Amazon Has Finally Responded to Those Ed Brubaker Allegations

I’m a comics reader, but there was a time when I thought I might try to write them for a living. I wrote a graphic novel that got published in 2013, and I even got to talk about it at a booth at a couple of comic conventions. While I would eventually move on to more screenwriting, I’ve kept my toes in the comics pool and have some friends who have done quite well for themselves (read The Pedestrian if you can find it). Because of that connection, I recently saw some friends lamenting something that has become all too common: a comics creator was accused of harassment.

The creator in question was Ed Brubaker, someone whose work I had read, but I was honestly more familiar with him for his several appearances on How Did This Get Made. ljaaz Noohu (I’ve seen it written as Noobu as well, but I’m going off of his IMDB), a Sri Lankan American filmmaker, had accused Brubaker and Amazon of “sustained sexual, racial, national origin, and religious harassment” that he had experienced while working on Criminal, a new crime show based on a series of graphic novels by Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips, according to Deadline.

Among the claims, Noohu alleges that Brubaker, the showrunner and Executive Producer, subjected him to sexual harassment, asked him if he was a supporter of Hamas, and that Noohu was banned from the set after raising his concerns. He also claims that Brubaker pointed a functional firearm at him and fired, though it had no ammo. It all sounds pretty horrifying, and Amazon didn’t respond right away. However, they have now come out in full force against the claims, which Deadline has shared.

“While Noohu’s allegations must be treated as true on demurrer, the evidence in this case will ultimately and overwhelmingly demonstrate that he is an opportunist, not a victim, and that his claims are meritless,” the company said through its lawyers. It goes on to allege that Noohu waited until the press cycle for Criminal was supposed to begin, as opposed to bringing up the issues sooner. When it comes to the firearm being used, the company referenced Rust in its dispute of the account.

“His most sensational allegation — that Brubaker pointed a functional firearm at his face and pulled the trigger — is pure invention,” the company added. “Had that happened, every person in the room, Noohu included, had a duty to report it and in a post-Rust industry on high alert to firearms, someone would have. No one did. Defendants first learned of the supposed incident when Noohu reemerged peddling the story and demanding a payday.” Does that line of argument make sense? Sure. Is it a guarantee that just because a terrible and tragic thing happened before, people would behave themselves appropriately when faced with a similar scenario? I’d hope so, but no.

We may not ever learn the truth here. While Amazon is responding out in the open currently, things could easily move behind closed doors if the company wants them to. The company will, of course, say it is confident that the evidence will prove the allegations false. It’s part of an all-too-familiar cycle that should remind us all not to put anyone on a pedestal, because human beings will always find a way to piss away goodwill.