More Fallout From ‘Liberal Bias’ Claims in Hollywood

After making waves last week, Ben Shapiro's book release is causing discord elsewhere in the entertainment world.

By Asraa Mustufa Jun 08, 2011

Two prominent Hollywood conservatives have quit the Caucus for Producers, Writers & Directors, in response to remarks made by some Caucus members that they believe exposes a ‘liberal bias’ in Hollywood.

The remarks were made to conservative columnist Ben Shapiro, who made headlines last week for accusing Sesame Street of an anti-conservative bias on Fox News. Shapiro has been releasing snippets of interviews he’s done with Hollywood bigwigs to promote his new book "Primetime Propoganda: The True Hollywood Story of How the Left Took Over Your TV."

The interview excerpts were enough to set television executives Norman Powell and Lionel Chetwynd over the edge. Powell, who has produced episodes of TV series like "24" and "The Unit", told the Hollywood Reporter that he resigned because he is troubled that "now it seems discrimination is an acceptable practice to stifle divergent opinions." Chetwynd, who wrote and produced "DC 9/11: Time of Crisis" and "Celsius 41.11", a rebuttal to Michael Moore’s film "Fahrenheit 9/11", quit the Caucus because of comments made by fellow member Vin Di Bona – a producer of shows like "America’s Funniest Home Videos", "MacGyver", and "Entertainment Tonight."

Di Bona stated in an interview with Shapiro that he was happy and okay with accusations that Hollywood has a liberal bias, and has since said that he was duped by Shapiro, who misrepresented the nature and purpose of the interview.

Chetwynd blasted Hollywood’s "ideological bigotry" in his resignation letter.

"Mr. Shapiro interviewed a large number of our Hollywood notables on the subject of diversity – not the sacrosanct mélange of race, religion, gender orientation and the like, but a more challenging diversity: that of opinion and policy," Chetwynd wrote. "I experienced overt Blacklisting for my views as a conservative – at the very hands of those who piously deplore the Blacklisting of Communists in a former day."

The Caucus is a Hollywood honor society that strives to promote and protect the artistic, intellectual, and economic rights of producers, writers, and directors, as well as diverse quality independent programming content, and includes Tom Hanks, Dick Wolf, and Garry Marshall among its members.