Thursday, November 14, 2013

Today's Blind Items - Blacklisted For Being Lesbian

This actress saw doors wide open for her when she first started acting. Everyone loved her. She was getting bigger and bigger parts and when she finally landed her big break the writers and producers loved her and wrote more lines for her and the world was her oyster. She was beautiful and vibrant and fans loved her. She was sexy and funny and a really good actress. Then one day our actress who was almost A list in her part of the television world on a network show was gone. Why? She came out. The producers freaked out. They thought fans would go running away from her and the show and they wanted no part of it. Worse was that our actress talked about it a lot. After she came out she wanted the world to know how she felt and became very active in equality causes. This was too much and her contract wasn't renewed.

No matter, because this other network loved her and scooped her up not knowing that she was a lesbian. Not knowing she had come out to the cast and crew. Not knowing how outspoken she was in her beliefs. That contract which looked so fat and juicy and filled with dollar signs was quickly bought out. Our actress has never worked again. Ever. Reason? Blackballed. It is one thing to be out but quiet another thing to be vocal about it. Oh sure, if you are a huge star you can say what you want and if you are pulling in the ratings there will be lip service but if you are just a cog in the machine you need to make sure you don't do anything to stop that machine. The word was whispered and producers were advised to not hire the actress.

63 comments:

sandybrook said...

Amanda Bearse?

ladybaus said...

thats my guess Sandy

Karen said...

Sounds like someone from SNL or MADtv.

MontanaMarriott said...

Actresses who came out,
Amanda Bearse
Kristy McNichol
Ellen
Meredith Baxter
Rosie
Kelly McGillis
Jodie

sandybrook said...

I cant remember Amand working after Married w Children. The rest of Montana's list all worked except Kristy but she said she quit because she was sick.

Angela said...

Don't forget Portia de Rossi, but she wasn't blacklisted either.

jane3113 said...

Amanda has credits listed on imdb as recent as this year.

Now! said...

Clementine Ford? Heather Matarazzo?

megan00m said...

Portia de Rossi

Alice Tate said...

Amanda Bearse seems to fit, but I really never saw her as sexy, vibrant, beautiful. It sounds like someone whose run was shorter.

Topper Madison said...

"Her part of the television world" caused me to read it as a soap opera actress, which could explain a black-listing.

Brian Brown said...

This is just stupid.

The idea that "fans would go running away from her" is silly.

Who are these dumb producers?

REH said...

Portia

surfer said...

A number of the names on Montana's list don't apply - Ellen, Rosie and Jodie aren't activists, and still work. I think Kristy McNichol gave up acting long ago - didn't she have mental health issues? Kelly McGillis doesn't seem to act much these days. Meredith Baxter is still around.

Merlin D. Bear said...

Anne Heche

Angelina said...

What about Jackee?

car54 said...

I thought Amanda switched to directing.

Anne Heche just had a show on NBC last season--it was cancelled, but I just read yesterday she has a new pilot that has been picked up for next year.

I don't know if Portia doesn't work more because she doesn't have to or if there is something else. She just did the 4th season of Arrested Development and she had that Munsters thing on ABC last year that didn't get picked up.

Fanciesmom said...

Helen hunt?

Just Another HR Lady said...

It must be someone who came out before it was "acceptable" to be out and on television. I agree with the Amanda guess.

Some of the young'uns may not remember what tv was like pre-Ellen. I can still vividly remember the huge deal that was made about her saying that she was gay on tv. But this BI isn't her, she didn't just come out to the crew/cast, she came out publicly on tv, and she's always worked.

NomNom83 said...

This can't be anyone too recent. Between social media and a more accepting culture, I think an Out and outspoken gay actor 1.) wouldn't be much of a secret and 2.) could be reigned in to a more comfortable level with some PR training (from a network perspective, anyway).

My vote is for McNichol. She didn't really do anything beyond Empty Nest. I'm sure she didn't need the money since she had been acting for a couple decades at that point, but I wonder if her retreat from acting was by choice or by force.

