Emmy and Golden Globe winner Elisabeth Moss is set to play bisexual former Congresswoman Katie Hill in a streaming movie adaptation of her memoir for Blumhouse. And while that may be good news for Moss fans everywhere, not everyone is excited. Hill's old congressional account immediately tweeted out against the film and the depiction of Hill's story.
Deadline broke the news that Moss is set to star as Hill in a story that chronicles the young politican's election to Congress as a complete newcomer, quick ascension to power and notoriety, and her fall from grace after a conservative website published nude pictures of her and revealed she had a relationship with a campaign staffer while married to her ex-husband, whom she says was abusive and she was estranged from him at the time. Hill said that the photos were released as a part of a smear campaign orchestrated by her ex-husband, Kenney Heslep who at the time was pushing for spousal support in their ongoign divorce proceedings.
News of the movie, based on Hill's book She Will Rise: Becoming a Warrior in the Battle for True Equality, didn't even have time to get cold before the Representative's former congressional Twitter account slamming Moss, Blumhouse, and Hill for ignoring a large part of the story, the part where Hill was not only a victim, but also a perpetrator of workplace abuse and harassment. The tweets were allegedly sent by former staff.
"This is an incredibly sensitive situation," her staffers tweeted from Hill's verified account, "We appreciate the instinct to defend our former boss, and LGBTQ+ woman who faced abuse from her husband." "What happened to Katie Hill shouldn't happen to anyone," they continued. "But this moment requires more nuance, as Katie Hill's story - our story - is also one of workplace abuse and harassment."
In a 10-tweet thread, the former staffers went as far as to say "Katie Hill is not a hero for women," and emphasized that she's never been held accountable for what she calls her "mistakes."
"Katie took advantage of her subordinates... many of whom were young women just beginning their careers in politics." they also wrote. "wWe encourage everyone to reflect deeply before taking her word at face value."
The former staffers acknowledge that Hill is also a survivor of abuse, but that workplace abuse and harassment "is never okay, even if your boss is a woman and/or a survivor." They specifically tweeted their disappointment at Moss, Blumhouse, and Michael Seitzman (North Country), who is slated to write the movie.
On her personal Twitter, Hill responded to the allegations by saying her congressional account was hacked and that she reported it to Twitter. "Regardless of their author, the content of the hacked tweets is something I have talked about at length in my book, in podcasts and in countless interviews," she wrote. "I look forward to continuing to have conversations around these issues and using my platform to support women in any way possible."
So far, there has been no statement on the tweets from Moss, Seitzman, or Blumhouse, and it remains to be seen if the "hacked" tweets will be taken down. There is no news on when production was slated to begin, but it will likely be delayed by this controversy.
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