UMBRELLA ACADEMY Showrunner Accused Of "Toxic Behaviour" & Making "Sexist, Homophobic & Transphobic" Comments

UMBRELLA ACADEMY Showrunner Accused Of "Toxic Behaviour" & Making "Sexist, Homophobic & Transphobic" Comments

The Umbrella Academy showrunner Steve Blackman has been accused of fostering a "toxic" work environment on the set of the Netflix series by making “sexist, homophobic and transphobic” comments...

By MarkCassidy - Jul 01, 2024 07:07 AM EST
Filed Under: The Umbrella Academy

The Umbrella Academy is set to return for its fourth and final season next month, but Netflix's adaptation of Gerard Way's best-selling comic series won't be concluding its run without controversy.

Rolling Stone has published a piece highlighting allegations made against showrunner Steve Blackman, who has been accused of “toxic, bullying, manipulative, and retaliatory behavior” by twelve writers and support staff in an HR complaint filed last year.

In the article, Blackman is described as a “a manipulative and chaotic showrunner” who nurtured “a toxic workplace by pitting staffers against one another” and took credit for work he didn’t produce. The showrunner has also been accused of making “sexist, homophobic, and transphobic” comments.

NBC-owned Universal Content Productions launched an internal investigation after the complaint was filed, and Blackman was said to be found "more or less in the clear" of most of the allegations. However, the 12 people Rolling Stone spoke to deny this.

Blackman’s representative released the following statement.

“Over six years and four seasons overseeing thousands of crew, actors, and writers, Steve Blackman led ‘The Umbrella Academy’ to become a beloved series with devoted fans, enthralling stories, and a dedicated team making it all possible. These allegations from a handful of disgruntled employees are completely false and outrageous, and in no way reflect the collaborative, respectful, and successful working environment Mr. Blackman has cultivated.”

You can read through the report in full at the link below.

"The Hargreeves siblings have scattered after the climactic showdown at the Hotel Oblivion led to a complete reset of their timeline. Stripped of their powers, each is left to fend for themselves and find a new normal — with wildly varying degrees of success. Yet the trappings of their uncanny new world prove too hard to ignore for very long. Their father Reginald, alive and well, has stepped out of the shadows and into the public eye, overseeing a powerful and nefarious business empire. A mysterious association known as The Keepers holds clandestine meetings believing the reality they’re living in is a lie and a great reckoning is coming. As these strange new forces conspire around them, the Umbrella Academy must come together one last time — and risk upsetting the shaky peace they’ve all endured so much to secure — to finally set things right."

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thedrudo
thedrudo - 7/1/2024, 8:00 AM
lol weird. When that news season rolled around, everyone praised him for being amazing.
Apophis71
Apophis71 - 7/1/2024, 8:27 AM
@thedrudo - Well, wouldn't be the first time someone who turned out to have been problematic in various ways turned out well recieved products and some saying they were great to work with and/or a good person.

I could list a few well known names, but fairly sure we all have a list and likely similar names on it (just some lists longer than others).
TheyDont
TheyDont - 7/1/2024, 8:30 AM
@Apophis71 - "Problematic" is someone who changes their fuсking gender between seasons and screws the whole plot.
Malatrova15
Malatrova15 - 7/1/2024, 8:35 AM
@Apophis71 - Jimny Saville was my infancy , he was great to watch and then it turns out he was a tax evader
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 7/1/2024, 8:41 AM
@TheyDont - An actor changing genders shouldn't be a problem. Why couldn't Elliot continue to play a woman?
Radders
Radders - 7/1/2024, 8:41 AM
@Malatrova15 - I think Jimmy Saville did worse than that to be fair
TheyDont
TheyDont - 7/1/2024, 8:44 AM
@ObserverIO - Looking like that?
ItsNotForMeWahh
ItsNotForMeWahh - 7/1/2024, 8:45 AM
@ObserverIO - I would say this is appropriate criticism. It's called acting afterall

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ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 7/1/2024, 9:08 AM
@TheyDont - Women look like that.

