‘The Wire’ Creator David Simon Is Canceling Plans To Shoot His New HBO Series In Texas Due To The State’s Batsh*t New Abortion Law

David Simon is aborting Texas. As noted by The Hollywood Reporter, the awesomely outspoken creator of The Wire was set to film an upcoming project for HBO in the Lone Star State, but has opted to pull out as a result of the state’s near-total abortion ban.

In a tweet, David explained his decision to relocate production of the untitled project:

“[As] an employer, this is beyond politics. I’m turning in scripts next month on an HBO non-fiction miniseries based on events in Texas, but I can’t and won’t ask female cast/crew to forgo civil liberties to film there. What else looks like Dallas/Ft. Worth?”

Simon’s decision prompted the Dallas Film & Creative Industries Office (a.k.a. the Dallas Film Commission) to tweet a response and ask Simon to reconsider:

“Laws of a state are not reflective of its entire population. Not bringing a production to Dallas (a big “D”) only serves to further disenfranchise those that live here. We need talent/crew/creatives to stay & vote, not get driven out by inability to make a living.”

Simon was unmoved:

“You misunderstand completely. My response is NOT rooted in any debate about political efficacy or the utility of any boycott. My singular responsibility is to securing and maintaining the civil liberties of all those we employ during the course of a production.”

Though no details of Simon’s (formerly) Texas-based production are known, anyone who follows Simon on Twitter knows that nothing short of a change in the state’s law might even tempt him to reconsider. Those people also know that no one is better at tearing a person to shreds in 140 characters or less than Simon.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)