In the fall of 2017, I was working on a story for Variety about a prominent writer-producer named Andrew Kreisberg, whom 19 of my sources alleged had been verbally and physically inappropriate in the workplace. A writer at another industry trade, Deadline, had gotten onto the story as well and also reported on alleged unprofessional and harassing behavior. Before either of us published our pieces—make of the timing what you will—Warner Bros. informed both publications that they had suspended Kreisberg and launched an HR investigation into allegations of misconduct against him stemming from his tenure as an executive producer of Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, and other DC superhero TV dramas, which aired mostly on the CW.

For the record, Kreisberg has always vehemently denied any inappropriate behavior.

Warner Bros. fired Kreisberg on November 29, 2017. Some time later, the studio paid him nearly $10 million. When that came to light in 2020, the studio declined to comment on what that money was for. (Warners Bros. declined to comment for this story as well.) One of Kreisberg’s former colleagues told me at the time that the payout “just reinforces the fact that those at the top of the food chain are protected, while the people who are most vulnerable have no options and have to take it on the chin.”

Vanity Fair has now learned that in March of this year, Kreisberg was arrested and charged with forcible touching, following an alleged incident at a bar mitzvah in Westchester County, New York.

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The bar mitzvah in question took place in Pleasantville, New York in May 2022.

According to documents from New York state’s judicial and criminal justice systems, a woman made a statement to police, saying that she had been eating and enjoying the party while standing at a high-top table “facing the dance floor.” She knew Kreisberg, she said, because she was friends with his wife. She continued: “Andrew Kreisberg… approached me at the table. While we are standing at the table, Andrew gets behind me and starts putting his hands all over my arms and back. He then slid his hands around my waist, grabbed my waist firmly, and thrust his fully erect penis into my buttocks twice. It all happened so fast that I wasn’t sure what exactly was going on until I felt Andrew shove his fully erect penis into my buttocks. When I realized what was going on, I screamed, ‘What the fuck are you doing? Get the fuck away from me.’ Then I went to the bathroom.”

Another individual at the party—who told police she learned about the alleged incident from the woman the following day—said in a supporting statement that the woman was “crying” and an “emotional wreck”: “I’ve known [name redacted] my whole life and I could tell she was struggling with what she was” describing.

The accuser herself stated to the police that she came forward because Kreisberg “needs to have someone stand up for themselves against him.”

Kreisberg was charged with misdemeanor forcible touching. According to the New York penal code, “a person is guilty of forcible touching when such person intentionally, and for no legitimate purpose, forcibly touches the sexual or other intimate parts of another person for the purpose of degrading or abusing such a person; or for the purpose of gratifying the actor’s sexual desire.”

In response to questions from Vanity Fair, Kreisberg’s legal team sent a statement emphatically maintaining that Kreisberg is innocent.

According to police documents, this past February, before he was charged, one of his lawyers told a Pleasantville detective that “there is evidence that proves that [name redacted] is making up this story and in fact it never happened at all.” Around that time, the detective’s notes reflect that he had received “numerous” emails from members of Kreisberg’s legal team containing photos, texts, and videos, including material showing the woman “having a good time on the dance floor after the incident.” On March 9, according to the police file, the detective informed Kreisberg’s attorney Stacey Richman that the material “did not indicate that Kreisberg was innocent and that [name redacted] had made up the whole encounter.”

Kreisberg voluntarily surrendered to the police on March 23. He was arraigned that day, then released about two hours after turning himself in.

In the statement to Vanity Fair, the full text of which can be found at the end of this story, his lawyer Stacey Richman writes, “Mr. Kreisberg remains a very talented creative person. He is misunderstood for being a neurodivergent individual who is socially awkward. Your article will be another event of the ableist bullying of people who are neurodivergent as they are misperceived.”

At a court appearance on August 8, a judge in Pleasantville Village Court granted an Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal. Assuming that Kreisberg continues to comply with conditions set by the court—which include the psychiatric therapy that Richman told the judge is “nothing in particular to this matter” because it is “something prior he was already doing”—the charge will be dismissed and the record sealed in February. The case remains open, and the DA’s office told me that if complications arise before then “the case will be reevaluated.”

According to a transcript of the August 8 hearing, which Kreisberg was present for, Richman said her client would abide by the order of protection granted against him in the case.

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“Honestly, hearing about this arrest is horrifying,” one of Kreisberg’s former Warner Bros. colleagues tells me. Other former colleagues say they are “shaken” and “alarmed.”

