Embed from Getty Images
Sandra Bullock, who should be a part of every Women of Hollywood feature, made an appearance at Monday’s ELLE Women in Hollywood Celebration. The 54-year-old actress was there to present an award to her Oceans 8 co-star and all-around goddess, Sarah Paulson.
Sandra started her speech by saying “it’s been a crappy few weeks.” Her father died on September 18 at the age of 93, and she lost her two dogs around the same time. Sandra is a dog lover who has adopted dogs with special needs. She’s had three dogs, all adopted from California animal shelters. There was Poppy, a three-legged Chihuahua-Pomeranian mix, Ruby, a two-legged Chihuahua, and BeBe, a one-eyed Chihuahua. Back in 2015, she also added a German Shepherd to the family after a stalker broke into her home. Sandra mentioned that she had to put down Poppy, but I couldn’t find which of the other dogs recently passed. I can only imagine how hard all of these compounded losses have got to be. At least Sandra has the emotional support of boyfriend Bryan Randall.
So, not only is she an advocate for animals, she’s also a great friend, as she had nothing but sweet, sincere things to say about Sarah, whom she referred to as “brilliant.” She’s not wrong there. Here’s what she had to say about Sarah and her partner Holland Taylor:
“I was going to write a nice speech about all the things I like about Sarah Paulson. Sarah Catharine Paulson, she likes when you use her middle name, or Powell-son, as my 5-year-old calls her. But it’s been a crappy few weeks. My dad died, both of my dogs died. You turn on the television or computer and it’s endless tragedies and it seems like more than ever now if you have a vagina, you have to be a fighter as well. So I don’t feel nice. So I decided tonight I’m going to talk about all the things I don’t like about Sarah.”
“I don’t like the fact that she can wear things that look like a child threw a box of highlighters. Or that she dissembled her grandmother’s couch and reassembled it with safety pins. And still takes your breath away the minute she walks on the red carpet. I don’t like that bravery and I don’t like that it’s inspiring. I don’t like that she loves so deeply and so openly. And I don’t like that she is loved so deeply and so openly by extraordinary people because it only shines the light on how I just need to be better. I don’t like her work ethic. It reminds me that I need to work harder.”
“I don’t like that her and Holland’s joy for life and each other reminds me that I need to be a better girlfriend. I don’t like that she’s the kind of person that after a long day of flying and fittings will sit in your hotel room after you believe she has nowhere else to go when in fact she is fully aware that you’ve been stood up and she doesn’t want you to be alone. Just like I didn’t like the dozens upon dozens upon roses with little white poppies intermingled in them mere hours after I put my dog to sleep, whose name happens to be Poppy. So if that is the type of person you want for your icon, then I think you have chosen well.”
In addition, Sandra made a case for women nurturing their relationships with their female friends, as it has healthy benefits:
“They provide support systems that help each other deal with the stress and difficulties in life, physically. This quality girlfriend time helps create more serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps combat depression and create a general feeling of well being, we share from our souls with our sisters, our mothers, and evidently that is very good for our health.”
She may be having a crappy couple of weeks, but I suspect we all kind of are. Luckily, she’s got friends like Sarah to help her make it through the tough times. I am also relatively confident that there will soon once again be the pitter-patter of puppy feet in Sandra’s house. I think it’s great that she provides a home for these special doggos. She’s just great.
Photos: Getty, WENN/Joe Alvarez
Sarah’s pink dress makes her look like a layered cake
Love Sandy, and love her silly take on such a sweet speech.
Losing my dog last year was one of the most difficult things that I never thought would be SO difficult, bordering traumatizing. I loved him so much, and can’t imagine the pain of losing two AND your dad. My dad better stick around a while, I don’t think I could take it.
So sorry for your loss. The loss of a pet can definitely be as painful as losing a family member. Our kitty is a favored member of ours for sure.
Harder, sometimes. The thing about animals is that there’s no baggage–it’s just love–so the grief can hit harder.
If you feel like you need extra help and support at this time, check local shelters and animal hospitals for Pet Loss Support Groups. Usually free, usually drop-in. Also lots of resources at https://aplb.org
Really great speech, funny and heartfelt but I hate the fact that sandy is morphing into Michael Jackson.
Good lord, that’s so sad. We lost my elderly cat on August 29th. I cried every single day for about a month. It’s so heart wrenching – and in a way even more upsetting when they’re special needs. I spent so much time making sure she was comfortable, could get where she needed to go, was getting her pills morning and night… when pets take up so much of your daily routine they leave a bigger hole, I think. There’s so many things that just ‘stop’. I had gone to the shelter a few weeks later – just to look at kittens. And I left sobbing because I didn’t want any other pets.
Fast forward to this past weekend, and we officially have sweet baby Cricket. She’s a siamese ragdoll mix, and all floof. She was born the month Patch died, and does SO many things that Patch used to do. When I’m upset this sweet little angel kitten (she’s only 9 weeks old) will come running up and nuzzle her head into my face – just like Patch. She purrs twice as loud as our other cat – just like Patch. She doesn’t take any crap from the much larger cat and the 42lb dog – just like Patch. Every day I am more and more convinced that it was fate that we found this little furry monster – it’s the first time I’ve felt actually excited in months.
