National Post (National Edition)
BATEMAN APOLOGIZES FOR NYT PROFILE
In an explosive New York Times profile on the cast of Arrested Development published on Wednesday, the cast sat down to discuss the upcoming season, and the sexual misconduct allegations recently levelled against co-star Jeffrey Tambor.
During the interview, Jessica Walter, who plays Lucille Bluth in the show, Tambor’s character’s ex-wife, shared that the actor had verbally harassed her on the set, a recollection that left her in tears.
“I have to let go of being angry at him,” Walter said, while sitting across from Tambor. In “almost 60 years of working, I’ve never had anybody yell at me like that on a set and it’s hard to deal with, but I’m over it now.”
Each time Walter referenced the incident, a male member of the cast would pipe up and redirect the conversation, clarifying their support for Tambor.
Jason Bateman, in particular, repeatedly diverged the discussion, at one point responding, “Again, not to belittle it or excuse it or anything, but in the entertainment industry, it is incredibly common to have people who are, in quotes, ‘difficult.’ And when you’re in a privileged position to hire people, or have an influence in who does get hired, you make phone calls. And you say, ‘Hey, so I’ve heard X about person Y, tell me about that.’ And what you learn is context. And you learn about character and you learn about work habits, work ethics, and you start to understand. Because it’s a very amorphous process, this sort of (expletive) that we do, you know, making up fake life. It’s a weird thing, and it is a breeding ground for atypical behaviour and certain people have certain processes.”
Co-star Alia Shawkat, the only other woman present from the cast during the interview, and who is referenced rarely in the transcript, interjected, “But that doesn’t mean it’s acceptable.”
Walter, who at one point asked the interviewer to ensure he mentions in his piece that “there’s so much testosterone in this room,” did respond to Bateman, saying his implication that “this happens all the time” is inaccurate.
The social media feedback was swift, with Twitter lighting up against the male members of the cast, specifically Bateman, for taking Walter’s platform from her and not allowing her to share her experience and denigrating it.
Writer Marin Cogan tweeted, “This interview is really a perfect distillation of how people feel the need to protect and comfort powerful men at the expense of the people they’ve hurt. She was in the room. Crying. Everyone but Shawkat just wanted to defend him and move on. Also, note how Walter says that she has to forgive him, because that’s what women are expected to do. *Always.* I hope someone tells her she doesn’t have to.”
Vanity Fair’s Hillary Busis tweeted, “Walter’s poised resignation is really remarkable and heartbreaking,” while Vulture’s E. Alex Jung wrote, “This entire conversation is a perfect example of how men excuse bad behaviour and talk over women and it’s really infuriating.”
As the criticism went viral, Bateman addressed the interview Thursday morning, tweeting a heartfelt apology, “Based on listening to the NYT interview and hearing people’s thoughts online, I realize that I was wrong here. I sound like I’m condoning yelling at work. I do not. It sounds like I’m excusing Jeffery. I do not. It sounds like I’m insensitive to Jessica. I am not. In fact, I’m horrified that I wasn’t more aware of how this incident affected her.
He continued, “I was so eager to let Jeffrey know that he was supported in his attempt to learn, grow and apologize that I completely underestimated the feelings of the victim, another person I deeply love — and she was sitting right there! I’m incredibly embarrassed and deeply sorry to have done that to Jessica. This is a big learning moment for me. I shouldn’t have tried so hard to mansplain, or fix a fight, or make everything okay. I should’ve focused more on what the most important part of it all is — there’s never any excuse for abuse, in any form, from any gender. And, the victim’s voice needs to be heard and respected. Period. I didn’t say that and instead said a bunch of other stuff and not very well. I deeply, and sincerely, apologize.”