Ladies of television, it sounds like Lee Aronsohn has had enough of you. Period.
In an interview Sunday with The Hollywood Reporter at the Toronto Screenwriting Conference, the Two and a Half Men co-creator had some pretty bold statements to make about the current status of female-driven comedies on television…
When discussing TV's recent "boom" of women-centric shows, Aronsohn proved to not be a fan, saying, "Enough, ladies. I get it. You have periods."
You heard that right. Apparently there isn't enough room for penis jokes and period jokes on the small screen. With scenes as cutting edge and tasteful as this coming out of his brain, he has every right to demand that period jokes stay off TV!
Aronsohn started out by speaking highly of the Chelsea Handler and Tina Fey, but only to a certain point. "We're approaching peak vagina on television, the point of labia saturation," he said.
Earlier at the conference during his keynote address, Aronsohn perhaps revealed the root of his issues with this: "We're centering the show on two very damaged men. What makes men damaged? Sorry, it's women. I never got my heart broken by a man."
Of course, backlash ensued, including Raising Hope's Emmy-nominated Martha Plimpton, who tweeted: "Um, Lee, women are 51% of the population & a coveted demographic for advertisers. What are you thinking?"
Apparently, he asked himself the same question as Aronsohn later apologized via Twitter: "Yes, yes - it was a stupid joke. I'm sorry."
Stupid? Yes. Maybe next time he might considering consulting with Fey, Handler or some other female comics. Those women are funny!
Do you think his comments were out of line? Or do you agree that there are just too many women-focused shows on TV today?