Seinfeld alum Julia Louis-Dreyfus loves bad words and
gay marriage.
The fourth season
of the CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old
Christine has added something borrowed and
something blue to its bouquet with a lesbian wedding. The
catch? Both characters are straight. Emmy-winning star
Julia Louis-Dreyfus details the inspiration behind the
same-sex subplot and revisits Seinfeld’s
impact on gay people, even though her character,
Elaine, was heterosexual. Not that there’s anything
wrong with that!
The 1993 Seinfeld episode “The
Outing” introduced the phrase “Not that
there’s anything wrong with that”
into the mainstream consciousness. Did it feel like a
big deal at the time?
It did feel like a big deal. Yeah, it was
groundbreaking, and from a writing point of view, it
was spectacularly crafted. Somehow we were able to
speak about taboo subject matters while poking fun at
political correctness in a way that other shows
weren’t doing at that time -- like the episode
when Kramer refused to wear the AIDS ribbon.
Elaine once exclaimed, “I hate men, but I’m
not a lesbian!” Looking back, though, is
there any possibility that she was actually a big dyke?
No, there’s no way Elaine was a dyke. She
was just a totally fucked-up heterosexual.
So it’s a total fluke that comedian Carol Leifer,
on whom Elaine was partially based, now has a female
life partner?
Yes, it is.
Did that revelation faze you?
No. But I have so many friends who are gay, it’s
really like saying “She has blond hair.”
In the current season of The New Adventures of Old
Christine your character marries Wanda Sykes’s
character, who’s also straight, to prevent
her from being deported. What inspired that story line?
Obviously, same-sex marriage is a hot topic
these days, particularly in California, and it just
seemed like a strong story line for Wanda and me to
play.
By mining laughs from a sensitive issue, aren’t
you running the risk of offending viewers?
There’s always potential for offending,
and maybe we even will, although that’s not our
goal. We do want to push the envelope because that’s
the key with comedy, and that’s how you find
great material. At the same time, all of us are very
comfortable with and supportive of same-sex marriage.
We don’t want to make fun of it. I’m all for
it. I can’t imagine not being for it. That
seems ludicrous.
Who’d make a better lesbian -- you or Wanda?
[Laughs] It would have to be a tie. I
think we would both make wonderful lesbians. I have
been hit on by women, so I guess I’ve been
mistaken for a lesbian. I say, “Thanks, but no
thanks!” -- just like Sarah Palin.
What’s your butchest quality?
My sailor mouth. I swear up and down.
What’s your favorite swear word?
The worst one.
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