Judd Apatow is clarifying the recent comments he made criticizing backlash to HBO’s “Confederate,” the upcoming drama series about slavery from “Game of Thrones” showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
After HBO picked up the series last month, many people took to social media with criticism about the project that envisions an alternate reality in which slavery exists due to the South having successfully seceded from the Union. Author Author Ta-Nehisi Coates is among the public figures who have voiced concern about “Confederate.”
Apatow made it clear with a tweet on Friday that he does not support the outcry, saying that “censorship is never a good idea” and that it is “a tad early to judge their work and intentions.”
However, Apatow amended his comments on Sunday in response to a Twitter user who questioned whether this indeed qualified as “censorship.”
“You are correct,” he wrote. “It is not censorship. I used the wrong word. But to criticize work before it exists is dangerous to all expression.”
HBO president Casey Bloys told reporters at a Television Critics Association press event in July that “Confederate” is a “risk worth taking,” while acknowledging that there is a “high degree of difficulty with getting this right.”
Apatow has a long professional history with HBO, having served as an executive producer on “Girls,” which signed off this year after six seasons. He currently holds the same role on the network’s Pete Holmes comedy, “Crashing.”
His tweets are below.
Censorship is never a good idea. They haven't even written a word. Seems a tad early to judge their work and intentions. https://t.co/EJ5MTm363s
— Judd Apatow 🇺🇦 (@JuddApatow) August 4, 2017
You are correct. It is not censorship. I used the wrong word. But to criticize work before it exists is dangerous to all expression. https://t.co/DInL9OMcNt
— Judd Apatow 🇺🇦 (@JuddApatow) August 6, 2017