I can’t imagine losing two beloved pets AND a parent all in the same time frame. We lost Patch, my MIL had thyroid surgery, my mother had knee replacement surgery, and I’ve been having a ton of migraines and fibromyalgia pain, and it’s been HARD. I can’t imagine what Sandra had to go through.
I’m so sorry for your loss. Your new kitten sounds adorable!
Not sure if the link will be allowed – but here’s a jpeg haha. She’s adorable. The photo doesn’t even do her justice. https://tinyurl.com/ycrt8564
OMG what a gorgeous kitten!! Congrats!
Holy crap that is one adorable kitten. She doesn’t look real she’s so beautiful!
Aw, Erinn, so sorry for your loss. Cricket does indeed sound like a tiny angel.
Thanks, Esmom. She’s amazing.
So sorry…happy you got a new pet..they really do make you feel better. I waited too long after the passing of my 15 year old cat and realized I should of adopted sooner.
Enjoy your new kitten.
Ours was 18 – it’s just never easy no matter the age. I couldn’t have done it any earlier than I did – it was too painful. My poor husband thought bringing me to the shelter when he did would have helped – and it was absolutely nice to see the cats. I think I needed it so it fully sunk in that she was really gone. But I think I’d JUST gotten into the window of it seeming okay when I found Cricket, and I’m so glad I jumped at the chance to adopt her. And she’s honestly the sweetest little thing. I’ve never had a kitten in my life that’s been so loving haha.
I always say the best way to start healing a broken heart is to give another pet in need a loving home.
Welcome to Cricket and lots of cuddles and belly rubs for her !
Oops ! It was meant as a reply to Erinn’s comment ^^
She’s getting ALL the belly rubs!
It’s wonderful her dad lived to be 93. In my experience there is so much more peace within grief when the loved one has had a full, long life. But it’s very hard no matter what.
Can’t relate to dog grief. I did lose a cat who was a big personality, and I mourned him severely and years later still miss him. But he died far too young so it has always been hard to accept 🙁
I’m so sorry for your loss. I do have to disagree on the age front, though. My mother was only in her early 70s when she passed, but I was so at peace with it because she had been sick with COPD and chronic bronchitis for so long. My gran, on the other hand, was 89, but she went so suddenly. She died in her sleep two weeks before my wedding. It took me the better part of a year to get over, even though she lived a long and lovely life. I think it depends on the circumstances.
A nurse once told me that a sudden loss is easier for the person, yet much harder for survivors. I have found there is a lot of truth in that. Even if someone has not been in great health, a sudden passing can be very hard to process.
I’m currently losing my dad to ALS and now cancer, he is only 66. After watching him suffer and suffer for so long, I wish he could have just gone suddenly in his sleep .
But I know if that had happened I would have the opposite feeling, I would wish I had known he was going to pass and that I could say one last thing, hold his hand one last time. And it would have been a horrible shock like you endured with your grandmother, I’m so so sorry.
Grief is horrible no matter what. I guess I just had a beautiful experience with my great aunt passing at the age of 96. It was the most joyous funeral, the most pain free release of a loved one because she lived so long and so well and she was ready. So I started to think that losing someone who lived to a good old age is much easier.
But you’re right, generalizations about grief are pretty pointless once I think about it for a bit. It is almost always extremely hard. I’m so sorry for all of your losses. I am living day by day waiting for my dad to pass and sometimes I think it will be a relief because his suffering will be at an end, and at the same time I’m not ready at all even after all this time that I know he’s dying.
I lost my older dog and two cats this year. The cats both were closer to young than old, and both were not expected. I lost my parents within months of each other, with an older dog just before that.
I have come to accept that sometimes great losses may occur within a close timeframe, and not everyone has the same number of years. I now better appreciate every day I have with my furry friends and those close to me.
Sandra’s speech made me tear up a bit. Very sweet. Times really are incredibly sh^tty, aren’t they? It takes a toll.
On my initial read I saw it as “emotional support boyfriend,”-like a therapy dog. Couldn’t we all use an emotional support boyfriend, lol.
I feel Sandra’s heartache. In the span of a month my world has been turned upside down. One of my cats died mid-September. We had to put him down which was one of the hardest things Ive ever done in my entire life. He was relatively young and the love of my life. My heart was broken to say the least. Two weeks later, my mother went into the hospital and now we think she may have Alzheimer’s or dementia.
Sandra’s speech was lovely. And it encapsulates what I’ve been trying to do for myself over the last few weeks. To not wallow to get out more and enjoy life. It doesn’t stop things from being hard and devastating but it helps.
I am sorry for what you’re going through. Sounds like you are keeping your head up, which is admirable.
The world never stops, as much as we may want it to when dealing with grief and uncertainty.
Thank you. I suffer from depression so this has been a real test for me. We cant choose what happens in life but we can choose how we react to it. I’m just trying to make sure I choose the healthiest way to manage my own reactions.
So true. I’m glad you aren’t isolating yourself or falling victim to anger. It took me awhile to actually practice having a better reaction to losses and grief. I now see that as precious missed time.
I 100% can’t. I love my two pups so very much. We’ve had health scares with both, and I’ve cried so hard just at the thought of them dying, so when they actually do…..there’s not enough Xanax and Schitt’s Creek in the world.
That’s so much loss to deal with. But that was a really lovely speech she gave about Sarah.