Adult Swim Star Gives Network The Arse Over Their “Misogynistic Policies”

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November 14, 2016

It’s gotta be said upfront that Adult Swim has historically been quite beloved given they’ve birthed unto us all shows like ‘Rick & Morty,’ ‘Robot Chicken,’ ‘Aqua Teen Hunger Force,’ ‘Tim & Eric,’ and ‘Metalocalypse.’ But the keen eye among those of you will recognise one key common denominator amongst those shows: Not one of them was created, or co-created, by a woman.

That’s a trend that the cult network has maintained largely throughout its entire existence, and it’s an issue that’s come to a head in light of their recent announcement of their new and returning slate of programs.

Having done the quick and very cursory math on Adult Swim’s 2016-17 slate, critics found that a total of 47 series creators have been engaged by the network. And of those 47, every single one of them is male.

Adult Swim, right now, does not have one single solitary show that was even in-part created by a woman. In fact, only a bare few streaming short series commissioned by the network feature females in key creative roles. This, despite the fact that women account for some 47% of the network’s viewership.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to ascertain that this is some hot buttered bullshit.

What’s more, longtime network exec Mike Lazzo attempted to explain the situation with some generalised nonsense, essentially claiming that women are averse to conflict, and are therefore no good in a comedy writers’ room.

“What I actually said was-women don’t tend to like conflict, comedy often comes from conflict, so that’s probably why we (or others) have so few female projects.”

He then further tried clarifying that by stating it was a “dumb answer to a good question,” and citied “Lucille Ball,” “Gilda Rather,” (read: Gilda Radner) and “Amy Schumer” as examples of how sometimes women can actually do comedy all good-like, you guys.

Fast forward to earlier today, and those comments and policies are starting to have repercussions for the network. Brett Gelman, the star of Adult Swim series ‘Dinner in America‘ and journeyman bit-player in various other things you definitely have seen him in before (‘Curb Your Enthusiasm,’ ‘The Office,’ ‘The League,’ ‘Kroll Show,’ etc) announced that due to the network’s “misogynistic” policies, he has parted ways with them.

I know this and I have stopped working with them. Not to mention the misogyny of their policies https://t.co/fJ3Pm4lUGT

— Brett Gelman (@brettgelman) November 10, 2016

Adult Swim’s Mike Lazzo Takes to Reddit to Defend Lack of Female Creators https://t.co/fjxE8FYx7z THIS IS THE REASON I HAVE SEVERED TIES

— Brett Gelman (@brettgelman) November 14, 2016

In addition, Gelman cited the fact that Adult Swim commissioned and continues to back a series from “alt-right” comics (read: “white supremacist,” “trolls,” “very racist,” “arseholes”) Million Dollar Extreme as another contributing factor towards his exit.

The Alt-Right Has Its Very Own TV Show On Adult Swim https://t.co/LU0Vvmhe91 via @bernstein @buzzfeednews. MY OTHER REASON TO B CLEAR

— Brett Gelman (@brettgelman) November 14, 2016

Gelman has been particularly vocal on Twitter in the wake of Donald Trump‘s election win, lamenting how it serves as a shout box but breeds apathy.

If you are a straight white man you must actually help others and take action and not just say that you support them. Tweeting isn’t enough

— Brett Gelman (@brettgelman) November 14, 2016

Adult Swim is yet to comment on the situation, but Gelman has stated that he is keen to continue ‘Dinner In America,’ just “not with them.”

Source: AV Club.

Photo: John Parra/Getty.