Sue T. said...

Topper Madison's comment about it possibly being a soap star -- "HER PART of the television world" being the key phrase -- led me to Google, and I found someone who fits perfectly. BethAnn Bonner. She was on OLTL for several years, had a short run on AMC, and then nothing. With the exception of a couple short films, she has no credits since 2009. She is on Twitter and almost all her tweets are about marriage equality/gay rights.

Mark said...

Tammy Lynn Michaels?

Just Another HR Lady said...

@nomnom...right I forgot about Empty Nest. Although for some reason I was thinking Kristy McNichol dropped out of acting for mental health issues or something.

Still love The Pirate Movie!

Regflex said...

Wanda Sykes

AKM said...

I think Kristy DID drop out of acting because of bipolar (IIRC) issues. She left "Empty Nest," again IIRC, but came back for selected episoded or the finale or something. I don't think she acts now at all.

Amanda Bearse has been a prolific director, though, hasn't she? Hasn't hurt her being in the business overall to come out.

AKM said...

Also, not to be rude, but so many of the actresses y'all are listing are still bigbigbig. This person is probably somebody we don't remember and can't name. For that reason, I like 125records' guess.

Alice Tate said...

I think 125 has it with Bethann Bonner.

8====D KermitGossnellKnobjob said...

An outspoken lesbian is blacklisted in hollyweird? Half actors/actresses are gay or bi and they are still big. Most of them support liberal causes way worse than "homo marriage" which make them unlikeable to half of the population (alec baldwin, sean penn...) and still get tons of work.
The only real blacklisted person I remember is boozer Mel Gibson, and this is because he insulted jews (if the cop who fined him had been Irish/Hispanic/Asian/... his racial slurs agains him because he was pissed of and wanted to offend him regardless his skin would have been forgotten in a second), and most producers are jews.

This BI may be true, but it would be only one sad, regrettable action, far from usual in the enviroment. (If you don't understand my personal grammar, I mean this facts portrayed in the BI are awful, but not the rule of thumb in hw).

8====D KermitGossnellKnobjob said...

Fuck, re-reading my post I have found several grammar and ortography errors.
I cannot edit, but forgive them, please.

Amartel said...

This sounds like it's from the old days so I'm thinking Meredith Baxter Birney? Someone in the corporate offices just could not get with Mrs. Keaton being lesbian? And how many people even considered the possibility that she was a lesbian given her performance and Alex and Mallory and whoozit's mom? Pretty good actress! Though maybe she wasn't out to herself at the time.

Not Amanda Bearse because she was not quiet about being lesbian and not Kristy McNichol because she retired for other reasons.

AndrewBW said...

Kristy McNichol always said she retired from acting for mental health reasons, but who knows if that's true? It wouldn't surprise me if this was her -- one minute she was on top of the world and then bam! she was a non-person. I always thought it was odd what happened to her.

sbalb said...

Nothing in the blind says this person ever came out PUBLICLY, just among cast and crew. It's not some big name lesbian we 've all heard of. I like the soap star guess best .

Unknown said...

Oh I really think Clementine Ford! She was actually on the L Word then on Young n Restless. Then she disappeared. After about a year she appeared in a very minor part in a commercial, not even the lead! I thought that was very odd. After all she is Cybil's kid.

Sherry said...

Actually Kermit your grammar has improved beyond Enty's. A pat on the back to you.

Kelly said...

I like @125's guess too. It is not Kristy folks. She had severe mental issues and she voluntarily left the biz for her own health. She just came out publicly a year or two ago. LOVE The Pirate Movie too! I could sing those songs all day. Ha.

Seven of Eleven said...

Nice job, @Topper & 125records. A soap opera actress would make perfect sense for the fans comment, and she is very pretty. All of the clues fit for her.

caralw said...

Okay, y'all. I don't know who this is but neither Amanda Bearse or Kristy McNichol were sexy.

