Rose Byrne plays a young Gloria Steinem in Mrs. America, about the fight to pass the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s. The “Mrs. America” of the title is a reference to Phyllis Schlafly, the anti-feminist, anti-choice, anti-LGBTQ, anti-woman “activist” who led a movement to delegitimize feminism, feminists and the ERA. Schlafly is played by Cate Blanchett in the miniseries. To promote the series, Rose gave an interview to Variety’s The Big Ticket podcast, and Variety did a decent write-up/transcript of the discussion. Unfortunately, some of Rose’s comments about Schlafly were said sarcastically, only Variety didn’t present the quotes that way in some tweets. Which led to this:
For transparency: We deleted a tweet about this Rose Byrne podcast as the text and copy didn't accurately convey her tone in the conversation. Apologies and thank you for understanding https://t.co/AQhSvbA1Qk
— Variety (@Variety) May 2, 2020
So, yeah – everyone was dragging Rose for Variety’s tweets where they did not convey the fact that she was actually dragging Phyllis Schlafly. Here are some highlights from the interview:
Variety: Tell me about the first time you’re in Gloria Steinem makeup and wardrobe. The aviators, the wig. What did you think when you first saw yourself in full Gloria Steinem?
Byrne: Man, she has great style. Let’s just give it up for her aesthetic. She’s one of those silhouettes that you immediately identify and that’s savvy. There’s a savviness to that. She also has an innate sensuality about her. She’s innate in the way she communicates and her power is subtle, and quiet, and driven, but very in control. There’s an unflappability about her. And I was obsessed with the silhouette and with her hair, and really trying to get the wardrobe because if you don’t get the silhouette right, no one’s going to believe it.Phyllis Schlafly has passed, but if you could sit down with her, what would you ask her?
I feel like you wouldn’t have to ask her much, and she would just take the reins and start to talk, and talk, and talk, and talk. She had some uncanny ability to talk and not draw breath … six kids, a law degree, a marriage, an activist to the anti-fems. She was a first-rate feminist. Absolutely. [Laughs] Talk about an independent woman.And she ended up having a gay son.
I know. What a great twist, right?It’s Shakespearean.
It just took my breath away. That’s the ultimate test for somebody like her. How do you manage that? How can you keep that under your control? You can’t. It’s huge. It is Shakespearean. Exactly. It’s that dramatic scale. You couldn’t write it.
Don’t drag Rose. Variety didn’t properly convey her tone, not even in the article. Trust that Rose did her research and knows that Phyllis Schlafly is not a feminist in any way. Trust that Rose understands the message of the actual miniseries in which she plays a major role. Of course, also trust that actors will consistently fail to understand how their sarcasm in speech might not translate to the written word too. All of this is just a reminder that Phyllis Schlafly was a C-U-Next-Tuesday.
Photos courtesy of WENN, FX/Hulu.
Seeing Schlafly’s name automatically makes my blood boil, and Variety is a serious industry publication that should not be publishing cheap clickbait.
Man it must be frustrating for actors when this happens.
TBF I get what she’s saying immediately – six kids and a big job – that family and work “having it all” bit (and presumably making it all work well) that was a focus within the feminist movement…. annnnnd instead she’s an anti-feminist activity.
Schlafly was rich. She did it all with plenty of help.
I remember Schlafly vividly and she was heinous and vile. What struck me about the movie is, the way Schlafly was treated by men including her husband, SHOULD have made her join the feminist movement but she didn’t. She knew better but her selfishness made her look for a cause she could hitch her wagon to and become famous. Again, she was heinous and vile and her (brilliant) work against the ERA screwed all women.
That’s correct. At a time where women were not supposed to work, were not supposed to have a voice, were supposed to stand second to their husbands, Schaffly was a feminist even though she was antifeminist. If you called her a feminist, she would probably throw up on you. Whether or not she had help with her children is irrelevant. She lead a movement and was able to “do it all” – which she CHOSE to do. Many feminist have called her a feminist. I despise Schaffly and believe she was critical in preventing the ERA from passing. But at the end of the day her actions were of a feminist even though her movement was antifeminist.
She was not a feminist, she was an exceptionalist. There have been lots through history. Freedom for me, slavery for thee.
