'Rick and Morty' co-creator Dan Harmon apologized for sexually harassing a writer on his show 'Community' - and she called it a 'masterclass' in how to apologize
- Megan Ganz, a former writer on "Community," accused "Rick and Morty" creator Dan Harmon of sexual harassment last week.
- In his podcast, Harmon said Ganz was telling the truth in a seven-minute apology.
- Ganz heard the apology and accepted it, calling it a "masterclass in How to Apologize."
Last week, Megan Ganz, a writer who used to work for "Rick and Morty" co-creator Dan Harmon on NBC's "Community," called her former boss out on Twitter for sexually harassing her while she worked on the show.
Now Harmon has apologized, and Ganz has accepted it, calling it a "masterclass" in how to apologize.
Ganz said Harmon treated her like "garbage" and "crossed lines" while she was a writer on "Community," which made her question her ability as a writer.
In the most recent episode of his podcast, Harmontown, Harmon spoke for seven minutes about his past with Ganz. He said that he was attracted to her, and admitted that he both sexually harassed her and then lashed out when she refused his advances. He didn't provide any excuses, like so many accused men have in the past - including Harvey Weinstein, who blamed his upbringing in the 60s and 70s at one point.
"The most clinical way I can think of to put it is that I was attracted to a writer who I had power over, because I was the showrunner," Harmon said. "I knew enough to know that these feelings could affect people's faith in my judgment, her faith in her talents as a writer, the other writers' respect for me, the production, the audience ... So I did the cowardly, laziest, easiest thing I could do when you feel these kinds of feelings: I didn't deal with them. And in not dealing with them. I made everyone else deal with them. Especially her."
Ganz heard the episode, and encouraged people to listen to it on Twitter. "I find myself in the odd position of having requested an apology publicly," Ganz said, "and then having received one - a good one - also publicly. I waited six years for it, but you can find it 18:38 in."
Then she called it a "masterclass in How to Apologize," and said she accepted Harmon's apology. "He's not rationalizing or justifying or making excuses. He doesn't just vaguely acknowledge some general wrongdoing in the past. He gives a full account."
Ganz also said that she didn't expect the relief she felt by just hearing Harmon publicly admit what happened. "Ironic that the only person who could give me that comfort is the one person I'd never ask," Ganz said.