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This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

Arts & Entertainment

Probably No Reason To Be Alarmed If You See These Handmaids Around L.A.

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Infinite hot takes have been written about the spooky prescience of Hulu's 2017 series The Handmaid's Tale—a show about a dystopian American future in which women are completely subject to men—during a time in which women's rights are increasingly under attack. Now it's Emmy campaign season, and The Handmaid's Tale PR team has decided to take advantage of the show's sad relevance by sending a squad of silent Handmaids—fully costumed in the requisite scarlet gowns and white bonnets—to patrol the streets of L.A.

"Throughout the weekend and through Monday, we had Handmaids at LACMA, the ArcLight in Hollywood, 3rd Street to The Grove, in West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Century City, Culver City, Santa Monica, Toluca Lake and Burbank," a Hulu spokesperson told LAist. Unlike the women whodressed as Handmaids to protest anti-abortion bills in Texas and Ohio, the Handmaids stalking the streets of L.A. were there as part of the show's Emmy campaign, as well as to promote the season finale of The Handmaid's Tale on Wednesday. The army of Handmaids flocked to several entertainment-industry hubs (including the WME and Gersh Agency offices in Beverly Hills) for solemn photo ops. Who knows, maybe the presence of mute, watchful Handmaids at agency doors will shame the film industry into stepping up its game when it comes to employing women.

As far as Emmy campaigns go, this one may rival Samantha Bee's Russian pee tape in terms of creativity.

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