Meanie Rhysie said...

Nor were they considered traditionally beautiful. LOL

Unknown said...

Amanda Bearse had some pretty sexy scenes in Fright Night. Just sayin'.

AKM said...

I'm reading Cybill's book -- I know, I know! -- and so I was wondering if Clementine was still into women. She married her second husband recently. So...probably not her.

Unknown said...

I think topper and 125records got it. Don't know if she was almost A in soap world but can believe it- soap viewers are probably a pretty conservative group of older women (just guessing) and they might not take to an outspoken lesbian so that would be why network got rid of her.

AKM said...

Yep, yep, Bethann Bonner. According to Wikipedia, she is engaged to a female personal trainer.

HolidayinCambodia said...

Folks, Kelly McGillis was known in the industry to be gay by 1991 at the latest, based on a conversation I had with someone "in the know" that year.

Hegg said...

Yes it is definitely Daytime/soaps. You can totally be out to the cast, directors etc. in Daytime but if you make a huge deal of it to the general public it actually CAN hurt the heterosexual storylines. Sad, but true.

cinnamitch said...

I am thinking Tamara Braun here. She took GH by storm, then moved on to All My Children, then ended up on Days of Our Lives where I believe she was fired and her character was recasted or something like that. That was in 2011 and she has done only a few guest star roles on various primetime shows since.

Hegg said...

Christian LeBlanc is entirely out with his cast/friends, but never with the public. Just one example.

MadLyb said...

I can't wait until the old white ass patriarchs drop dead.

MadLyb said...

I really think this is Amanda Bearse. She was one of the first to come out openly when not even Ellen dared to come out, and I think she fits the description.

Kelly said...

I really thought that after Amanda came out she stayed with MWC and directed many, many episodes?

AppleThief4Elliot said...

Are we really calling Amanda Bearse beautiful, vibrant and sexy? I'm not trying to be mean here, I just don't think this describes her.

Jed Antony said...

125 got it!

OKay said...

I LOVE BethAnn Bonner! (Talia - yay!) I never really thought she was getting all that "big", though, even within the soap world. If it is her, I'm gonna be really pissed at Frank Valentini.

Count Jerkula said...

I would think Bearse made a ton of money with Married, since she directed many of the episodes.

What ever happened to Griff and Bob Rooney?

Aoife said...

Meredith Baxter Birney (sp) is in Thursday's pictures.

Veruca said...

Kristanna Loken!

Doubt it is Cynthia Nixon. I think it is Loken!!

Andy said...

Loken is a good guess. She was co-starring along side Ahhhnuld, then she vanished. All she seems to do now are Uwe Boll movies.

Bubbles said...

How could this be someone who came out publicly as a lesbian because I really don't see why it would be a blind. It sounds like someone who came out to co-workers but not the general public. I don't see why producers would have to whisper to each other about someone who had publicly come out.

Xanadu said...

My vote is Tammy Lynn Michaels... she did 'Popular' - everyone loved her. Had a brief but memorable part in 'The L word', then she played a nanny in that quiet achiever 'Committed'. Gave up her autonomy to care for Etheridge and her brood. Now she can't seem to get a foot in the door.

WBotW said...

I am on the Tammy Lynn Michaels train as well.

Sandy said...

Cynthia Nixon or Sarah Paulson.

di butler said...

This is 100% not someone who made it big like Birney, McNichol, or Dee Rossi. Plus, whoever said above that this was an older scenario is correct. Different landscape. I agree w the BethAnn Bonner or possibly Loken.

Danni P said...

It's Portia .... After she got with Ellen, she hasn't been on anything .... And its not because Ellen is rich and they don't have kids ..... Actually heard about this when it first happened! The streets of West Hollywood would make you pop popcorn, but on the silky pjs, and pop a bottle :-)

AppleThief4Elliot said...

De Rossi was on Better of Ted, and Arrested Development, at least. So... no.

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