Creator Nic Pizzolatto and HBO responded on Thursday to the claims of plagiarism that have risen over one of the main characters in True Detective.
On the Lovecraft E-Zine, founder Mike Davis and Thomas Ligotti Online founder John Padgett published an article outlining the similarities between some of what Matthew McConaughey's character Rust Cohle said and believed in during the first season to Ligotti's The Conspiracy Against the Human Race.
Davis notes that the True Detective creator was "'borrowing' words and phrasing from other authors, especially Thomas Ligotti." The long article outlines exact Cohle quotes that follow similarly or nearly exactly to Ligotti's non-fiction work.
While in previous interviews Pizzolatto has acknowledged Ligotti to be an influence, in a statement, he denied that there was any plagiarism, MTV News reports.
"Nothing in the television show 'True Detective' was plagiarized," he said. "The philosophical thoughts expressed by Rust Cohle do not represent any though or idea unique to any one author." Pizzolatto then lists off several philosophers, leaving Ligotti off, that also have anti-natalist views, which Cohle often expresses. "The ideas within this philosophy are certainly not exclusive to any writer."
HBO has sided Pizzolatto and explains that "Philosophical concepts are free for anyone to use, including writers of fiction, and there have been many such examples in the past."
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