‘Rick And Morty’ Showrunner Apologizes For Treating Female Writer Like Garbage

Writer Dan Harmon has had a reputation for being an antagonistic personality for years, often being quite candid about his confrontations with his collaborators on various projects. Most recently, Harmon took to Twitter to attempt to express his regret over treating Community writer Megan Ganz like “garbage.”

The exchange kicked off with Harmon sharing the message, “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,” which caused Ganz to chime in and ask, “Care to be more specific? Redemption follows allocution.”

Ganz worked on Community throughout Harmon’s time as the showrunner and continued writing for the NBC sitcom after Harmon was replaced for the fourth season. In the years since her time on Community, Ganz has gone on to write for other acclaimed shows like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Modern Family and The Last Man on Earth.

While Ganz has never explicitly revealed how Harmon treated her in their time together, she has regularly taken to Twitter to share vague messages about her horrible experiences.

Harmon responded to Ganz’s questioning, “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.”

“I wish my memories were foggier,” Ganz confessed. “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.”

She added, “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.”

Harmon’s antagonizing behavior led to Chevy Chase departing Community, as well as his own departure from the show he created. In recent years, Harmon has been more open on social media about his struggles with alcohol abuse and emotional and mental issues.

“I’m disgusted and sorry that I stained our show and your talent with my selfish, childish sh*t,” Harmon pleaded. “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.”

Ganz, however, didn’t approve of his current approach to handling the situation.

“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,” she shared. “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.”

Harmon has most recently worked on co-creating the animated Adult Swim series Rick and Morty with Justin Roiland as well as his own podacst, Harmontown.

[H/T Twitter, danharmon]