Ellis acknowledged "mistakes" in a June 19but said, "I have never consciously coerced, manipulated or abused anyone, nor have I ever assaulted anybody." Latour, Allie and Stewart haven't responded publicly to the claims.
DeConnick, who acknowledges that she herself is a gatekeeper, is among those who have suggested that comic book publishers require creative talent to use agents to advocate on their behalf, as is done in the film and TV industry. "If something like that were available, it would decrease the power of some of the gatekeepers," notes DeConnick, who also suggests young creators hire attorneys to protect their financial interests.
"One of the bigger problems is the people on staff at comics companies are a very, very, very small percentage of the industry," says former DC editor Janelle Asselin. "So even if they were doing the most effective sexual harassment training they possibly could — which I don't think they're doing, but even if they were — there are still a lot of people in the industry who aren't getting that training because so much of the industry is people who are freelance.
SoManyOfUs takes a proactive approach to sexual harassment and abuse, pairing personal testimonials and alleged examples of Ellis' behavior with definitions of tactics and terms like "grooming," "coercion" and "gaslighting." As Zoetica Ebb, one of the site's core editors, puts it, "What we've done offers others experiencing systemic abuse a sort of template for coming forward.