Critics of Aaron Sorkin's The Newsroom have bashed both the taste and the timing of this week's subplot involving an alleged rape on a university campus, and "bashed" is a gigantic understatement.

The episode was universally decried as the peak of Sorkin's gross tendency to mansplain the recent news using the magic of 20/20 hindsight, except that because of Rolling Stone's controversial recent story on an alleged rape at the University of Virginia (and the subsequent retractions, doxing of the victim, and other complications), he didn't even have the hindsight this time.

Even without the coincidental salting of a wound that is still very much open, Sorkin's position on rape allegations would be gross. (He "doesn't understand who the victim is" and "isn't sure rape victims should be naming their rapists, because somebody somewhere might miss out on a medical school scholarship.")

But he can't say he wasn't warned. Newsroom writer Alena Smith didn't love the idea of having the usually sympathetic Don Keefer basically interrogate a rape victim who wanted to tell her story, but the plotline was apparently not up for debate. Smith tweeted that she was kicked out of the room for criticizing Sorkin.

Sorkin has never been known as an easy guy to work for. He allegedly fired more than half of his writing staff between seasons 1 and 2 of the Newsroom. He's always going to do his shows his way, and in this case, his way happens to be some pretty cringeworthy victim-blaming.

[Screengrab via HBO]