Tell Me Lies Wants Abortion To Feel Like A "Victory Moment"

If you're a woman under 30 (or a nostalgic millennial like me), chances are Tell Me Lies has either been on your watchlist or aggressively recommended to you. The Hulu drama about toxic college friendships, relationships, and "professor-situationships" has become the show everyone's dissecting online. It never pretends to be anything other than what it is: messy and wildly unhinged.

Fans waited over a year and a half for Season 3 to drop. They expected the plot to stay on brand, but did that brand take it too far?

A Quick Recap

Lucy and her toxic on-and-off-again love interest, Stephen, spend the first two seasons in the wake of Stephen's narcissistic, sociopathic behaviors he inherited from his dear old mommy. Diana, Stephen's "good girl" girlfriend, spends the first couple of seasons trying to win him back and ultimately does.

In Season 3, Diana finds out she's pregnant with Stephen's baby. The show takes a dark and unexpected turn when Diana decides to get an abortion. She's seen making a phone call to Planned Parenthood in between classes, making it sound and look like finding out she's pregnant is a mild hiccup in her college law plans, instead of showing how hard, real, and emotional this can be for most women.

When asked why she chose to depict Diana experiencing abortion "more casually, like it's more of an inconvenience," creator Meaghan Oppenheimer said that was the whole point.

"I wanted to show abortion as something that could be casual, that could even be a victory moment, as weird as that might sound."

"I wanted to show abortion as something that could be casual, that could even be a victory moment, as weird as that might sound."

"I am so excited to abort your baby. It's gonna be the highlight of my year and I cannot f*cking wait." Diana, Tell Me Lies

The internet wasted no time making this line go viral, celebrating and cheering Diana on, painting her as a "shero" for her brave decision to stand up to Stephen.

While watching this scene, I immediately paused the show and did what any sane person does. I headed to the internet to see just how divided people must be over this scene. Because... they have to be, right?

Boy, was I wrong.

And the comments section wasn’t much better.

It wasn't enough for Oppenheimer to stop here, though. She painted the nice and fun-loving guy, Wrigley, as the hero when he said, "Maybe we don't have a say in this at all," followed by the sociopath Stephen in outrage (and rightfully so) for Diana choosing to make the abortion decision on her own.

So what message does this signal to the generation devouring this show? That aborting a baby carries no emotion? That the father involved has no say, and if he does try to speak up, he's as crazy and sociopathic as Stephen?

Much of the praise for the scene has focused on Diana’s storyline as one of empowerment and escape from Stephen’s long-running emotional manipulation. Viewers watch Diana methodically disentangle herself from Stephen, pursue her future in law school, and assert independence from a toxic friend group. When Stephen confronts her in her dorm room demanding to be “consulted” about the abortion, Diana shuts him down immediately: “No, I don’t.” She follows with, “There’s no decision. It’s decided,” and delivers what many critics have called the episode’s triumphant moment: “You can’t control me anymore. Try with someone else.” In framing the confrontation this way, the show treats any father who wants to be involved in the decision as inherently controlling or dangerous, collapsing moral complexity into a single villain narrative.

In framing the confrontation this way, the show treats any father who wants to be involved in the decision as inherently controlling or dangerous.

In interviews, both the show’s creators and actress Alicia Crowder have framed this choice as true to Diana’s character. They argue that hesitation or emotional struggle would have felt out of step with a woman singularly focused on her education and future. The abortion is presented not as a defining trauma, but as a practical step toward freedom from an abusive past. Supportive coverage has likened the scene to other pop culture portrayals in which abortion is shown as a straightforward, private decision, one that does not permanently mark or limit a woman’s life.

This framing helps explain why so many viewers celebrated the moment as a clear victory. But it also underscores the concern at the heart of this storyline: that empowerment is being equated with emotional detachment, and complexity is replaced with certainty. In making abortion look obvious, clean, and even triumphant, the show leaves little room for the many women whose experiences are conflicted, painful, or enduring.

"It's Just a Clump of Cells"

When Stephen insists he has a right to weigh in on his unborn kid, Wrigley shuts him down: "Kid? It's just a clump of cells at this point.... What would she consult you about? I don't think she needs your permission. It's kinda up to her.... Maybe we're not supposed to have an opinion about this."

The show's villain is the one who wants to be involved. The "good guy" is the one calling it meaningless cells.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she says:

"Sometimes [abortion] is just a relief and something you have to do, and I personally think it is something that can sometimes be a gift to people in certain situations."

Millions of women watch this show. And the message they're getting is that abortion should feel casual, that mocking the father is empowering, and that the "right" response is to feel nothing at all.

But most women who've had abortions feel regret and carry that decision with them forever. Tell Me Lies doesn't leave room for any of that.

This might “just” be a scene in a show, but there’s a real generation of young women being told there's only one way to feel about this topic.

Oppenheimer wanted to make a statement. She did. But was it at the cost of every woman whose experience isn’t a TV punchline?