Hate is often synonymous with a hardcore fan base, and when you add the spice of trolling and cancel culture, it becomes something unbearable. Recently, Rolling Stone exposed a certain ‘big’ studio.
We’ll be scrutinizing HBO closely as a group of text messages resurface.
The recent revelation from text messages, brought to light during a wrongful termination lawsuit, provides insight into how HBO’s leadership, including HBO programming chief Casey Bloys, handle negative feedback. The report suggests that Bloys, who oversees HBO’s content, may be particularly sensitive to criticism of the network’s productions.
In an effort to address unfavorable reviews and comments on social media, Bloys and HBO’s senior vice president of drama programming, Kathleen McCaffrey, are alleged to have engaged in responses that some have referred to as a “secret army” of burner accounts, operating between June 2020 and April 2021.
According to a Rolling Stone review, Temori was instructed by McCaffrey in June 2020 to create fake accounts. Allegedly, she mentioned that Bloys was Twitter-focused and keen on engaging in online disputes. McCaffrey inquired about crafting an untraceable account for Bloys’ use.
That month, Bloys asked McCaffrey to respond to a tweet from critic Kathryn VanArendonk regarding the show “Perry Mason.” Bloys suggested countering the critique by highlighting the seriousness of soldiers’ experiences, particularly on D-Day, expressing concern for their respect.
Now, HBO has truly adopted a ‘fishy’ strategy as they refused to “comment on select exchanges between programmers and errant tweets.” Events like these take the ‘entertainment’ out of the entertainment industry.
The game of power dynamics continues, with some bots and some paid accounts flooding the internet with disturbing content. Most of them do blind the common people. The industry is indeed no less than a field of dirty politics, and as we seek to ‘escape’ by watching some good films, events like these just remind us of the ultimate reality.