Oh wow, I had no idea who that woman was (Phyllis Schlafly), I spent 10min on the internet and I feel sick. Ugh.
Phyllis Schlafly is a despicable woman (she is one of those who do not deserve to RIP with some of the damage she has caused)
I do wonder about something: How do women like ‘Phyllis Schlafly’ come to be the way they are?
She would be one of trump’s biggest supporters were she still alive. Like so many of his female supporters who are in the public eye, she worked, travelled around the country making money and basked in the glory while telling the plebes to stay home and be the little woman, to submit to their lord and master husband and don’t be like those nasty feminists who are just jealous because they can’t get a man. Hypocrites, that’s all they are.
She is the Santa Patrona of Karens everywhere.
She is THE prototypical white woman who has all sorts of privilege and who has Stockholm syndrome too. So she uses her privilege to make good and sure that nobody but nobody takes a step up. It’s her duty to kick others right back down the steps.
As obsessed about gay persons as she was, one almost has to wonder if she herself had some internal conflict on the subject. Generally, people who are obsessive about homosexuality are so because deep down inside, they’re hiding some things from themselves. Hm. I wonder.
She is before my time but I know who she was. She was a menace.
“So she uses her privilege to make good and sure that nobody but nobody takes a step up. It’s her duty to kick others right back down the steps.” Yep. There’s a spectrum of this type of woman, with her being closer to one end of that spectrum, but they’ve always been there and they’re definitely still here. They can be just as dangerous to girls and women as men can be in the long run because of the way their gender can be used.
Thx; she would definitely be a Trump supporter and she will forget about his lies, his infidelities, his bankrupt morality, his duplicity, his harassment……..
She is before my time as well but I know her because she is one of those who did so much damage to the cause of women. No matter what, I cannot understand her motives;
One of her sons turned out to be gay; I wonder how she dealt with that!
She saw a way too enrich herself and she went for it.
Phyllis’ niece, Suzanne Venker, has taken the reins and lives in a very modest home in St. Louis.
She has authored several books and appears on Fox on how feminism hurts women.
And Suzanne is on her second marriage! Golly! Divorce.
And she is very likely the breadwinner in her marriage.
But you know it’s okay for her because she got it all figured out.
The day Phyllis died I swear the sun shined brighter and there was a extra pep in the step.It wasn’t just me right?
I can’t remember if I said Finally!! or Good riddance!! One or the other. I was in my late 20s when the push for the ERA started, so I remember her shittiness all too well.
Well, now I really want to watch this!!
Starting tonight. I love stories about vile people like her, so I can avoid them easier irl.
I can’t stand when media outlets do this with clickbaity or misleading headlines (and I’m convinced they’re purposefully misleading) and I equally cant stand people that don’t read the articles to look for context/nuance because they’re so desperate to find the next person they can cancel.
If you really want a good look at the feminist movement and Phyllis schaffly’s role in it, you have to check out the PBS documentary Makers: Women who make America. Its amazing and includes all the major Feminists of our time.
I want to watch this because I love Rose Byrne and Cate Blanchett but I’m worried Phyllis Schlafly is just going to leave me raging. If she were still here, she’d be in Dump’s administration and she and Betsy DeVos would be besties.
I’ve watched the first 2 eps and it’s really great so far!!
Is it frustrating knowing where we are 40 years later? yes.
But great none the less! Plus I love Gloria Steinem, and this is reminding me about a whole lot of other great 70s feminists I’d learnt about in uni but forgotten in the decade since (because my brain can only keep so much info sadly!)
She was making the same joke a lot of activists did about Schlafly – boy, for an anti-feminist, she sure behaved in absolutely NONE of the ways she believed women should actually behave. Total scum.
Jeez I remember Rose Byrne from the movie Troy, b*tch got to make out with Brad Pitt! I hate her since.
This is an excellent, excellent series. I hope people are watching it! #NeverForget
I’m watching it. It’s SO good.
I’m definitely going to start watching this series.
Regarding the publication not properly conveying Rose’s tone…I’m a journalist, and even I think that happens a lot in interviews. I’ve read interviews and thought I couldn’t stand a celebrity, only to see a live interview with them and think they’re absolutely lovely. Tone matters.
I keep seeing this advertised on Hulu and even the promo makes me angry. I don’t think I could watch it. I love these actresses, but no.