When the news broke last month that Mr. Spurlock had died from complications of cancer, the arc of his life seemed permanently settled: a one-hit wonder who’d squandered his success by trying to get out ahead of a potential P.R. After that initial coffee, I’d stayed in touch with Mr. Spurlock and eventually we formed a friendship, one full of conversations about what it might mean to be a better person. Despite that relationship, I don’t consider him worthy of blanket forgiveness; I don’t even believe that he deserved a second chance at the spotlight. But I can’t shake the feeling that, nearly seven years after #MeToo, we still haven’t found a way for men who want to make amends to do so meaningfully. There were prominent figures brought down by #MeToo who’ve never asked for, nor deserved, our sympathy.

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Persons: Morgan Spurlock, I’d, ”, “, who’d, Spurlock, he’d, —, MeToo who’ve Locations: Downtown Manhattan