Back in 2017, during its investigation into Kreisberg’s allegedly damaging workplace behavior, Deadline described him as “one of the top lieutenants of Greg Berlanti, the boss of CW’s DC universe.” The day Kreisberg was fired, Berlanti and Sarah Schechter of Berlanti Productions issued a statement that closely echoed the one Warner Bros. released. It read, in part: “We agree with the studio’s decision. Nothing is more important to us than the safety and well-being of all our colleagues—coworkers, crew and staff alike.”

Regardless, Kreisberg continued to work in entertainment: In 2021, BBC Radio 4 aired a pilot he wrote, produced, and codirected called Saucer. It centered on characters trapped in a spacecraft, one of whom is from a “highly hedonistic” future where there is “shagging 24/8,” according to a story on the program. Kreisberg and Katie Cassidy, the latter of whom appeared on a number of Arrow-verse shows, were among those in the voice cast. The BBC later said it would not be pursuing a series.

A few years ago, Kreisberg moved from Los Angeles to Westchester County in New York. On a document from the Pleasantville case file, Kreisberg states that he lives in Connecticut, lists his job as “producer,” and checks the “yes” box when asked if he is employed, though a place of employment is not indicated. In the full statement below, the former writer-producer’s lawyer maintains that the reporting on his conduct at Warner Bros. was false and incorrect. She also says that Kreisberg is in therapy for PTSD, which was “caused by your original article in 2017.”

According to the DA’s office, Kreisberg’s case comes before Pleasantville Village Court again in February. Kreisberg does not have to appear in court at that time.

The full text from Kreisberg’s lawyer follows.

Dear Ms. Ryan:

In answer to your questions above, please note that Mr. Kreisberg was arrested based upon a citizen’s claim/arrest. The Office of the District Attorney had no part in the charging or arrest procedure. Upon evaluation of the allegation, interviews with the complainant, and evidence (video and text), which belied the allegation, the prosecution determined the matter should be dismissed.

In essence, this alleged instance of dancing at a bar mitzvah was not deemed to be criminal.

Please note this was not some random citizen but one of a set of women who had grown up with Mrs. Kreisberg and were disparaging of her husband because they did not understand his neurodivergency. This is classic ableist bullying, sadly by adults.

Per New York State Law, "The granting of an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal shall not be deemed to be a conviction or an admission of guilt. No person shall suffer any disability or forfeiture as a result of such an order. Upon the dismissal of the accusatory instrument pursuant to this section, the arrest and prosecution shall be deemed a nullity and the defendant shall be restored, in contemplation of law, to the status he occupied before his arrest and prosecution." See, New York Criminal Procedure Law Section 170.55(8).

The District Attorney's Office carefully reviewed this matter and Mr. Kreisberg’s history. It would seem part of the inspiration for the false allegation was your article of 2017 which was referenced in the review of this matter. It too was not seen as elevating of any concern as to Mr. Kreisberg.

Mr. Kreisberg remains a very talented creative person. He is misunderstood for being a neurodivergent individual who is socially awkward. Your article will be another event of the ableist bullying of people who are neurodivergent as they are misperceived. Mr. Kreisberg is devoted to his family, who are in turn supportive of him.

The District Attorney's Office does not take any allegation lightly, and they deeply investigated any allegation in this corridor. This matter will be dismissed and sealed in accord with proper procedure because it is the correct result.

Mr. Kreisberg has no probation; he is not required to report to any authority. The requirements for dismissal are to continue to have no contact with the purported accuser (note that we too requested on a number of occasions on the record that the purported accuser be directed to refrain from contacting the Kreisberg family directly or indirectly), that Mr. Kreisberg continue with his own pre-existing therapy for PTSD (caused by your original article in 2017), and that Mr. Kreisberg continue to lead a law abiding life. There is no component of any rehabilitative requirement as none was necessary.

As for your question- “What response, if any, did Mr. Kreisberg give to the court regarding this charge?” Mr. Kreisberg’s response was: “Not guilty.”

Mr. Kreisberg is, was, and will remain an innocent man. That outcome was approved by the proper investigating body and approved by the Court.

Most respectfully,

Stacey Richman

This article has been updated to reflect that Andrew Kreisberg was not required to post a bond in the proceeding against him, and to clarify the premise of the Kreisberg-produced radio show Saucer.