Both women and men look all kinds of ways.
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 7/1/2024, 9:37 AM
@ObserverIO - They just wrote it into the show. The character transitioned, his family said "Cool, we still love you," and then they got on with it. It didn't "screw" anything.
TheFinestSmack
TheFinestSmack - 7/1/2024, 10:01 AM
@Malatrova15 - "Jimny Saville was my infancy , he was great to watch and then it turns out he was a tax evader"

LMFAO
Apophis71
Apophis71 - 7/1/2024, 11:30 AM
@TheFinestSmack - My family were among the many who always thought there was something off about Jimmy Saviile even if we still watched a couple of the show he hosted regularly (we did only have three TV channels to choose from of course) just had little idea HOW bad the stuff he was getting away with was and how many seemed to know how dodgy he was in positions of power (but not entirely surprised either).
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 7/1/2024, 11:38 AM
@Apophis71 - I don't believe a word of it.
"...accused of “toxic, bullying, manipulative, and retaliatory behavior...”

funny how none of the 12 members b1tching never gave exact details of these generalized accusations.

And I'm all you doing what you feel you need to be, but people of Ellen's/Elliots group are so damn sensitive. Most of the time it isn't that people have a problem with that community, they're just sick of Hollywood/news outlets cramming it down their throats.
TheFinestSmack
TheFinestSmack - 7/1/2024, 11:47 AM
@Apophis71 - I'm in the states so I didn't know much about Saville until after stuff came out about him. But the guy looked like the most stereotypical villain haha. Absolutely terrifying individual. I still don't get how that guy was a children's TV presenter looking the way he looked. I'd have been afraid of him.
Apophis71
Apophis71 - 7/1/2024, 12:01 PM
@TheFinestSmack - There are a couple of decent drama's and documentaries about his rise to fame thru to the expose that explain things far better than I could the how and the why of it.

He was always creepy on his fix it show with his cigars, tracksuits and chains in that big ass chair however to my eyes, but the concept of the show (putting aside a terrible choice for host for many, many reasons) was an undeniable winner and unique for it's time. What kid wouldn't be sold on the idea of a show where you can write in and have a chance of your dream come true, we watched for the kids getting that golden ticket moment and their reaction to it despite him not because of him (and again, limited alternative to choose from to watch).

Shorthand however of him getting that job being the heads at the Beeb were toffs out of touch with the 'common man' trying to tap into making shows appealing to younger audiences with a music chart show, Top of the Pops, and went from there due to the success of the pop show.
Apophis71
Apophis71 - 7/1/2024, 12:29 PM
@lazlodaytona - I never take anything either way as confirmed or denied from news reports unless clear unequivocal proof provided...

...having grown up watching Jimmy Saville and Rolf Harris and what they were exposed as being then on the flipside of that the false allegations leading to jail time for Craig Charles and those are all actors I can see on the screen I can have something to judge them on as people without getting into those behind the camera we typicaly don't.

As to the Elliot/Ellen Page situation, considering first season it was a female role and they opted to respect the transition that is more Page creating a situation (regardless if we support that or not) than a good example of Hollyweird forcing it into a product. As it is made ZERO significant difference to the show or the character in my view reflecting the transition in the changes to the character considering the overall nature of the series, I mean 'she' was in a same sex relationship before becoming a 'he' on the show so...

...but ultimately right from the start kinda felt if someone was likely to be triggered by any LGBT+ elements then The Umbrella Academy was unlikely to be for them cos it touched on many things from the start just as likely to trigger those sorts WAY before Vanya had a lesbian love affair in season two and transitioned into Viktor the season after.
TheFinestSmack
TheFinestSmack - 7/1/2024, 1:23 PM
@Apophis71 - What's kinda of crazy is that in the states, from what i can barely remember of the 80's and 90's (i was a kid back then) our big tv personalities aimed at kids were Fred Rogers (who still has a clean slate) and my top-favorite...Bill Cosby. And we know what happened to Bill haha. Nowhere near as bad as Saville since he likely killed hundreds of children and who knows what else. Just really crazy how our childhood "role models" can have such an evil life in the shadows.
Apophis71
Apophis71 - 7/1/2024, 1:46 PM
@TheFinestSmack - It is that age old thing that those smart enough, and dodgy enough to game the system will try and get work where they have more access to what they crave and/or gain enough fame/power to be percieved as being beyond the point where they are likely to be held accountable.

MOST working with kids and/or on kids TV are likely to be good people but we tend to remember the big scandals more than the many who never did anything 'newsworthy' outside of their job.

