Elisabeth Moss On Her Comments That The Handmaid's Tale Isn't A Feminist Story: 'It Was An Interesting Wake Up Call'

Elisabeth Moss has admitted she 'clearly said the wrong thing' when she remarked that The Handmaid's Tale 'isn't a feminist story, it's a human one'.

The 34-year-old actress is fully aware that the TV series adapted from the classic Margaret Atwood novel is 'first and foremost feminist', but for her, it's 'not only a feminist work'.

'I don't think it has been distanced from being a feminist show,' Moss told reporters, including Elle UK.

'I don't think I said the right thing clearly. If I said anything that led people to think I'm not a feminist or The Handmaid's Tale is not a feminist, then obviously I didn't say the right thing.

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'I think for me it's just it's not only a feminist work. There are many groups that are punished and much maligned in the show. It's not just only feminist. Is it first and foremost feminist? Of course.

'So first and foremost it is about a woman. [But] it's about many other things.'

The Top of the Lake star also said that while she's not a politician, she's aware that women now more than ever have to take 'ownership of their feminism and become vocal and active'.

'I also think I'm not a politician - I'm not trained to talk about this shit. I'm a woman, I'm a person, And I do my best,' she continued. 'It was an interesting wake up call. It was an interesting learning experience. I didn't know that anyone gave shit about what I said.

'I've lived a privileged existence as a white woman in America, and I think that a lot of women like me have had to take ownership of their feminism and become vocal and active in a way we didn't feel like we needed to before. We live in a different time,' she added.

Back in April during a panel discussion at the Tribeca Film Festival, Moss had said: '[The Handmaid's Tale] It's not a feminist story; it's a human story, because women's rights are human rights.'

Atwood later tweeted that the comment needed 'an 'only,' an 'also' and a human rights definition of the feminist word.'

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Moss plays the enslaved Offred in the Hulu and Channel 4 series, forced into sexual servitude to bear children for the infertile wives of the elite while living under a totalitarian theocracy.

As property of the state, and under a military dictatorship, Offred becomes the enforced concubine of The Commander (Joseph Fiennes) in order to conceive for his wife Serena (Yvonne Strahovski).

The Handmaid's Tale continues on Channel 4 at 9pm on Sunday (June 4).