Plenty have spoken out against HBO’s series Winning Time. The show and executive producer Adam McKay has been accused of being harsh and at times even cruel to the real people the actors are portraying.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar echoes some of that sentiment, but that isn’t his biggest complaint. He wrote on his Substack account that the show has no depth and doesn’t give viewers any reason to come back.
“There is only one immutable sin in writing: Don’t Be Boring! Winning Time commits that sin over and over.”
That isn’t the NBA legend’s only complaint. He also points to a scene in the first episode that shows his character on the set of the movie Airplane!. In the scene, he tells the child actor working with him to “f*** off” as soon as the cameras are done rolling. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says that is something that would never have happened.
“I realize this was a shorthand way of showing my perceived aloofness during that time, even though I have often spoken about my intense, almost debilitating shyness. The filmmakers had access to that information, but truth and insight were not on their agenda. Shocking moments were.”
Abdul-Jabbar said that what made him most unhappy about the scene is the ripple effect it could have on his charity.
“My charity, the Skyhook Foundation, provides week-long retreats for inner-city school children to study science while staying in the national forest,” he wrote. “For years, I have been visiting schools to promote STEM education. But when people see this show and come away with an impression that I’m verbally abusive to children, they are less likely to support my foundation. That means fewer kids will be able to partake in the program. So Adam McKay is giving those kids a great big ‘f*** off!’ that lasts a lot longer than the easy laugh he got out of a dishonest joke.”
The Hollywood Reporter says it reached out to McKay for comment. He did not respond.
