So, there’s a rumor flying around that 2020 presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) once forced a staffer to shave her legs . . .
For women voters this might be as bad as Dukakis in a tank: Klobuchar forces staff to shave her legs (according to rumor) https://t.co/naKVtBGzNZ
— Kyle Smith (@rkylesmith) February 13, 2019
. . . a rumor that actually made it onto one of the episodes of HBO’s “Veep”:
The rumors are true… about Selina Meyer #veep @VeepHBO pic.twitter.com/U6swM8xKc1
— David Mandel (@DavidHMandel) February 11, 2019
Executive Producer David Mandel later admitted in an interview with Slate that Klobuchar was indeed the basis for the bit:
In an interview, Mandel told me the gag was based on something the writers had heard about Klobuchar. (Disclosure: My brother has worked on the show for the past two seasons.)
“It is a well-known rumor that we were told a million times by millions of people,” Mandel said of the leg-shaving story.
When asked for comment, a representative for Klobuchar said the rumor was completely false and added, “This is ridiculous.”
And they wanted to actually have a staffer shave Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ legs in the show, but they didn’t do it because it seemed “so absurd”:
We tried to make it a scene and it was impossible. #veep @veephbo "The Veep team had a hard time working it into the script because it seemed so absurd." https://t.co/SGLUE1ft28 via @slate
— David Mandel (@DavidHMandel) February 12, 2019
Exit question: How many other of the fictional president’s gaffes are inspired by Sen. Klobuchar? A lot of the reporting on Klobuchar, in retrospect, does sound like it happened to Gary on the show:
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This is literally 90% of the punchlines in Veep that involve Gary. I'm wondering if a former Klobuchar staffer worked on the show.
— Art Vandelay (@artvandal_17) February 9, 2019
For example:
“Only speak when spoken to at events,” a Klobuchar campaign memo read. https://t.co/wzruz27uEQ pic.twitter.com/KRd5oHXd5O
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) February 8, 2019
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Related:
Sen. Amy Klobuchar's first stop on her 2020 tour is a DIRECT SHOT at 2016 loser Hillary Clinton https://t.co/XVoh4c0iRl
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) February 11, 2019
No pouncing needed: Amy Klobuchar announces for 2020 after report of demeaning emails, throwing binder at staff https://t.co/6Mo3z8gKjX
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) February 10, 2019
‘IMAGINE THAT!’ Anti-Kavanaugh Sen. Amy Klobuchar caught in compromising situation [pic] https://t.co/VN5DIeNp9O
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) October 2, 2018
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