Appearing on Thursday’s CBS This Morning, liberal actress Elisabeth Moss was thrilled that Hillary Clinton warned about the United States becoming the fictional authoritarian regime depicted in Moss’s Hulu series The Handmaid’s Tale: “And for us, when Hillary brought up the show, it was sort of a huge honor that we could have that kind of impact. And we all respect her so much.”
The subject came up when co-host Norah O’Donnell touted the failed Democratic presidential candidate making the bizarre pop culture reference while addressing the nation’s largest abortion provider: “Secretary Hillary Clinton mentioned The Handmaid’s Tale in her speech at Planned Parenthood the other night, saying that this is about women’s rights. What do you think about the fact that this is kind of striking a political chord, this show?”
Moss lamented that the show had supposedly become so “relevant” to American society: “I mean, you know, for us it’s an unfortunate parallel. It’s not something that I think we take any joy in....I think it’s just in this country there’s a relevance now that is striking everybody.”
As Hulu describes the series, based on the novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood, “The Handmaid's Tale is the story of life in the dystopia of Gilead, a totalitarian society in what was formerly the United States.” That society “is ruled by a twisted fundamentalism in its militarized ‘return to traditional values’” in which “the few remaining fertile women” are “forced into sexual servitude as a last desperate attempt to repopulate the world.”
The irony of Clinton raising this dark liberal fantasy while speaking to an organization responsible for the extermination of millions of unborn children was lost on Moss and the CBS morning show hosts.
Here is a transcript of the May 4 exchange:
8:47 AM ET
(...)
NORAH O’DONNELL: It’s also coming at an interesting time.
ELISABETH MOSS [THE HANDMAID’S TALE]: Yeah, for sure.
O’DONNELL: Secretary Hillary Clinton mentioned The Handmaid’s Tale in her speech at Planned Parenthood the other night, saying that this is about women’s rights. What do you think about the fact that this is kind of striking a political chord, this show?
MOSS: I mean, you know, for us it’s an unfortunate parallel. It’s not something that I think we take any joy in. When we signed on, when everyone signed on, it felt incredibly relevant. You know, it was written in 1985 and it’s been relevant every decade since. I think it’s just in this country there’s a relevance now that is striking everybody. And for us, when Hillary brought up the show, it was sort of a huge honor that we could have that kind of impact. And we all respect her so much.
(...)
