Kerry Washington and Wendell Pierce star in the HBO Film Confirmation, which pulls back the curtain on the 1991 Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination hearings when near the end, his former employee, Anita Hill (Washington), testified and accused him of sexual harassment.
On July 1, 1991, President George H.W. Bush nominated Thomas for the United States Supreme Court to replace Thurgood Marshall, who announced his retirement on June 28 due to decling health. Hill was called to testify on Oct. 11 to attest for the character of Thomas. She had worked under him at the United States Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from 1981 to 1983.
Hill claimed in her testimony that Thomas spoke to her about pornographic films, his own sexual exploits and made a joke about pubic hair on his Coke can during work hours. Despite her testimony, Thomas was confirmed by a vote of 52-48, the narrowest margin of approval in more than a century. He continues to sit on the country’s highest court and is considered the most conservative of the nine justices.
Today, Hill is the Professor of Social Policy, Law, and Women’s and Gender Studies at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. She was teaching at University of Oklahoma College of Law during the confirmation hearings.
Confirmation also stars Greg Kinnear as Joe Biden, who was serving as Senate Judiciary Committee chairman during the hearings.
For where, when and how to watch Confirmation scroll below.
Date: Saturday, April 16
Time: 8 p.m. ET/PT
Channel: HBO — Check with your local TV provider for the specific channel number.
Live Stream: Confirmation will be available on HBO Now and HBO Go at 8 p.m. ET on April 16. The film will also be available via Sling TV with the purchase of the HBO package for $15 (on top of $20 per month subscription).
On Demand: Available starting on April 17.
Cast: Kerry Washington (Anita Hill), Wendell Pierce (Clarence Thomas), Greg Kinnear (Joe Biden), Jeffrey Wright (Charles Ogletree), Eric Stonestreet (Ken Duberstein), Bill Irwin (Jack Danforth), Zoe Lister-Jones (Carolyn Hart), Grace Gummer (Ricki Seidman), Dylan Baker (Orrin Hatch), Erika Christensen (Shirley Wiegand), Alison Wright (Virginia Thomas), Malcolm Gets (Arlen Specter), Treat Williams (Ted Kennedy), Peter McRobbie (Alan Simpson), Kimberly Elise (Sonia Jarvis), Jennifer Hudson (Angela Wright)
Crew: Director – Rick Famuyiwa; Writer – Susannah Grant; Executive Producers – Michael London, Janice Williams, Kerry Washington, Susannah Grant
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