At first when I read this I thought it was an April fools joke because I had never heard of Lee Aronsohn before and had no idea that he was a co-creator of Two and a Half Men.

I’m guessing that Mr. Aronsohn would like to retreat back to his anonymity because he is sure now well known as a total sexist asshole. Seems that this past weekend while at a Toronto screenwriting conference Mr. Aronsohn was asked about Ashton Kutcher returning to the show (which I have never had one single bit of interest in watching) and he said that all that needed to be handled was for CBS to basically show him the money.

He then went further and talked about how he is not a fan of the several new girl centric shows like Whitney and 2 Broke Girls. Here’s what he said:

Enough, ladies. I get it. You have periods…we’re approaching peak vagina on television, the point of labia saturation.

Personally, I’m not a fan of either show myself. I gave them both a chance and didn’t like them. But not because women gets periods or have vaginas. Because of the writing.

Maybe he’s realizing that he created a show whose time is over and he’s pushing back against the changing tide, or maybe he’s just a sexist asshole. I vote for the latter because he basically said the show was based on men who have been damaged by women. Can you imagine a woman walking into a pitch meeting and saying- this show is about women who have been damaged by men. The guys in the room would never stand for that. And let’s note, this man is a TV writing vet who worked on such women centric fare as Murphy Brown, Grace Under Fire and Cybill. I know those shows had lead characters with vaginas and on Murphy Brown she had a baby and I think I remember Cybill going through menopause. Maybe he’s kept his anti-vagina feelings bottled up all these years and just couldn’t hold it in any longer.

Here’s what he said about the basis of the show:

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.

Thanks to the folks at the Hollywood Reporter these remarks were recorded and the media women in the blogosphere rightfully went nuts yesterday. That’s the great thing about social media. Total assholes who many years ago would never have had to apologize for being total assholes now have to apologize even if they don’t mean it.

After getting his ass kicked on twitter all day yesterday (and adding to it by saying he was being ironic) Aronsohn apologized. Not that we believe it. He said: “Yes, yes — it was a stupid joke. I’m sorry”

The problem with this whole incident is the continuing devaluing of women’s experiences as fodder for TV shows. I’m just disgusted that people still think this way and then are so stupid, or I guess it’s not stupidity, it’s a sense of entitlement, that makes them say this shit out loud.

The good thing is that these dudes can’t get away with this anymore. We are watching and we won’t let this stuff pass. This show has been a train wreck for years. It’s a total embarrassment. CBS and Chuck Lorre need to make a comment about how this behavior is unacceptable.

Ashton Kutcher Wants to Return for Another ‘Two and a Half Men’ Season, Says Show Co-Creator (Hollywood Reporter)

Two and a Half Men’ Co-Creator Is Rebuked For Remarks About Women (NY Times)