The Katie Hill movie starring Elisabeth Moss is off to a rocky start

Since no scandalous news story can unfold without some combination of a book, documentary series, or scripted adaptation, Blumhouse TV recently announced plans to produce a new film focusing on former California Rep. Katie Hill, the first openly bisexual member of Congress. The studio behind countless horror hits like Get Out, The Invisible Man, and Paranormal Activity, inked Elisabeth Moss to star as Hill. In 2019, Hill resigned from her post following allegations of inappropriate sexual relationships with staffers and leaked nude photos on far-right media outlets, which she attributed to an allegedly abusive husband she was in the process of divorcing.

Aside from being an incredibly recent, messy story for the scripted adaptation treatment, the film version of Hill’s upcoming book She Will Rise: Becoming a Warrior in the Battle for True Equality comes with a new slate of complications. Following the announcement, Hill’s old Twitter account reappeared early Wednesday morning with a thread of allegations from purported former staffers.

“Disappointed in so many folks — including Elizabeth Moss, @Blumhouse, & @michaelseitzman — regarding today's announcement,” the staff wrote in an initial tweet. The tweets accuse Hill of workplace abuse and harassment, alleging that she “took advantage of her subordinates” and caused “immense harm” to young staffers. “Katie Hill was never investigated by the House Ethics Committee, nor has she been held accountable by anyone other than herself,” reads one tweet. “We encourage everyone to reflect deeply before taking her word at face value.”

Hill was quick to condemn the tweets as the work of someone who hacked into her old official government account. “Control of my account was immediately handed back to the House Clerk when I resigned, including password changes and access restrictions,” Hill wrote. “God knows who hacked it from there.” She adds that her book addresses the allegations outlined in the thread, which is still up at the time of writing.

Before the staffers’ allegations, Moss offered effusive praise for Hill and her story in a statement:

“I am so honored to have the opportunity to portray Katie and to help tell her story. Her strength and work to amplify women’s voices is incredibly inspiring to me and her experiences could not be more important for us to magnify right now,” said Moss. “As always, Jason and the Blumhouse team are such incredible partners and Lindsey and I are thrilled to make something powerful with them and Michael.”

Taken together, it’s a strong testament to letting stories find their natural resolution before the rush to document them through something like a straight-to-streaming film. Barring any last-minute rewrites, the drama surrounding the film itself might be more interesting than what actually makes it into the final cut.