Travon Free, a producer of HBO’s new series “Camping” and writer for Showtime’s upcoming “Black Monday,” apologized on Thursday for a series of nine-year-old tweets about Jews and Hitler that he called “stupid and really offensive jokes” he now regretted.
“Nine years ago I tweeted some stupid and really offensive jokes that were intended to be that, jokes. My poor attempts at humor quite understandably have offended and disappointed many people, including some very close to me, and for that I offer my sincerest apologies,” he said in a statement posted to Twitter.
“I’ve matured tremendously as a person, writer and comedian since 2010,” he continued. “Going forward, I will continue to work tirelessly at my job and on behalf of all marginalized communities, some of which, in retrospect, I did a tremendous disservice to with those tweets years ago. Again, my deep and heartfelt apologies.”
🙏🏾✌🏾️❤️ pic.twitter.com/4glUPIMG7i
— Travon Free (@Travon) November 8, 2018
In a statement to TheWrap, an HBO rep denounced the tweets, saying the network had no plans to work with Free in the future. “HBO is not in business with Travon Free nor do we have any plans to be,” a rep for the company said. “This kind of language is deeply offensive and inexcusable.”
Showtime declined to comment. Reps for Free at United Talent Agency did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment.
Free, who is credited on IMDb as a producer on four episodes of “Camping” and a former writer on “The Daily Show” and “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee,” came in for a storm of criticism on Wednesday after the old tweets ricocheted around the internet.
“Female cops are to lesbians are Jews are to Hollywood executives,” he said in one tweet.
“All it takes is 3 Jewish guys to end the NFL lockout. Who would be better at collective bargaining than a group of Jews,” he said in another.
“Got cut off in traffic by a Jew. WWHD? (what would Hitler do?)” said a third — and there were many, many others.
https://twitter.com/Travon/status/14250042392
https://twitter.com/Travon/status/69840893552758785
Another trove of tweets about Hitler were flagged by the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council.
“There is no way or form that these tweets by @Travon are cute or normal,” they wrote in a tweet denouncing several which they captured as screengrabs.
There is no way or form that these tweets by @Travon are cute or normal. pic.twitter.com/deDllHtFyO
— OJPAC (@OJPAC) November 7, 2018
HBO also told TheWrap that a tweet from Free promoting the new Issa Rae series on the network, “Him or Her,” was false and it had requested he remove it. “We passed on ‘Him or Her’ at the script stage,” they said. “Not happening here.”
Free unpinned the tweet from the top of his feed, but it still remained live at of 8 a.m. PT on Thursday.
https://twitter.com/Travon/status/942889595154378757