‘Tell Me Lies’ creator and Alicia Crowder on Diana’s “extremely cathartic” abortion convo with Stephen: “We had to push back to win a few people over on that”

In Tell Me Lies Season 3, Episode 4, Alicia Crowder’s character Diana delivers one of the most jaw-dropping lines of the entire series — and that’s saying a lot.

Tell Me Lies Season 3, Episode 4 spoilers ahead.

“Fix Me Up, Girl” is an eventful installment that ends with a major 2015 reveal, but before we learn who called Bree (Cat Missal) before her wedding, we spend some time in 2009, where Diana is frantically trying to schedule an abortion after learning she’s pregnant with her ex Stephen’s (Jackson White) baby.

Over the years, television has gotten much better about tackling abortion — with shows like A Million Little Things and Ginny & Georgia thoughtfully exploring the topic in recent years. Tell Me Lies earned praise for giving Diana agency of her own body and confidently presenting her decision as “not complicated at all,” given the walking nightmare of a man that is the father, their separation, and her law school goals. But naturally, the hit Hulu series couldn’t pass up a prime opportunity for drama. So Stephen found out about Diana’s pregnancy in a “creepy game of telephone” and furiously confronted her, which inspired one of the most scathing lines of the entire series: “I am so excited to abort your baby. It’s gonna be the highlight of my year. I can’t fucking wait.”

While the blunt, incredibly honest line likely garnered a few gasps and screams from disapproving viewers, I imagine there were also some cheers, because who among us has not longed for someone to put this awful man in his place?! Diana endured years of Stephen’s bullshit, and the thought of having his child didn’t just disrupt her life plan, it repulsed her. She knew this decision and her freedom from Stephen were directly linked, and to nail that point home, she added, “You can’t control me anymore. Try with someone else.”

When Decider asked Tell Me Lies creator Meaghan Oppenheimer which Season 3 storylines she feared might get her “canceled,” she brought up Diana’s abortion comment in addition to the events of Episode 3.

“You know, there are always some writers in the room that think maybe I’m going too dark with things. But then there are also writers who don’t feel that way,” Oppenheimer explained. “I would say that the scene when Diana tells Stephen that she can’t wait to abort his baby, that was something we were all very united on that as writers. [But] I think some people reading the scripts were a little bit not so sure about that line. Certainly a lot of people were very on board with it, but we had to push back to win a few people over on that.”

Controversial or not, Crowder called the line “extremely cathartic” for her and Diana to deliver. But knowing what Stephen is capable of, the actor also fears for her character.

“I think that there have been so many opportunities for her to do that, but she knows that no matter what, it’s going to backfire,” Crowder continued. “If anyone can hurt you more than you have hurt them, it’s Stephen.”

When chatting with Pippa (Sonia Mena) after the confrontation, Diana admitted she was “freaked out” because she said some things she “shouldn’t have” and Stephen lives in the building, so he could seek revenge at any time. “He’s not someone who lets things go…I’m actually scared of him,” Diana admitted. When Lucy (Grace Van Patten) asked her for Stephen-related advice later in the episode, Diana also told her to “do nothing,” which suggests she wished she had done the same.

Is Stephen too wrapped up in the Lucy/Evan/tape drama to seek revenge on his other ex? Or do you think Diana’s Episode 4 words will backfire? Tune in to Tell Me Lies Season 3, Episode 5 to find out, and be sure to follow Decider’s in-depth coverage of the series.

New episodes of Tell Me Lies Season 3 air Tuesdays on Hulu.