Arrested Development's controversial interview resonated because it revealed a boys' club that exists in many workplaces

Slate

Jason Bateman and his fellow male co-stars "accidentally achieved the improbable" with their notorious New York Times interview, says Lili Loofbourow. "By downplaying the seriousness of verbal abuse, they revealed it to be a more serious (and more gendered) obstacle to workplace equality than previously acknowledged." Loofbourow adds: "These men thought the mission was How to Help Their Friend Jeffrey Tambor. And that this was so obviously their default assumption says all you need to know about how a boys’ club blinds its members to anything on the outside (women). Their fellow boys are what matters. Their concerns matter more, their humor matters more, their pain matters more, their talent matters more. Tambor’s behavior didn’t damage their workplace and threaten its reputation; the women talking about it did. The Arrested Development men were standing up for a buddy in need. And here’s where that distinction between sexual and verbal abuse starts to get a little shaky—and why a happy work environment for someone within the club can feel hostile to someone outside. It’s not a coincidence that, of all the people Tambor is accused of mistreating (and he himself admits to being mean to), none are men."