It’s not easy to confront a powerful man who once belittled, sexually harassed, or assaulted you in the workplace – especially if the experience made you question your talents or affected your sense of self-worth and/or career path for years to come (and, of course, those experiences always do). So that’s why it’s so powerful to see this Twitter exchange that TV writer Megan Ganz started after her former Community boss Dan Harmon decided to tweet out this message on New Year’s Eve:
This was truly the Year of the Asshole. Myself included. We don’t have to make 2018 the Year of the Mensch but I hope it can be the Year of the Not as Much of an Asshole. #RealisticGoals
— Dan Harmon (@danharmon) January 1, 2018
A little context: The tension between Ganz and Harmon has been vague but fairly well-documented since she was a writer on Community from seasons 2-4, like when Ganz responded to multiple instances of Harmon insulting season 4 (see some examples here and here). While it’s unclear what exactly transpired between Ganz and Harmon during their time together on Community, Ganz took Harmon’s New Year’s Eve tweet as an opportunity to make Harmon acknowledge his own behavior and at least partially clear the air about Harmon creating what sounds like a very difficult and inappropriate working environment for Ganz. Here’s the exchange:
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 also never wanted to bring your name into it because you had a right to your own career and narrative and the thing I regretted most was impinging on that. I’d done it enough. So I kept it anonymous but have warned everyone, don’t do what I did. Be aware of power dynamics. — Dan Harmon (@danharmon) January 3, 2018
I’ll reiterate, if and when you want me to do something - a public letter, a co-sign on your letter, a book, pamphlet, public whatevering, I will support it, I will nod, I will verify, I will suffer and atone. But it has to be at your behest, or it’s just more dansplaining.
— 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
I appreciate your attempts to make amends and your acknowledgement of fault. That doesn’t sound as tidy as “I forgive you,” but that’s not my feeling yet. I’m working towards it all the time, for my benefit more than yours.
— 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
Months after Ganz left Community in 2013, she told us in an interview that while Community was still her favorite show, “I hope a few years from now that I can start talking to Dan again and have there not be any weird feelings.” (Ganz would go on to write for Modern Family, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and The Last Man on Earth and had her own animated pilot for FX in 2015.) While it’s clear that Ganz is still working to fix the damage that was caused by Harmon during her time as a Community writer, it’s incredibly encouraging to see the #MeToo movement empower women like her to address men like Harmon directly instead of being afraid to share their experiences publicly. (These appear to be the subtweets Harmon referred to, which shed a little more light on the situation.) The fact that Harmon apologized, took responsibility, and seems to be taking everything Ganz shared to heart is also a promising bonus.
