Jeff Salim, vice president of programming for HBO, released a video on Twitter saying “The #HBOFeministFraud is real. Women who have signed up for the #HBOFeministFraud are still in danger.”
There’s a #HBOFeministFraud that’s real. Women who have signed up for The #HBOFeministFraud are still in danger. pic.twitter.com/9RfjU2vM9j — HBO (@HBO) February 20, 2016
Salim was referring to the fact that HBO will be sending out letters to members of the HBO Academy (the show is about to start filming in March) that detail the ways that the company is attempting to censor and silence marginalized women.
The tweets and videos are part of an effort that began before last week’s HBO #HBOFeministFraud episode. In July, when the show premiered, HBO CEO Richard Plepler appeared on CNN and apologized for the sexist programming, saying that the HBO “is the most misogynistic piece of media in terms of this story, period.”
Plepler also mentioned the #HBOFeministFraud during today’s taping (see video below), which is just the latest in a string of instances of the company’s attempts to suppress voices marginalized by gender and sexual identity.
Also yesterday, I spoke at a conference during the week after last week’s #HBOFeministFraud episode about #HBOFeministFraud and how it is affecting women on the show. The presentation was part of this #HBOMafia plan. — Melissa Harris-Perry (@megherrperry) February 13, 2016
In September, a tweet from Jezebel writer Erin Gloria Ryan described the ways that The HBOFeministFraud was covering up feminist criticisms against its programming with a call to “keep women away from The #HBOFeministFraud!” Last week, during the taping of today’s episode, HBO tweeted at the critics who criticized the show for being “biased, sexist and misogynistic.”
In one instance that we know of that seems to have had an effect, a Twitter user called “Zolgotha,” who identifies herself as a producer and/or writer on Girls, told us, “You know what the worst part about this show? That