As people have reached out to me about leaving Dread Central, I explained that I quit for two main issues. The accounting department and Josh Korngut are the reasons I quit without anything lined up. Both made what was initially a cool job, one of the most tiresome gigs I have ever had, and left me burnt out. I initially set out to give each one an article, but I have so many receipts that I think they could both be a series. However, I’m going to try to give an overview and pull some of my favorite receipts.
Accountants Who Can’t Count
It’s no secret that the accounting department has a hard time paying people on time. I spent more time emailing them during my tenure than writing articles, and that says a lot. It’s so bad that when I was at festivals and cons, filmmakers who found out I worked at Dread would tell me how much money they are owed. Or talk about how long it took to get a check after their work was completed. I learned accounting doesn’t pay on time during my first few months in the building. I spent my first December emailing Cristal every day, reminding her that rent was due. Eventually, her boss answered the email and paid the invoice. I soon found out this is just how that department is, and no one has tried to fix it.
I have receipts for days. However, not everyone wants to read all of this, so let me summarize. Cristal was so bad at her job that the company started doing Net 30. However, when you emailed her on day 30, she would tell you that it’s the Friday after 30 days. When you email her on that Friday, she tells you it’s due next week. This was never a surprise, as her story and timeline changed faster than we could put out articles. I went into debt in this job simply because I never knew when my next check was coming, so I had to take out loans. I had to borrow money from friends who encouraged me to quit, as they sent me dollars. This is embarrassing on all levels, and made me wonder if this company was broke. However, it is a very important lesson to not prioritize jobs that make you beg for the money you are owed.
I took a very large pay cut in April. Dread went from being my main source of income (when the money arrived) to me squeezing out what I could with the per article rate. I tried to take this in stride, but also started making a plan to make sure I didn’t get stuck in Minneapolis just because I was pulling in considerably less than I made while straddling the poverty line. However, over the last few months, I have discovered that while I was working for a lot less, Dread had been funding apartments for grown men who don’t serve a purpose. I promise you, my $2500 a month is a lot less than whatever rent in California is for a man I know I will see on Court TV within the next three years.
Why I Refuse To Work With Josh Korngut
Josh seemed nice in my first few months. I didn’t know he was just trying to ride my coattails and that nobody liked him. However, looking back, there were so many red flags. From the way he knew how many followers I had on my social media accounts on any given day, to the way he would try to convince me he was the reason I got hired. He even tried to force me to say thanks on a couple of occasions for getting the job.
He is famous for doing that shitty thing where he does something nice and then lords it over you until you wish he hadn’t done anything. For example, I had to go home for a family emergency, and my family situation is complex. It was during Tribeca and also the week of my birthday. Josh attended in person and interviewed a filmmaker I’m friends with, so they sent me a happy birthday video. I said thanks because it seemed sweet at the time. Josh then told me that when he introduced himself to the filmmaker, he said, “Oh, Dread Central! You work with Sharai.” We laughed about it the first couple of times he told the story. However, around the ninth time he told it, I could tell he didn’t find it funny. Anyone who knows the person knows they weren't being shady, but they were making a connection aloud.
This is also around the time he started asking me why people like me when he’d see me interacting with people who make cool stuff or landing interviews/guests for my indie podcast. He also seemed to feel a way when I got into Rotten Tomatoes the first time I applied, and would remind me how many times he applied. This made me think he suggested I apply, thinking I wouldn’t get in, and it backfired. He was also salty when I signed on for The Alter Tapes and wondered why no one had invited him because he’s a podcaster.
I know most of you are here for the Mia Goth of it all. Here are those receipts proving he never researched this guy. I thought he was joking, and we soon found out he was telling the truth when he almost got Dread sued, then got promoted.
Because this is getting long, I’m going to try to wrap this up and continue it in another piece. Gonna just start posting screenshots of the way he spoke to me because it’s weird and went on for months.
This is from last year when he misspelled Melissa Barrera's name on the goofy graphics he's so proud of. I didn't point out that I spelled it correctly, but he still had an attitude and felt I was the problem. This is not the first time he was careless as he mixed up two Brown directors on Twitter and then accused the person who pointed it out of being homophobic.
After he blew my phone up while I was at London Film Fest he got into the habit of emailing my personal and work email the same info. Which set off double notifications. We had also had a meeting with the EIC where I politely asked for more organization as he treated news like a last minute homework assignment and just kind of expected me to wait around all day. So, the double email had been passive aggressive for a moment and he was salty the EIC helped him organize things. He was pissed about that but they still use the system I begged for today. Also, news writers no longer have to give up a whole morning while he wastes their time and assigns them things at the last minute. So, they are all welcome but what the fuck is this?
Last one because this is too long and I really need to save some stuff for the next one. I have insomnia and woke up at some weird time one night with a swollen eye. I don't know the warmth of insurance because I'm a freelancer and poor. So, on top of being tired I was panicked and forgot to @ him in the Discord when I put it in the writers thread I would be out because of the swollen eye. This is what followed.
People usually let everyone else know when they weren't going to attend meetings in the Discord. That way someone could relay it to everyone else if they didn't check the thread. However, because Josh refuses to check it even when he is the only editor in town, he took this as another chance to have a moment. He also had issues if I had to turn my camera off or have a snack in these unnecessary staff meetings we had every Monday. However, everyone else could turn their camera off for a second or have the occasional bite when their Mondays were a lot less hectic than mine (I was literally going from about 7 AM to 10-11 PM with all the podcast and article prep). He was also the one who had the most to say about my face during meetings. He felt it wasn't enthusiastic enough and I had to point out that's not cool to say for so many reasons.
I have so many more stories to tell and weird screenshots where he's whining about not feeling respected. However, this is too damn long and I'm pissed off again. So, I'm going to save that for the next time I have to refill my spite battery. I will leave you with this though, me and my EIC quit Dread in October without anything lined up. I cannot speak for her, but when people start running from a building there are probably reasons. Those reasons probably have a lot of overlap too...