Sarah Treemis telling her side of the story.
Treem finally broke her silence on the controversy by writing an essay forDeadlinesharing her truth.
The showrunner revealed she began writing the show after she had just gotten out of a very bad relationship.
Ali Goldstein/SHOWTIME; Jason Kempin/Getty Images
Did I know that scene reads as a male fantasy?
That was the whole point.The Affairwas about perspective.
And specifically, about subverting the male narrative.
Which did alter the intent of the scene to something that seemed non-consensual.
But we had discussed the scene and Ruth made her choices as an artist.
Then we brought in a body-double to do any nudity.
And that was the scene we aired.
But that season, an incident happened between Jeff Reiner and Lena Dunham in Montauk.
Konner detailed the events of that eveningin a letter publishedon Dunhams now-shuttered websiteLenny Letter.
Surely Lena could make a compelling argument.
After all, he continued, You would show anything.
When the Lenny Letter came out, I repeatedly urged Showtime to do something.
In the instances thatTHRis referencing, appropriate and decisive action was taken.
Heres what really happened, Treem says.
Alison needed to go.
But for a character to disappear, on a show like this, she needed to die.
She couldnt just walk away into the sunset because we followed our characters wherever they went.
If you know anything about the tendencies of abusive men, that would be a big red flag.
But Alison doesnt, Treem says.
All Alison knows is that shes attracted to him.
Over the course of her final season, she slowly starts to open up to him.
She tells him about her past.
About the loss of her son, about her affair.
He seems like he can understand her grief, because hes been through his own.
And then one day, she goes to find him at his office, unannounced.
And there she meets his wife.
Helen doesnt know who Alison is dealing with though.
So thats how I set up the final episode.
Alison calls Ben and tells him to meet her alone in her apartment.
So, when it came time to end Alisons story, I went back to her beginning.
But this time, she chooses differently.
She breaks up with him.
He tries to force himself on her, but hes still impotent.
She fights him off and screams at him to get the hell out of her apartment.
She then gives him this powerful speech about how shes been in pain her entire life.
And maybe thats why people think shes weak.
But she is fking sick of it.
Which, in situations of domestic violence, is exactly what often happens.
Treem says sought approval from both the connection and actors with that script, knowing it would be controversial.
According to her, Showtime loved it and never gave a single note on the sexual content.
As in many things, it is very tough to be a woman and do this job.
I plan on doing the same.
