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Ed Brubaker and Amazon sued for hostile work environment on set of Prime Video Criminal adaptation
Brubaker and Amazon are amongst defendants being sued for creating a hostile work environment by someone who worked on staff for the upcoming Criminal series
NewsbyGrant DeArmitt, Staff Writer
Published on Fri Sep 04 2026
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Ed Brubaker, the writer known for his comic book work on Marvel’s Captain America and a number of Image Comics projects in addition to television work on Westworld and Prime Video’s Batman: Caped Crusader, is at the center of an ongoing lawsuit surrounding around his work as showrunner/writer/producer on the upcoming Prime Video series Criminal.
The suit, brought by Ijaaz Noohu – a production assistant to Brubaker directly, per the filing – alleges that Brubaker took part in creating a hostile work environment and that supervisors turned a blind eye to these conditions. Brubaker is listed as one of a number of defendants in the 12-count complaint, with others including Amazon, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, production company Big Indie Pictures, and Phillip Barnett, the executive producer on the Criminal series, in addition to 50 unnamed individuals.
The story was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter, which details a list of infractions for which Noohu is suing the comic writer. Among those alleged events are Brubaker aiming comments containing what the lawsuit describes as “demeaning stereotypes” toward Noohu and making “repeated and pervasive” comments and actions that constituted sexual harassment. Brubaker is accused of having “pried into Ijaaz’s private sex life, asking intrusive and inappropriate questions that had nothing to do with any legitimate business purpose,” and playing a prank on Noohu that, per the filing, “was designed to demean and sexualize Ijaaz’s work environment, and it did.”
The culmination of Brubaker’s behavior, the lawsuit maintains, is a moment on set when the writer pointed what is described as “a functional firearm” at the production assistant and pulled the trigger. This incident, according to the complaint, was witnessed by an unnamed senior producer who did not take action following the event.
“That a supervisor with authority over the entire production would commit such an act,” wrote Noohu’s legal representative Fahim Rahman, “and that it would go unchecked — illustrates the culture of impunity that pervaded the Criminal production.”
The lawsuit asks for general and specific financial damages, including “damages for emotional distress, mental anguish, humiliation, and psychological injury,” in addition to economic damages and “punitive and exemplary damages against the individual and entity Defendants in an amount sufficient to punish and deter such conduct.”
The full complaint has been shared publicly by Graphic Policy.
As of writing, none of the defendants have commented publicly on the lawsuit. This is a developing story.
Criminal wasordered to series in January 2024 by Prime Video, although the filing notes that work predates that order (Noohu was hired in February 2023, per the complaint). In addition to acting as showrunner, Brubaker is an executive producer on the show alongside co-creator Sean Phillips, Jordan Harper, Sarah Carbiener, and Phillip Barnett. The show is expected on Prime Video before the end of 2026.
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Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.
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