint, Blackman allegedly wrote to an unnamed recipient, “Elliot [Page] wants to come out as trans on the show.

As Ivan. Oh my f—king God. Kill me now.”Page came out publicly via a written note in December 2020.A representative for Blackman told Rolling Stone he was initially hesitant about the request because season three scripts written and would require much work to rewrite.