Hulu, the streaming home of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale,’ doesn’t want to run controversial political ads. Help me make sense of this.

by Therese Odell, posted in Uncategorized

Here’s A BUNCH OF TV News

My head hurts: Hulu doesn’t want to run political ads from Democrats on issues like abortion or gun control — you know, two of the BIGGEST ISSUES WE ARE DEALING WITH AT THE MOMENT ahead of the midterm elections in November. No one tell Hulu that they are the home of The Handmaid’s Tale for fuck’s sake.

This is obviously a free speech issue: Hulu absolutely has the right to choose to not run any ad for any reason. But not having a written policy outlining exactly what they find “sensitive” creates situations like this that smell like they have a particular political agenda:

Suraj Patel, a Democratic candidate for Congress in New York City, posted a letter of protest, first reported by Jezebel, to Disney CEO Bob Chapek and Hulu President Joe Earley complaining that a Hulu representative told his campaign there was an “unwritten Hulu policy” that deemed the topics in one of his ads too “sensitive” for the platform. The ad in question mentioned Republican successes around abortion, climate change, and gun violence, while also showing footage of the violence from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“To not discuss these topics in my campaign ad is to not address the most important issues facing the United States,” Patel wrote. “Your ban on mobilization messaging has a perverse effect on Democracy.”

Patel said in an interview Sunday that the ad was allowed to run after he edited it, replacing the word “climate change” with “democracy” and replacing the footage of violence at the U.S. Capitol with footage of former president Donald Trump. He has not received a response from Chapek or Earley, he said.

…

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Democratic Governors Association tried to purchase joint ads on abortion and guns with Hulu on July 15, along with identical placements on a Disney-affiliated ABC affiliate in Philadelphia and the company’s cable sports channel ESPN. The Hulu ads never ran, while the others did.

…

The blocked ads do not use violent or jarring imagery. One spot lists statistics about the harm of gun violence and criticizes Republican efforts to block more gun regulation. The other warns that Republicans are trying to “rip away” access to abortion without exceptions for rape, incest or the lives of those who are pregnant.

Here are the two ads in question:

Only watch this video in which Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn discuss fan theories about Better Call Saul if you are fully caught up. All of the spoiler alerts.

Bob Odenkirk also opened up about just how serious his heart attack on the set of Better Call Saul was. If it wasn’t for a REALLY lucky coincidence that a crew member happened to have a defibrillator in her car — a defibrillator that she had borrowed, and was trying to return, but her friend hadn’t been home to receive it — he might not be with us today.

The Stranger Things guys edited a scene in the first season to make Johnathan’s behavior less skeevy. In the second episode, Johnathan, while out in the woods looking for Will, takes photos of Nancy while she’s getting undressed in Steve’s bedroom. Now it’s been edited to show him see her in Steve’s room, but he doesn’t take pictures of her.

Speaking of Nancy, THE AUDACITY OF THIS WOMAN.

Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis agreed to do That ’90s Show, because they recognized that That ’70s Show made them. That’s some refreshing gratitude.

That gunfight that disrupted the set of Justified: City Primeval last week also shot up the set of Chicago Med. Everyone is fine, but freaked out.

The “House of the Dragon: DracARys augmented reality app is now live, so go raise a dragon.

Apparently, it’s Friends week, but only if you live in New York, Denver or Toronto.

The NFL launched its own streaming service, NFL+, but I don’t understand why? Who is this for? Why wouldn’t you just watch the games for free on TV?

Erika Jayne was just sued again.

Sonja Morgan is trying to sell that damn townhouse again.

#MeToo

Vince McMahon has officially retired from WWE following revelations that he paid multiple women millions of dollars to stay quiet about affairs and misbehavior.

Mike Shouhed of Shahs of Sunset was arrested in March and charged with 13 criminal charges including domestic violence and battery against his fiancé. (Previously, there had been no confirmation that his arrest was for domestic violence. The series was abruptly canceled by Bravo after his arrest.)

Ricky Martin’s nephew withdrew his harassment claims against him, and the restraining order has been dropped. Martin says the entire mess has been “painful and devastating” but wishes his nephew the best, and hopes he finds the help he needs.

Scientology wants the Supreme Court to force Danny Masterson’s accusers back under a religious arbitration agreement preventing them from being able to sue him and the church. According to the state of California, the women had left the church and were no longer bound by the agreement, but according to Scientology, they’re being discriminated against.

First of all, Joe Rogan attacking Jordan Peterson for dead naming Elliot Page is … unexpected. But second, can we discuss Zachary Levi calling Peterson one of the “deepest thinkers” and someone with “integrity”? What the fuck, dude?

So. Disney changed the name of the employees who dressed children as princesses and knights from “Fairy Godmothers in Training” to “Fairy Godmothers’ Assistants” because some of the employees are men and they are being more inclusive. You will be shocked to discover that people are SO ANGRY about this.

If you want something to actually be outraged about, here are a few:

Matt Gaetz, accused sex trafficker of teens, made this insightful comment this weekend:

Tucker Carlson finds liberated women who are in charge of their own sexuality “fucked up”:

And Ohio Senatorial candidate J.D. Vance says that people should stay in violent marriages:

Renewals

In Development

Casting News

Mark Your Calendars

  • A League of Their Own will debut on Prime Video on August 12.
  • Reginald the Vampire will premiere on Syfy on August 5.
  • LEGO Masters returns on Fox on September 21.
  • LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation will debut on Disney+ on August 5.
  • The Undeclared War will premiere on Peacock on August 18.
  • Queer for Fear will debut on Shudder on September 29.
  • Broad Peak will debut on Netflix in September.
  • The Next 365 Days will debut on Netflix on August 19.
  • Sweet Life: Los Angeles will return on HBO Max on August 4.
  • Darlings will premiere on Netflix on August 5.

R.I.P.

Tony Dow, Actor known for playing Wally on Leave it to Beaver

Aaron Latham, Screenwriter and journalist whose story inspired Urban Cowboy, and husband of 60 Minutes journalist Leslie Stahl

Yoko Shimada, Emmy-nominated actress in Shōgun

WATCH THIS

Pig vs. Shark: I’m pretty sure I know who wins this one. 9 p.m., Discovery

Street Food USA: We could have had taco trucks on every corner … Series premiere. Netflix

Snake in the Grass: Four players are dropped into the wilderness with a chance to win $100,000, but one of them is a saboteur. So, basically, NBC has reinvented The Mole. Premiere — will move to USA. 9 p.m., NBC 

Late Night:

  • Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: John Krasinski, Regé-Jean Page, Maggie Rogers
  • Late Night with Seth Meyers: Ethan Hawke, Joel Kim Booster, Iman Vellani, Art Cruz
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Charlamagne tha God, Brett Gelman, St. Vincent
  • The Daily Show: Molly Burke, Brian Cox
  • Watch What Happens Live: Jeff Lewis, Cynthia Bailey

TUES. 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30
ABC Celebrity Wheel of Fortune
(repeat)		 Judge Steve Harvey
(repeat)		 Celebrity Family Feud
(repeat)
CBS FBI
(repeat)		 FBI: International
(repeat)		 FBI: Most Wanted
(repeat)
CW Superman & Lois
(repeat)		 Tom Swift
(new)		 Local
FOX Crime Scene Kitchen
(repeat)		 Fantasy Island
(repeat)		 News/Local
NBC America’s Got Talent
(new)		 Snake in the Grass
(new)

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: