By James Crowley
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Following the release of the horror series Them on Amazon on Friday, writer and actress Lena Waithe, who executive-produced two episodes, has faced some backlash on Twitter due to some scenes depicting racist violence.
People on Twitter appeared to be reacting to a Los Angeles Times piece about the series, which noted that "the most shocking horror lies in the in its more realistic scenes of racist violence, which are arguably more disturbing than the vivid images in its recent predecessors."
The highlighted portion of the review goes on to point towards a moment depicting the murder of a young Black child and a sexual assault of his mother in the series' fifth episode, and the ninth episode in which two Black people's eyes are gouged with hot pokers.
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Waithe, who is perhaps best known for writing and acting on the Netflix series Master of None, only executive produced two episodes according to her IMDb page. She only executive produced the final two episodes of the series "Covenant II" and "Day 10," the former of which contains the eye-gouging scene. She is not credited for the fifth episode of Them, which is also mentioned in the highlighted portions of the review.
The review does not name Waithe in the section that people on Twitter have been reacting to, but does list the Emmy-winner at the end as one of the executive producers when noting that Amazon had ordered a second season of the series.
Regardless, people on Twitter have criticized Waithe, mainly for the scenes. One person on Twitter called her "unwell" and asked about her background and inspiration, while anothe referred to her as "sick & twisted."
Many other people called the moments in the series "Black trauma porn," which Waithe's previous film Queen & Slim also brought up discussions about and stirred a similar controversy. "She seems incapable of being attached to projects about Black people without reveling in Black pain--especially when she is in charge," one person wrote.
It is worth noting, however, that Waithe only produced two episodes.
Some people also took the time to distinguish Waithe from director Jordan Peele, noting the Get Out director's skill at effectively combining social commentary with horror movies that put Black characters at the forefront. One person said that Them shows that Waithe "has no business screenwriting Black stories."
Them has received mixed reviews since its release. Rotten Tomatoes indicates that the series has received a 66 percent rating from critics and a 44 percent rating from viewers.
Newsweek reached out to Waithe's publicist for comment.
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