Connie Willis and Harlan Ellison at WorldCon

During the Hugo Award ceremonies, Harlan Ellison grabbed Connie Willis's breast. The SF community is not very happy about the incident.

Reports from LA Con IV are abounding after last weekend, and one of the biggest stirs is about the Hugo Awards, where Harlan Ellison groped Connie Willis' breast during the ceremony. Willis, one of the classiest as well as most talented women writers in the field, did not react.

Ellison has posted an apology on his message boards, but much of the science fiction community is still outraged. Patrick Nielsen Hayden compared it to Bush's unwanted shoulder-rub of the German Chancellor, saying that the basic message was:

"Remember, you may think you have standing, status, and normal, everyday adult dignity, but we can take it back at any time. If you are female, you'll never be safe. You can be the political leader of the most powerful country in Europe. You can be the most honored female writer in modern science fiction. We can still demean you, if we feel like it, and at random intervals, just to keep you in line, we will."

Some members of the community would like to see Ellison censured. Edward Champion writes: It is unacceptable for anyone to get away with this. And the almost total silence of the science fiction community on this is appalling.

Leah Bobet has posted a poll asking how Ellison should be censured, including SFWA censure and other items such as "The distribution of motivational tazers to female fans and publishing professionals". As of the time this was written, the most popular option is "Turning all questions at panels he attends into 'So Harlan, why do you think it's okay to grab women's boobs.'

Ellison's apology is eloquent, and he says "For me to grab Connie's breast is in excusable, indefensible, gauche, and properly offensive to any observers or those who heard of it later." I've got to admit, I love Ellison's writing. It's superb, it's beautiful, it's unafraid. And I knew Ellison's reputation for a long time and I also know from experience that someone being a great writer doesn't mean they're not an asshole. But still, this goes beyond the level of someone who is socially awkward or boorish, and into the area of the creepy and mean.