When news spread Tuesday morning that The Handmaids Tale would soon have its own line of specialty wines, the backlash was, understandably, swift. Lot18 and MGM had collaborated on vintages inspired by three characters—Offred (a.k.a. June), Ofglen (a.k.a. Emily), and Serena Joy—that boasted some seriously questionable marketing copy. That night, just hours after the news initially broke, the line was unceremoniously canceled “after further consideration,” likely brought on by fierce backlash.
But this isnt the first time The Handmaids Tale merchandise has stirred anger on social media. At this point, its perhaps worth asking why the series continues to lend its name to products in the first place.
Right now, the three wines are still listed on Lot18s webpage, though the site marks them as “sold out.” The original marketing copy is still there as well—and it explains why these bottles, inspired by a series about women sentenced to sexual slavery by a patriarchal dystopia, stirred up so much controversy:
Completely stripped of her rights and freedom, Offred must rely on the one weapon she has left to stay in control—her feminine wiles. This French Pinot Noir is similarly seductive, its dark berry fruit and cassis aromatics so beguiling it seems almost forbidden to taste. But its useless to resist the wines smooth and appealingly earthy profile, so you may as well give in. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum, indeed.
And this wasnt the first time that this bleak, brutal series has employed jarringly cheeky messaging, or allowed its brand to be used in order to hawk seemingly incongruous products. Just week, the series modeled its finale screening tickets after plane tickets—from Gilead to Canada, stamped with the word “Cancelled.” Considering the gravity the show itself places on its tales of family separation—made even more poignant by horrifying, real-life stories of family separation that continue to play out at the U.S. Southern border—the move seems tone deaf to say the least.
Earlier this year, Hulus collaboration with The Wing also produced a line of cheerful, #Resistance-esque products that included pens emblazoned with the words “the most dangerous weapon” and notebooks embossed with the quote, “A word after a word after a word is power.” A reminder: the women of The Handmaids Tale are forbidden from reading and writing. In fact, they routinely lose fingers for committing that offense. And, as Laura Bogart pointed out in Vulture at the time, the products ran afoul of the book and shows actual message: that “womens independence is a terrifyingly fragile thing; it cant be cutesily codified in pink-washed talk of empowerment.”
Hulu also once collaborated on a fashion line inspired by the show, which included a red sweatshirt that recalls the hoods handmaids are forced to wear on the show as part of their sexual servitude. Its one thing for companies to try and piggyback on the shows success—as lingerie maker Lunya did when it produced a bafflingly tone deaf silk nightie named after Offred. But its another for the makers of the series itself to sign off on such products—ones that co-opt the shows poignancy, even as the real world seems to inch closer and closer to Gilead every day.
Get Vanity Fairs HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.Laura BradleyLaura Bradley is a Hollywood writer for VanityFair.com.
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