For the ousted creator of NBC's "Smash," the responsibility for the show's demise doesn't lie at her feet.
In a spirited email exchange with BuzzFeed's chief Los Angeles correspondent, Theresa Rebeck feels that the show's rapidly dwindling ratings and exile to live out the rest of its days on Saturday nights proves that she wasn't the one who ruined the show.
"If in fact Theresa Rebeck was the problem with 'Smash' and the train wreck it became, wouldn't things have gotten better – rather than drastically worse – once she left?" Rebeck wrote the site in the third person.
Also read: NBC Shifts 'Smash' to Saturday Nights
Rebeck was removed from the show in March 2012 in what she had called "an explosive situation" in which she "was treated quite badly."
A month later, "Gossip Girl" executive producer Josh Safran was named as her replacement.
Season 2 premiered on Feb. 5, "Smash" drew an anemic 1.1 rating/3 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic — its lowest-rated episode at that date, and down 71 percent from the show's series premiere. It was also down 39 percent from its May 14 season finale. It moved to Saturdays in April.
Ratings are definitely an indicator that a show has gone off the rails, but Rebeck wants to make sure she's clear that they aren't the cause.
Also read: 'Smash' Gets a New Showrunner: 'Gossip Girl's' Josh Safran
"Most media reporters would agree that the second season was a complete disaster," she wrote. "And that the troubles with a once promising show go far beyond faring poorly in the ratings."