Folk oft take jabs at their prefered targets with those connected to Epstein too, but even if some of those are dodgy as heck, the fact is that is the other thing the more clever subset of abusers will do. As in Epstein was working to ensure immunity by association with power (as well as profit from it). It doesn't mean any of those connected to him knew what he got upto or part of it (some may have, likely in some cases) but it gains the take me down I'm taking all of them with me shield.
asherman93
asherman93 - 7/1/2024, 4:47 PM
@TheyDont - Actually, at least on paper, I'd argue Viktor coming out as trans dovetails nicely with where his character arc started in season one.

Season one had him learning that - after years of being considered the "normal" member of the family - he actually had a lot more power than he ever imagined.
Season two had him explore what kind of relationship he wanted with others.
Season three features more internal self-discovery, this time realizing he was Viktor, rather than "Vanya" (though I feel like there was no need to change his name after transitioning, given "Vanya" seems like a pretty gender-neutral name in and of itself).
In other words, all of it ties back to Viktor learning about himself after being manipulated and told by others who he was supposed to be.

I've only watched the first season, but based on what I've read of seasons two and three, Elliot Page coming out as a trans man doesn't really have THAT much of impact on the overarching narrative.
TheyDont
TheyDont - 7/1/2024, 5:05 PM
@asherman93 - It's just stupid and irrelevant.
"Hey, I'm a dude now." "Cool."
Why was it needed?
Jarvisjackrabbit
Jarvisjackrabbit - 7/1/2024, 8:03 AM
“I am… inevitable.”

-Accusations like this-
Comicmoviejunki
Comicmoviejunki - 7/1/2024, 9:12 AM
@Jarvisjackrabbit - especially with those people
WakandaTech
WakandaTech - 7/1/2024, 8:05 AM
So this guy was allowed to be sexist, homophobic And
transphobic for six years in Hollywood?

And no one said anything until now?

Apophis71
Apophis71 - 7/1/2024, 8:29 AM
@WakandaTech - Six years feels like a short amount of time to be outed for bad behaviour by Hollyweird standards tbh (IF any of it is true, which we have no way of knowing with certainty)
TheFinestSmack
TheFinestSmack - 7/1/2024, 10:04 AM
@Apophis71 - "Six years feels like a short amount of time to be outed for bad behaviour by Hollyweird standards tbh"

Thank you for being honest about this.
Se4M4NSt4ine
Se4M4NSt4ine - 7/1/2024, 8:05 AM
Another week, another controversial producer…

Weirdly he looks like one of the Baldwin brothers.
CAPTAINPINKEYE
CAPTAINPINKEYE - 7/1/2024, 8:07 AM
I'm watching this
ItsNotForMeWahh
ItsNotForMeWahh - 7/1/2024, 8:10 AM
Anyone supportive of this is a POS

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asherman93
asherman93 - 7/1/2024, 4:41 PM
@ItsNotForMeWahh - I get what you're trying to go for, but I'm not sure Cartman is the best representative.
Batmangina
Batmangina - 7/1/2024, 8:11 AM
Why's that chick manspreading in the thumbnail?
IronMan616
IronMan616 - 7/1/2024, 8:12 AM
@Batmangina - She's larping as a dude
Batmangina
Batmangina - 7/1/2024, 8:22 AM
@IronMan616 - 🤣🤣🤣
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 7/1/2024, 8:51 AM
@Batmangina - Because that's what real men do. If he were to sit cross-legged he'd have to switch back to identifying as a woman, smh kids these days...
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 7/1/2024, 8:53 AM
@Batmangina - full disclosure: I'm sitting cross-legged right now. I'm very comfortable.
Vigor
Vigor - 7/1/2024, 9:49 AM
@Batmangina -

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abd00bie
abd00bie - 7/1/2024, 10:26 AM
@Batmangina - Literally just sitting there
Ryguy88
Ryguy88 - 7/1/2024, 1:33 PM
@ObserverIO - who knew all it took was changing the position of your legs when you sit
Batmangina
Batmangina - 7/1/2024, 7:37 PM
@Vigor - Yep. She's a regular Rolls Royce, eh?

bobevanz
bobevanz - 7/1/2024, 8:24 AM
If he had been like this for years, why wait til now? Not trying to defend this clown by any means
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