The Handmaid's Tale: Elisabeth Moss clarifies comments about show not being a 'feminist story'

The star of the Hulu show received a backlash for her comments made back in April

Elisabeth Moss has clarified comments she made about The Handmaid's Tale, in which she stars as the show's lead Offred.

Back in April at the Tribeca Film Festival, Moss received something of a backlash for the phrasing of her comments about the show, in which she seemingly denied the story's oft-discussed feminist themes.

"Honestly, for me, it’s not a feminist story. It’s a human story because women’s rights are human rights," she responded to a question about similarities between Offred and her character Peggy Olson in Mad Men. "It’s about love, honestly, so much of this story. For me, I never approach anything with any sort of political agenda. I approach it from a very human place, I hope."

At the time, the book's author Margaret Atwood responded on Twitter: "Calm, calm... I know what they meant. (I think. Though I wasn't there.) They meant ‘Everyone is in this story.’ And that is true... They are actors. Not writers. Not word folk. They wanted to be inclusive: i.e. everyone's caught up in it. As we are."

Atwood's own comments are very much reflected in the clarification Moss has now given to The New York Times.

"That was my mistake in the sense that I should have been much clearer," she stated. "What I should have said is that it is not only a feminist story but it is also a human story. Obviously it is first and foremost a feminist story."

"I play a woman who has had her child and her family taken away from her, and all of her rights as a woman stripped and who is essentially a prisoner. But I was trying to say that it was also a human story in the sense that there are other groups — other races, colors and creeds — who are punished and maligned and are not given the right to be heard as well."

She also added that she welcomes the show's use in political conversation, particularly in the wearing of the Handmaid's red hooded robes at protests for women's rights, saying: "I feel a huge sense of pride toward those women."

"These women are out there on the front lines, going to the places where the laws and the legislation are actually being decided. They’re taking risks, and they’re exercising their right to protest, and they are the true heroes."

"We never knew that it was going to be this relevant," she added. "I think we definitely would prefer it not to be. We’d prefer it to be this crazy fantasy, this world that you couldn’t possibly imagine ever happening. And instead it has become a cautionary tale that is far too close to home."

Moss has been nominated for an Emmy for her role. The show is set to return for a second season in 2018.

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