Bloys was annoyed, according to text messages reviewed by Rolling Stone, and sent VanArendonk’s tweet to Kathleen McCaffrey, HBO’s senior vice president of drama programming. “Maybe a Twitter user should tweet that that’s a pretty blithe response to what soldiers legitimately go through on [the] battlefield,” he texted. “Do you have a secret handle? Couldn’t we say especially given that it’s D-Day to dismiss a soldier’s experience like that seems pretty disrespectful … this must be answered!”
Bloys was serious. “Who can go on a mission,” he asked McCaffrey, according to the messages, adding that they needed to find a “mole” at “arms length” from the HBO executive team. “We just need a random to make the point and make her feel bad.”
The exchange was one of at least six instances between June 2020 and April 2021 in which Bloys and McCaffrey discussed using what they called a “secret army” to fire back at several TV critics on Twitter (now known as X) as well as anonymous commenters on articles about HBO programming, according to text exchanges reviewed by Rolling Stone. In this case, the two decided not to hit back at VanArendonk online. But in numerous instances, the HBO execs did just that, trolling the television critics with snarky responses from a fake Twitter account — and dropping pro-HBO comments on trade publication stories.
just incredible stuff here. c’mon man
Elon Musk isn’t the only shit posting executive. They really earn their paychecks, don’t they?
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But in numerous instances, the HBO execs did just that, trolling the television critics with snarky responses from a fake Twitter account — and dropping pro-HBO comments on trade publication stories.
When approached for comment about the lawsuit and the messages, Temori’s attorney, Michael Martinez, tells Rolling Stone that the texts serve as an example of the “very petty” company culture that eventually turned on his client.
That day, a newly created account under the name of Kelly Shepherd, a self-described Texas mom and herbalist, replied to Sepinwall’s tweet about his review, repeating the sentiment McCaffrey expressed.
The rom-com thriller — produced by Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Vicky Jones, and starring Merritt Wever and Domhnall Gleeson — had just finished its first season and received positive reviews from critics.
In the ever increasingly anonymized digital age, it’s a growing suspicion that PR firms and even individual directors have used troll and bot accounts and other methods to combat lackluster reviews, turn the tide of conversation, drum up support for a social media campaign, or in this instance, be petty.
The fake accounts are indicative of a larger culture within HBO, Temori’s attorney Martinez adds: “Our allegations are that these individuals said things to him and treated him in such a disparate manner that they were harassing and discriminatory.
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