At this point everyone has read the transcript from the disaster of a round table interview with the cast of Arrested Development in The New York Times. It was supposed to be a group interview to promote the fifth season of Arrested Development until the sexual misconduct allegations made against Jeffrey Tambor were brought up. At that point the interview was totally derailed, Jessica Walter was brought to tears recalling how Tambor verbally abused her on the set, and her castmates’ responses were roundly and loudly criticised online.
The backlash was so bad that Netflix has cancelled the planned press tour.
Now one by one the men on the panel who defended the actions of Jeffrey Tambor are wising up to just how terribly they treated Walter during the interview, as they prioritised Tambor’s feelings over hers.
It was the youngest of the cast and the only other woman there, Alia Shawkat (Michael Cera and Portia di Rossi weren’t present) who rushed to Walter’s defence.
Jason Bateman was the first of the cast to apologise for his responses in the interview. Following the backlash he and other cast members received concerning the harsh way they dismissed Walter in the Times interview, Bateman took to Twitter.
Based on listening to the NYT interview and hearing people’s thoughts online, I realize that I was wrong here.
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-— Jason Bateman (@batemanjason) May 24, 2018
– horrified that I wasn’t more aware of how this incident affected her.
I was so eager to let Jeffrey know that he was supported in his attempt to learn, grow and apologize that I completely underestimated the feelings of the victim, another person I deeply love – and she was..— Jason Bateman (@batemanjason) May 24, 2018
… sitting right there!
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…— Jason Bateman (@batemanjason) May 24, 2018
…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.— Jason Bateman (@batemanjason) May 24, 2018
His apology has heart and is in the right place. It seems he felt that he was doing right by encouraging the positive changes that Jeffrey Tambor is trying to make. While he doesn’t condone Tambor’s behaviour, he does apologise for not realising the effect it was having on Walter and the damage his and others remakes had.
Fellow star Tony Hale, who plays Buster, was the second of the group to come forward.
I have reached out to Jessica personally to apologize. Arrested Development is one of my families. Regardless of my intentions, it is clear that my words, both said and unsaid, served to minimize Jessica’s pain and for that I am extremely sorry.
— Tony Hale (@MrTonyHale) May 24, 2018
His apology seems sincere considering he was one of the people who seemed to try and excuse Tambor’s actions the most, even seeming to butt heads with Walter during the interview.
David Cross has addressed the incident in an interview with Gothamist, saying that while he’d deleted Twitter the moment he saw the backlash begin and wasn’t aware of Bateman and Hale’s statements, he admitted to overlooking his co-star’s distress and feelings at the time, and apologised.
“I will unequivocally apologise to Jessica,” the actor said. “I’m sorry that we behaved the way we behaved. Whatever the criticisms are, I will own up. I don’t even know what they are, as I said, I saw the initial thing but I jumped off [of social media] at the behest of various people.”
Both his wife, actress (and outspoken feminist and Times’ Up co-founder) Amber Tamblyn, and his co-star Alia Shawkat approached Cross to discuss how uncomfortable they were with the interview.
“I agreed with Alia that there was no excuse,” he added. “There’s never an excuse ever for yelling at somebody and humiliating them in front of other people.”
Which is the point we keep coming back to. There is never any excuse for how you treat someone, no matter how dark a place you are coming from or whether it’s part of your “process”. While Walter says she has forgiven Tambor for the sake of their friendship and career, it doesn’t undo the abuse in the moment.
Having a room full of men explain to Walter why she just doesn’t understand the situation was a stark moment that showed that not everyone has absorbed the lessons of #MeToo, and we haven’t progressed as much as we’d like to think. There is apparently still a ways to go in the world before a woman can express her feelings without being told how she shouldn’t misunderstand a situation. (Let’s not forget that Tambor was included in the new season of this show even after he was removed from his other vehicle, Transparent, over misconduct allegations by two other women.)
The cast of Arrested Development really had a chance to show us that they were holding Tambor accountable for his behaviour, and they let us down. Apologising is the bare minimum – we’re looking at you, Will Arnett – but as we all know, the best apology is one you don’t have to give because you did the right thing in the first place.
