Arrested Development men accused of gaslighting Jessica Walter to defend Jeffrey Tambor

TheWrap

The New York Times sitdown with the Netflix cast was notable for the great lengths the men went to defend Tambor after Walter called him out for once verbally abusing her on set. "Jessica Walter actually cries in this interview about how terrible Jeffrey Tambor was to her and her male co-stars go to extraordinary lengths to comfort and defend...Tambor. FFS," tweeted New York Magazine writer Marin Cogan. Much of the online ire was for Jason Bateman, who offered a defense of Tambor's behavior that no one pushed back against, except for Alia Shawkat, the only other female cast member in attendance. "This is a family and families, you know, have love, laughter, arguments — again, not to belittle it, but a lot of stuff happens in 15 years," Bateman said. To which Vulture writer Kathryn VanArendonk tweeted:"'Families get messy' is the most emotionally manipulative, undermining rhetorical move. For one, that sh*t would still be gutting and difficult and confidence-shaking if they were a family! But more importantly: they are NOT. 'We're a family' is an attempt to excuse Tambor and Bateman, but it's also a gesture that excuses (creator Mitch) Hurwitz and Netflix from taking any action to remedy the situation. Corporations are not your family."

UPDATE: Jason Bateman apologizes in a series of tweets: "Based on listening to the NYT interview and hearing people’s thoughts online, I realize that I was wrong. 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...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.”