Jordan Peele, other male showrunners pen open letter on abortion rights
The letter, sent to major studios, reads: "Abortion access doesn’t only affect people who can become pregnant. It affects us all."
A week after female showrunners penned a letter demanding safety protocols from studios with productions in anti-abortion states, male showrunners and creators have now voiced solidarity with their female counterparts, over a month after the Supreme Court’s controversial reversal of Roe v. Wade.
The letter was signed by 594 male TV creators and showrunners in the industry, including Jordan Peele, J.J. Abrams, Ryan Murphy, Taika Waititi and more, per Variety. Like last week’s letter signed by female creators in the industry, copies of this letter were sent to some of the biggest studios including Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount, Apple, NBC Universal, and more.
“We, the undersigned, stand in solidarity with our female, trans & non-binary showrunner colleagues in demanding a response from our employers regarding the imminent workplace-safety crisis created by the overturning of Roe v. Wade,” the letter obtained by Variety reads. “Abortion access doesn’t only affect people who can become pregnant. It affects us all.”
The full list of male creators who signed the letter can be found here.
This is not the first time Peele himself has been an outspoken advocate for women’s rights. When Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed his controversial abortion-ban bill back in 2019, Peele and J.J. Abrams (who together executive produced “Lovecraft Country”) released a statement condemning the decision.
“In a few weeks we start shooting our new show, “Lovecraft Country,” and will do so standing shoulder to shoulder with the women of Georgia,” they said in a joint statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. “Governor Kemp’s ‘Fetal Heartbeat’ Abortion Law is an unconstitutional effort to further restrict women and their health providers from making private medical decisions on their terms. Make no mistake, this is an attack aimed squarely and purposely at women.”
As previously reported by theGrio, Shonda Rhimes, Issa Rae, Ava DuVernay and more signed the letter demanding safety protocols last week.
“This situation raises basic matters of equality, health, and safety in the workplace,” the initial letter reads. “Many of us would not have the careers and families we have today if we had not been granted the freedom to choose what was best for ourselves. We are committed, as a group, to protecting our fundamental human rights and those of our colleagues.”
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