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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World

Does Archie Comics' Nancy Silberkleit really call her male employees 'penis'?

Nancy Silberkleit, co-CEO of Archie Comics.
Nancy Silberkleit, co-CEO of Archie Comics. Photograph: Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Hamptons Magazi

Age: Penis!

Appearance: Penis!

You seem to be shouting the word "penis" instead of answering my questions. Sorry. Nancy Silberkleit is 59 years old. She looks like a former art teacher, and is one.

Is she retired? Far from it. She's the co-CEO of Archie Comics, a wholesome cornerstone of US culture. She also allegedly shouts "Penis!" all the time. Penis!

Why would she do that? Who says she needs a reason?

All right. Why are you doing it? Oh I just thought I'd give it a try. It's very bracing. It might be an eighth habit of highly effective people.

Don't your co-workers find it rather alarming? I find it rather alarming. Yes, that is one drawback. Some of Silberkleit's employees are currently suing her for millions in damages, saying that she used her gender "as a weapon" and became so fond of the word "penis" she started using it as a nickname for all male staff. They also claim she stalked them, talked a lot about guns and brought in Hell's Angels for intimidation. They want a restraining order to stop her coming within two miles of the office.

Why two miles? I don't know. Perhaps if she shouts "Penis!" really loudly that's the limit of her range.

Does she deny it? Kind of. "Plaintiffs fail to allege that any such comments were directed at any of the plaintiffs in particular, or that they could cause extreme emotional distress even if they had been," reads her submission to court. Later she told the New York Daily news that the allegations were "cruel, mean and inaccurate". Her lawyer also argues that white men aren't "a protected class" of people, so can't sue.

So I can freely shout "Penis!" at white men in New York state? Best wait for the Westchester supreme court's ruling.

This must be so embarrassing for Silberkleit. You'd think so, but it hasn't stopped her running for mayor of Rye, where she lives, offering voters her "useful foundation of business skills that I believe cannot be found in any textbook".

I believe it too. That makes three of us.

Do shout: "Restraining order!"

Don't shout: "Penis!"

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