Nathan Lane recalled how 'saint' Robin Williams 'protected' him from being outed on Oprah

[queenursula]

Nathan Lane recalled how 'saint' Robin Williams 'protected' him from having to come out on 'Oprah': 'I just wasn't ready to do that.' https://t.co/ejTV6i2jxR
- Entertainment Weekly (@EW) March 27, 2023
Nathan Lane shared a story about Robin Williams during the promotion for 'The Birdcage' and how he helped deflect questions about his sexuality on

Comments

[skyler_white_yo]

I love how he went right in and shifted the narrative. They all knew she wanted to go with a “let’s have an Oprah moment” for ratings, and they weren’t having it.

[colossusx]

yeah i'm sure oprah outing unknown character nathan lane would have brought in tens, no dozens of viewers

[skyler_white_yo]

If anything of note happened in her interviews, it was front page news, didn’t matter how “famous” the interviewee was. Oprah was/is an opportunist, and would have loved nothing more to have dragged him out of the closet if it got her headlines. Let’s not pretend that this was a “oh that guy, no1curr”, this was more about Oprah fishing for an Oprah moment.

[vespertinev]

back then anyone being gay would be a scandal, let's not rewrite history here

[colossusx]

[healthypanda]

100%. People lost their shit when Ellen came out. And this was not too long after Lion King came out, the far right would have been scandalized that Timon's voice actor was gay.

[skyler_white_yo]

Yup, it could have hurt his career, or worse his or his family’s personal safety. The 90’s were not as LGBTQ friendly as people seem to romanticize. People would quote “not that there’s anything wrong with that” from Seinfeld like it was giant leap in acceptance, when the reality was very different. Don’t ask Don’t Tell was considered “progressive”, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic was still seen as a punishment to gay men.

[moonisaballoon]

YES!!! And those same people who would perpetuate that atmosphere would then go and see movies like The Birdcage and actually kid themselves they weren't homophobic because they enjoyed themselves.

[recognitions]

That Seinfeld bit was obnoxious even then

[andisprohi]

mte, people forget what a big deal some of her gay episodes were. Those got talked about at work and school the next day. I'm old enough to remember most of my classmates coming home to catch the end of a soap opera & then watch Oprah.

[whatwouldwasdo]

yep. case in point: george michael (rip legend)

[neaira]

You've already been told how wrong you are, but some of us actually grew up in and remember the 90s.

[azetburcaptain]

I was alive in the 1990s, it was still considered a medical disorder where I am from, so.

[zombiee_ritual]

Sorry you don’t seem to grasp what actual queer people were going through back then. The media hounded anyone in the community to be outed against their will. Like come on…

[bellwetherr]

having anyone come out on national television in that time period would have been a big fucking event, especially on the heels of a robin williams movie