September 9, 2020
Chinese-American playwright and screenwriter Ming Peiffer along with two other women of color screenwriters recently quit the upcoming Netflix show Grand Army due to alleged “racist exploitation and abuse.”
“Me and the 3 writers of color who worked on the show quit due to racist exploitation and abuse. The show runner and creator went full Karen and called Netflix hr on the Black writer in the room for getting a haircut. Yes you read that correctly. Who wants to interview us?” Ming Peiffer wrote on her Twitter page.
Grand Army is due to be released on Netflix on October 16.
Peiffer’s Twitter thread continued: “Sorry 2, 3 writers including me. Aforementioned tweet is just top of the iceberg. I’m sickened they chose this wording for the tweet and are whoring around the American flag in the trailer as though anything about this project was united.
It matters who hears you, who says ‘I understand’” this shit just writes itself. Really heard & understood us when we told you how exploitative the show was.”
“Tried to underpay the LatinX writer who just won an Emmy meanwhile creator had never worked in tv b4 but the 3 of us had,” Peiffer continued.
When Peiffer was aksed why TV series with black leads are often “depressing,” Peiffer replied: “Because the show runner wouldn’t listen to the 3 writers of colour, of which I am one, including the Black writer who kept asking to not make her storyline poverty porn.
“When we tried to change the story we were psychologically abused and all quit,” Peiffer stated.
Feature Images via MingPeiffer.com & The Interval