Simon announced his decision on Twitter Monday morning:
If an employer, this is beyond politics. I’m turning in scripts next month on an HBO non-fiction miniseries based on events in Texas, but I can’t and won’t ask female cast/crew to forgo civil liberties to film there. What else looks like Dallas/Ft. Worth? https://t.co/q6Py6XikYh
— David Simon (@AoDespair) September 20, 2021
Not surprisingly, he got quite a bit of pushback. But he stood his ground:
You misunderstand completely. My response is NOT rooted in any debate about political efficacy or the utility of any boycott. My singular responsibility is to securing and maintaining the civil liberties of all those we employ during the course of a production. https://t.co/cSKZu08uOO
— David Simon (@AoDespair) September 20, 2021
Love Austin and San Antonio. Even like Houston some. And you are blissfully unaware that this is not a political decision for us; we can’t ethically ask any female cast/crew to relocate to any state that requires them to forgo civil liberties. The end. https://t.co/j5WVrr7hfp
— David Simon (@AoDespair) September 22, 2021
1) It affronts the dignity and privacy of every employee to require interstate transport involving a variety of coworkers so that they may obtain health care.
2) The Texas law makes any person/entity civilly liable if they so assist any woman.
3) Texas is fucked up. https://t.co/FJf2062ZwY— David Simon (@AoDespair) September 23, 2021
Some of the responses have been vile, but Simon had some excellent retorts:
No female cast. And overseas production component based in S. Africa where abortion laws liberalized in 1996. Now fuck all of the way off with your candyass Twitter gotcha game. https://t.co/CIJdFVL38m
— David Simon (@AoDespair) September 22, 2021
8 years on Twitter and 0 followers is not a viable algorithm. Nor is the sentence structure. The least you trolling shitbags can do for us all is maintain basic professionalism. https://t.co/648NxnZ7jC
— David Simon (@AoDespair) September 23, 2021
I’m okay with the abortion of an embryo or fetus if that is a woman’s decision. I am only willing to hunt and kill babies in season, and only with proper game and wildlife permits. Now fuck off, moron. https://t.co/s9Q1Is4vKM
— David Simon (@AoDespair) September 23, 2021
It's great to see people hit Texas where it hurts: in the pocketbook. We need more of this, please!
