After President Barack Obama referenced AMC’s hit show Mad Men in a State of the Union dig at gender income inequality on Tuesday night, the show’s creator said he was “honored” the president hat-tipped the hit show during his State of the Union address.
Here’s the part of Obama’s speech that included the Mad Mad reference, emphasis added:
Today, women make up about half our workforce. But they still make 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. That is wrong, and in 2014, it’s an embarrassment. A woman deserves equal pay for equal work. She deserves to have a baby without sacrificing her job. A mother deserves a day off to care for a sick child or sick parent without running into hardship – and you know what, a father does, too. It’s time to do away with workplace policies that belong in a Mad Men episode. This year, let’s all come together – Congress, the White House, and businesses from Wall Street to Main Street – to give every woman the opportunity she deserves. Because I firmly believe when women succeed, America succeeds.
Mad Men creator Matt Weiner told New York Times culture Reporter Dave Itzkoff that he “supports the president.”
“I’m honored that our show is part of a much-needed national conversation,” Weiner said.