Actor Nathan Lane, who starred alongside comedian and actor Robin Williams in the gay classic remake of the BIRDCAGE has said recently how grateful we was to Williams for protecting him from being forced to come out during an Oprah interview the year they promoted the film together:
“I was not prepared at all for that,” Lane said about openly discussing his sexuality at the time. “And I certainly wasn’t ready to go from table-to-table and tell them all I was gay. I just wanted to talk about finally [getting] a big part in a movie, and I didn’t want to make it about my sexuality…”
Unfortunately for Nathan, his Birdcage character was gay. So the topic was “sort of unavoidable”:
“I don’t think Oprah was trying to out me, but I said to Robin beforehand, ‘I’m not prepared. I’m so scared of going out there and talking to Oprah. I’m not prepared to discuss that I’m gay on national television. I’m not ready,’” Lane said. “He said, ‘Oh, it’s alright, don’t worry about — we don’t have to talk about it. We won’t talk about it.’”During the show, Oprah asked a bunch of questions that left the door open for Nathan to come out. Like, “How come you’re so good at that girlie stuff,” and “Are you worried about being typecast?” But, whenever Oprah did that, Robin would distract her with silly bits and impressions:
According to Lane, Williams “sort of swoops in and diverts Oprah, goes off on a tangent and protects me because he was a saint.” Lane called Williams a “beautiful, sensitive soul.”
“I just wasn’t ready to do that,” Lane added. “Now you have to make a public statement about it — I was terrified… It’s great that everyone now feels comfortable but homophobia is alive and well and there are plenty of gay people who are still hiding.”
Everyone needs a friend / ally that’s got your back like Williams did for Lane. Good for Robin to clocking Oprah’s game before they hit the set and helping his friend to come out in his own time, rather than just for Ope’s ratings. We miss Robin Williams 🙁
Reminds me of Barbara Walters trying to out Ricky Martin for ratings. He was not ready and he handled her well.
Oprah is one of the worst things that’s ever happened to this country…..Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil for example.
I agree.
Oprah should have outed herself instead of trying to out Nathan. She was hoping for a ratings grab. She must have been disappointed in Robin Williams killing her wish. While I’m not a fan of Williams constant buffoonery during interviews but it worked this time to keep ope’s yap shut.