It's been over two and a half years since Virginia Quarterly Review managing editor Kevin Morrissey killed himself following what one co-worker described as "the worst week of his life" within the offices of the award-winning literary journal, but the repercussions from this complex and tragic tale are still being felt.
A soon-to-be released documentary on the tragedy, What Killed Kevin?, by New York City-based filmmaker Beverly Peterson, takes a contemplative look at the office dynamics that preceded Morrissey's death and questions the narrative in which VQR editor Ted Genoways is cast as a "bully" and Morrissey and the rest of the VQR staff as his hapless victims.
A recent review of the film in the magazine Psychology Today, however, goes so far as to suggest that it might have been Morrissey, not Genoways, who was the bully.
"Based on the interviews in the film, Kevin’s experience at
That's a take on the tragedy that has stunned those close to Morrissey. While his former co-workers decline to comment specifically, citing confidentiality agreements with the University, they all express shock at the characterization. Indeed, in previous Hook stories, Morrissey was described by his co-workers as someone who worked hard "to bring people together in the office, to be professional, and to make himself a model for how people should treat each other," and as "an honorable man–- decent, generous, kind, and reliable as sunrise."
As previously reported, accusations of abuse by Genoways began to surface almost immediately after Morrissey's death, both in emails and documents obtained by the Hook, and from former employees of the editor. The story captured the attention of the national media, including the Today Show, as well as advocates in the national anti-bullying movement.
The film, however, finds critics of that version.
Journalism ethics professor Ed Wasserman, who criticizes the Today Show coverage in the film, thinks the Hook, which covered the story extensively, was "heavily invested in the hounded-to-death story line.
"I'm not convinced," he says, accusing the Hook of not sufficiently questioning the thesis of Genoways as bully and asking whether "the facts, even if solid, are truly emblematic of the realities they’re meant to illustrate."
"Let’s be clear," says Wasserman. "The question is whether there’s good evidence for two propositions: That Genoways bullied Morrissey, and that his bullying brought on Morrissey’s suicide. I don’t see either one."
Unlike the former VQR staff members who worked with Morrissey, Wasserman, basing his opinion on what he's read, sees Morrissey as "a sad, disturbed guy."
The new documentary by Peterson, herself a victim of workplace bullying, began as an investigation into Genoway's alleged abusive behavior, but Peterson says she found herself disturbed by the narrative put forth in the media, and by the way those in the anti-bullying movement seized on the story to advance their own agenda.
“I began this film as an advocate against workplace bullying," she tells Kalman. "But what I found instead was proposed legislation that had turned into a witch hunt, whether or not proof of guilt or innocence had been determined.”
Morrissey's sister, Maria, who has since helped push forward that anti-bully legislation in New York and elsewhere, calls Kalman's characterization of her brother "ludicrous."
"Kevin was a gentle man and a supportive manager much beloved by the VQR staff, and the very opposite of a bully," she says.
Former VQR web editor Waldo Jaquith, who has since gone on to work for the Obama Administration and is featured prominently in the film, early on described his friend Morrissey as one of the "finest human beings I've ever known."
In contrast, over the course of the Hook's reporting, we could find no one who had worked directly with Genoways on a day-to-day basis who had anything positive to say about the experience. In fact, as previously reported, one former employee called him a "dangerous" man who should "not be managing people."
Peterson, however, refuses to take sides.
"The film does not tell people what to think," she says. "Different people have different points of view and that includes Mr. Kalman. Workplace bullying is indeed devastating and the purpose of this film is to create much needed dialogue: Can workplace bullying be defined? If so, how, and who decides?"
"It's the worst thing you can imagine, being accused of being the cause of a friend's death," says Genoways, standing in his living room with his tearful wife at his side in the film.
In the aftermath of Morrissey's death, a rare investigation into VQR operations was launched by the University. While the final report was critical of Genoways, saying his capacity to supervise and lead his staff was "questionable," and that "corrective action" should be taken with regard to his management style, he was allowed to remain as VQR editor.
However, incoming President Teresa Sullivan, prompted by the VQR tragedy, would launch a "respectful workplace" program designed to promote "kindness, dignity and respect" at the University. Ironically, just months later, Sullivan herself would become the victim of what many believe was a bullying attempt by the Board of Visitors, spearheaded by Rector Helen Dragas, to remove her from office.
"It's very upsetting for me to have to think about how valiantly and doggedly Kevin struggled to be heard," says Morrissey's sister, Maria, commenting on her brother's attempts to get help from the University for the way he felt he was being treated, "only to have everyone he spoke to ultimately say there was nothing they could do without the bully's cooperation."
In Peterson's film, however, both Genoways and his wife suggest that Morrissey needed a different kind of help, and that his sister, and his co-workers, may not have really understood what was going on.
"Kevin's mood could be dark for days, weeks at a time," explains Genoways in the film, "in a way that was not always visible to the rest of the staff."
"We did so much for Kevin," says Genoways' wife, Mary Anne, fighting back tears, "but it was never enough. When he refused to get help, it was a drain, it was exhausting. I wish we could have done more."
Jaquith, too, regrets having not done more, and while in his filmed interview he says there were no clear-cut "bad guys and good guys" in the tragedy, and that there was "plenty of blame to go around" for what happened, he does use the word "bully" to describe Genoways' treatment of Morrissey.
Indeed, as emails obtained by the Hook showed, Morrissey had been in close communication with UVA human resources officials in the weeks leading up to his death–-officials who acknowledged that the situation with Genoways had been "rough for you and your staff" and that "immediate intervention" was needed.
As Jaquith told the Today Show, Genoways' treatment of Morrissey in the last few weeks of his life was "egregious...and just ate Kevin up."
Among Morrissey and other VQR staff members complaints: An early Monday morning email banning Jaquith and Morrissey from the office for a week without explanation; the hiring of a wealthy 24-year old intern who had given over a $1 million to UVA, and placing her in a position of authority; and an often angry management-by-email approach.
Genoways, however, appears to think that Morrissey was misleading his staff.
"Kevin was sinking into a deeper and deeper depression because of false assumptions," says Genoways in the film, "and those false assumptions were being reenforced by those around him who claimed to be his friend, instead of being checked."
Genoways also engages in some fine tuning of the experience of being bullied.
"They feel bullied," says Genoways of Morrissey and the rest of the VQR staff, "but there is a critical distinction between feeling bullied and being bullied."
Peterson's film attempts to show the devastating effect the deteriorating situation in that office had on everyone, including Genoways.
"From now on if someone doesn't like me," says Genoways, "they just have to say I'm a bully. It's one more mark against my name."
Still, as reported in the Hook and elsewhere, Jaquith and the rest of the VQR staff who worked under Genoways have been unequivocal about their feelings toward Genoways.
"If there is an afterlife, Genoways will be punished accordingly," wrote Jaquith on his blog shortly after his former boss resigned. Jaquith was reacting to an early attempt by Genoways, through his lawyer, to suggest that Morrissey may have been stealing money from the magazine, and that his suicide was because he thought he was going to get caught. "That was a disgusting, shameful lie," Jaquith wrote, "as of course the [financial] audit demonstrated.
"Unlike Genoways, I’m from Charlottesville, and I intend to die in Charlottesville," Jaquith continued. "Lying might buy some short-term benefit, but the truth always comes out eventually."
Indeed, as Peterson's film shows, the "truth" can be elusive in a complex tale such as this.
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