In the penultimate instalment of the Aaron Sorkin series, news producer Don Keefer (Thomas Sadoski) speaks to Princeton student Mary, a rape victim who anonymously creates a website where women who have been sexually assaulted can share their experiences.
So when I tried to argue, in the writers' room, that we maybe skip the storyline where a rape victim gets interrogated by a random man...
ā Alena Smith (@internetalena) December 8, 2014
Don and Mary argue throughout the episode, with Mary wanting people to believe her as well as other rape victims, while Don's focus is on making sure that an "innocent person" isn't dragged through the mud.
The Newsroom writer Alena Smith shared her views about the storyline on Twitter, saying that she was kicked out of the writers' room after challenging the content.
In a series of tweets, Smith said: "As @emilynussbaum points out in her review of tonight's ep, you can't criticise Sorkin without turning into one of his characters."
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Referring to The Newsroom character Hallie, who loses her job after posting a political tweet from the broadcaster's account, Smith added: "So when I tried to argue, in the writers' room, that we maybe skip the storyline where a rape victim gets interrogated by a random man, I ended up getting kicked out of the room and screamed at just like Hallie would have for a 'bad tweet'.
"I found the experience quite boring. I wanted to fight with Aaron about the NSA, not gender. I didn't like getting cast in his outdated role."
The final episode of The Newsroom airs on HBO in the US next Sunday (December 14), while the final season continues in the UK on Sky Atlantic on Wednesdays at 10pm.
Watch a trailer for the final episode below:
