Rick and Morty creator and former Community showrunner Dan Harmon has apologized to a former Community executive story editor and producer for past conduct after she asked him on Twitter how he was going to make 2018 “the Year of the Not as Much of an Asshole.”
On Tuesday, Harmon’s former colleague at Community, Megan Ganz, responded to a New Year’s resolution tweet from Harmon in which the showrunner wrote, “This was truly the Year of the Asshole. Myself Included.” Ganz responded, “Care to be more specific? Redemption follows allocution.”
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Harmon engaged in a back-and-forth conversation with Ganz in which he told her that he was “deeply sorry” for past conduct on the show.
“Was just shown this,” he wrote in response to Ganz’s initial tweet. “And a previous sub tweet I think was about me. I didn’t want to add narcissism to injury by naming you without permission, but I’ve talked on my podcast about the lines I crossed. I will talk about it more in any way that you think is just. I am deeply sorry.”
He continued: “i’m (sic) filled with regret and a lot of foggy memories about abusing my position, treating you like garbage” and said he would “would feel a lot of relief” if Ganz told him “there was a way to fix it.”
She replied by challenging his question about whether there was a way to “fix” past conduct. “I wish my memories were foggier. I wish there was a way to fix it,” she wrote. “It took me years to believe in my talents again, to trust a boss when he complimented me and not cringe when he asked for my number. I was afraid to be enthusiastic, knowing it might be turned against me later.”
Harmon replied by saying that he has kept a “wall” between himself and co-workers because of his past conduct with Ganz, to which Ganz replied that she didn’t believe “walls are the answer” unless he put up walls with male co-workers, too. “Otherwise you’re falling into the Mike Pence School of Gender Relations that says men can’t be trusted with women’s phone numbers,” she wrote.
At the end of the message, Ganz offered her thoughts on how Harmon might better find the solution to workplace dynamics that he seemed to be seeking. “It’s good to recognize power dynamics, but it’s also good to recognize you’re no different from those you employ. You’re not a king on a hilltop, nor a beast in a labyrinth. Isolation isn’t always best. Connection breeds empathy. Empathy allows growth,” she wrote.
In October, Ganz tweeted that a “former abuser” criticizing Harvey Weinstein amid allegations of sexual misconduct was “a real trigger.”
“Hey, bud. I once told you I didn’t feel comfortable working at your home, just us two, and you said, “Relax, Ganz. I’m not gonna rape you,” she wrote. “Maybe men need their own version of #MeToo where they acknowledge times when they crossed the line and identify ways they could do better.”
A representative for Harmon said that he has “no further comment” on the Twitter exchange. A representative for Ganz did not return a request for comment.
Read the full exchange below.
Care to be more specific? Redemption follows allocution. https://t.co/THKaqaF3dN
— Megan Ganz (@meganganz) January 2, 2018
Was just shown this. And a previous sub tweet I think was about me. I didn’t want to add narcissism to injury by naming you without permission, but I’ve talked on my podcast about the lines I crossed. I will talk about it more in any way that you think is just. I am deeply sorry.
— Dan Harmon (@danharmon) January 3, 2018
i’m filled with regret and a lot of foggy memories about abusing my position, treating you like garbage. I would feel a lot of relief if you told me there was a way to fix it. I’ll let you call the shots. Til then, at least know I know I was an awful boss and a selfish baby.
— Dan Harmon (@danharmon) January 3, 2018
I wish my memories were foggier. I wish there was a way to fix it. It took me years to believe in my talents again, to trust a boss when he complimented me and not cringe when he asked for my number. I was afraid to be enthusiastic, knowing it might be turned against me later.
— Megan Ganz (@meganganz) January 3, 2018
You want relief? So do I. I want to watch the first episode of television I wrote again without remembering what came after. Figure out how to give me that relief and I’ll return the favor.
— Megan Ganz (@meganganz) January 3, 2018
I’m disgusted and sorry that I stained our show and your talent with my selfish, childish shit. I get that I can’t erase it, don’t want to, but have felt sick about it. I have kept a wall between me and coworkers and I have preached doing so as gospel because of how I treated you
— Dan Harmon (@danharmon) January 3, 2018
I haven’t listened to your podcast, but I don’t think walls are the answer. Unless you put them up with male coworkers, too. Otherwise you’re falling into the Mike Pence School of Gender Relations that says men can’t be trusted with women’s phone numbers.
— Megan Ganz (@meganganz) January 3, 2018
But if I can offer this: It’s good to recognize power dynamics, but it’s also good to recognize you’re no different from those you employ. You’re not a king on a hilltop, nor a beast in a labyrinth. Isolation isn’t always best. Connection breeds empathy. Empathy allows growth.
— Megan Ganz (@meganganz) January 3, 2018
