Apatow’s summer comedy special hot in winter
When producer and director Judd Apatow taped his Netflix standup comedy special in July, he limited his political references, concerned they might be stale by the time Judd Apatow: The Return was released today.
“I talked about sexual harassment and Bill Cosby. And even with that routine, I thought, ‘Maybe by the time we get to December, people won’t be talking about it that much,’ ” he said.
His timing — political, not comic — was off, as October stories about sexual abuse allegations against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein kicked off a deluge of accusations against prominent men.
Apatow, who shelved standup years ago to begin a hugely successful career writing, producing and directing, is no late arrival to the issue of mistreatment of women. For more than two years, he’s been highly critical of Cosby, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than 50 women.
“I just thought nobody else was talking about it, and that felt so wrong. And I made a conscious choice to continue to talk about it past the point where people were really irritated with me and thought it was getting a little obsessive,” says Apatow, whose resumé includes The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Trainwreck, Girls and Freaks and Geeks.
“Now, everybody’s talking about it, and I hope that continues. It’s important that there’s an awakening, and people learn how to respect and protect each other,” he says.
Apatow, who strongly supports women speaking out about abuse, defended his Girls colleague, Lena Dunham, who faced substantial backlash when she said she thought Murray Miller, another Girls writer, had been wrongly accused of sexual assault.
“Lena clarified her feelings about it and apologized, but her heart is in the right place,” he says. “We’re all learning what to do when people we know are part of these situations. It’s very challenging.”
He believes Hollywood — and the U.S. — are listening as women call to account those who’ve mistreated them.
“I don’t think we know yet how people are going to react in the long term, [but] it has changed permanently,” he says. “Let’s just hope it’s changed a lot and not a little.”
Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and Louis C.K., who have lost jobs as a result of accusations of abuse, are among many examples of one major change.
“I don’t think anybody ever thought they could be punished before,” Apatow says. “I think a lot of women thought, ‘If I speak up, I’ll never work again,’ but I don’t think a lot of men thought, ‘By doing this, I may never work again.’ ”