'The Wire' creator David Simon says he will not shoot HBO series in Texas over abortion law
"The Wire" creator David Simon announced an upcoming HBO series will not shoot in Texas as planned after the state passed a controversial abortion law.
"As an employer, this is beyond politics," he tweeted. "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?"
Simon continued to publicize his position against the law that prohibits a woman from getting an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy in a series of tweets starting on Monday and responded to Twitter users trolling his decision.
"If only you submorons could limit yourself to decisions about what to do with your own bodies, we might endure as a republic. Instead, your code has you using hack politicians to crawl into every womb you can reach," Simon tweeted in response to a user.
If only you submorons could limit yourself to decisions about what to do with your own bodies, we might endure as a republic. Instead, your code has you using hack politicians to crawl into every womb you can reach. https://t.co/jOgzeo8DJR
— David Simon (@AoDespair) September 21, 2021
Employing people in any profession and assuring their civil liberties wherever you ask them to do their jobs is unrelated to fuckmutts spouting empty and rank horseshit on Twitter. And thank goodness. https://t.co/q1Wwa6J5lI
— David Simon (@AoDespair) September 21, 2021
The Dallas Films & Creative Industries Office caught wind of the tweet and responded by saying the laws of the state do not reflect the views of the entire population.
"Not bringing a production to Dallas (a big "D") only serves to further disenfranchise those that live here. We need talent/crew/creatives to stay & vote, not get driven out by inability to make a living," the account tweeted.
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.@AoDespair -Laws of a state are not reflective of its entire population. Not bringing a production to Dallas (a big "D") only serves to further disenfranchise those that live here. We need talent/crew/creatives to stay & vote, not get driven out by inability to make a living. https://t.co/DxD46z0nNu
— Dallas Film & Creative Industries Office (@DallasCommish) September 20, 2021
Simon told the office it misunderstood his original tweet and his decision to not film in the state was rooted in protecting civil liberties, not a political boycott.
"My singular responsibility is to securing and maintaining the civil liberties of all those we employ during the course of a production," he tweeted.
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
"My company is asking for the labor of women. They are all entitled to film where their basic rights remain intact," he tweeted Thursday morning.
Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation known as the "fetal heartbeat" bill in May. It allows private citizens to sue anyone who aids or abets abortions that are performed once a heartbeat is detected, and it's one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the nation.
'My darkest secret': Uma Thurman recounts teen abortion trauma while criticizing Texas abortion law
'I can't get pregnant right now': Some Texas residents are stockpiling contraceptives and pregnancy tests
Follow reporter Asha Gilbert @Coastalasha. Email: [email protected].
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: David Simon HBO show will not film in Texas over abortion law