HBO chief executive Casey Bloys apologized Thursday for directing staff to anonymously fire back at TV critics online, calling it a “very dumb idea.”
On Wednesday, Rolling Stone published a report that cited text messages obtained as part of a lawsuit filed by former HBO executive assistant Sully Temori that showed Bloys asking employees to troll critics sharing unfavorable reviews of HBO and Max content on social media.
“I have progressed over the last couple of years to DMs,” Bloys said Thursday at the HBO and Max 2024 Slate Presentation in New York. “When I take issue with something, I DM you. Many of you are gracious enough to engage in a back and forth with me.”
Bloys said that the text messages, sent in 2020 and 2021, were sent at a time when he was at home during the Covid-19 pandemic and “spending an unhealthy amount of time scrolling Twitter.”
“I apologize to the people mentioned in the leaked emails, texts — no one wants to be part of a story they have nothing to do with,” Bloys said.
HBO is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company.
The lawsuit, filed in July 2023 by Temori, alleges that he was harassed and discriminated against while working at HBO, and that the company failed to provide him with reasonable accommodation. It also alleges retaliation and wrongful termination.
In a statement, HBO did not deny the social media campaign and said it intended to defend itself in Temori’s suit.
“HBO intends to vigorously defend against Mr. Temori’s allegations. We are not going to comment on select exchanges between programmers and errant tweets,” a spokesperson said. “We look forward to a full and fair resolution of this dispute. In the meantime, we wish Mr. Temori, a former HBO employee, well in his future endeavors.”
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