Twenty-eight years after appearing in Now and Then, Rosie ODonnell is sharing some surprising insight about her role in the coming-of-age comedy.
Speaking to Brooke Shields on Tuesdays episode of the Now What? podcast , ODonnell was asked whether shed ever sign on for a sequel to the 1995 film, in which she played the adult version of Christina Riccis character, Roberta Martin.
Noting shed love to appear in a follow-up, ODonnell said Roberta was originally written as a lesbian, but references to the characters queer sexuality were removed from the movie after it had been shot.
My character was gay. She was a lesbian, ODonnell said. And in the film, Im very close to Rita Wilsons character, and Im a gynecologist and Im delivering her baby. And then I look up from catching the baby and I say to her, I love you. You know, just friends, not as a lover. And when they showed the film, the producer said, Lets take out that shes gay. And they took every little, tiny thing that I had done to build the character into an accurate gay woman and made her straight.
Actor, comedian, and podcaster @Rosie joins @BrookeShields for a wide-ranging conversation about having a family member who suffers from addiction, the ways they learned to practice tough love, and what its like to come into your own in the public eye.https://t.co/LGuPRROxA6 pic.twitter.com/TBPmOmE4kG
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iHeartPodcasts (@iHeartPodcasts) April 18, 2023
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Though ODonnell hadnt yet come out publicly as lesbian when Now and Then was released, she said that she was upset by the decision, and suggested it was yet another example of just how marginalized queer themes were in pop culture at the time.
I was like: This cant be really happening. Is this really happening? But you know, this was before Will & Grace , she said. This was before Ellen [DeGeneres] was out. And it was very controversial to be gay and my agent didnt know if I should take the job because What if people find out that youre gay? And I was like, Come on, Im an actress.
Shortly after the interview went live, a representative for ODonnell issued a statement to Entertainment Weekly and other outlets clarifying that she meant to say that the studio, rather than an individual producer, made the final call about Robertas sexuality in the movie.
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HuffPost has reached out to representatives for New Line Cinema as well as Now and Then director Lesli Linka Glatter seeking comment on ODonnells remarks.
Watch the trailer for Now and Then below.
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