Apple scraps 'Scraper', a Gawker media show attacking Apple itself
Apple TV+ has scrapped a show it doesn't want us to talk about. It turns out that the new digital streaming platform on the block was working on a show titled Scraper, which is about Gawker Media, a now-defunct news organization. The reason behind the rejection is Gawker Media's constant attacks on Apple, for example, illegal reportage about iPhone 4 before the official release.
Gawker Media shut shop in 2016 and was eventually bought and renamed Gizmodo. Scraper, which is based on Gawker Media, was bought by Apple TV+ in January 2020 without Tim Cook's knowledge. When Cook learned about it, he shot a mail expressing surprise. After all, in 2008, this media outlet outed Cook, who got promoted as the Apple CEO in 2011, as gay.
Later, in 2014, Cook came out in Businessweek. Gawker, however, didn't stop messing with Apple. In 2010, Gizmodo, one of its blogs then, leaked images of an iPhone 4 prototype when an Apple engineer accidentally left it at a bar. This prompted ex-Apple CEO Steve Jobs to order a return of the prototype, as police raided Gizmodo editor Jason Chen's home for the gadget.
Given everything, Cook's displeasure for the media house and the surprise that the show is getting made isn't unjustified. After he intervened, the show was canceled and executive Layne Eskridge, who bought the show, is quitting Apple. The show was sold by ex-Gawker editors Max Read and Cord Jefferson. Notably, Jefferson is also known for writing Watchmen, The Good Place, and Master of None.
Several episodes of the show were already written by Emma Carmichael and Leah Beckmann, who were also former editors of the controversial online media company. Apple's move, however, doesn't mean that the show would never see the light of the day. It's in fact back on the market and can be lapped up by another distributor. Only time will tell who that broadcaster is.
