Aubrey Plaza was told a gay rom-com would be too ‘confusing’ for people
Aubrey Plaza. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images for MTV)
Aubrey Plaza has blasted the film industry as “ignorant”, saying she was once told a gay romantic comedy would be “confusing” for people.
The Parks and Recreation star appeared in Clea DuVall’s gay Christmas film Happiest Season last year, the first ever queer romantic comedy from a major Hollywood studio – but it should never have taken so long for that to happen, she said.
“A movie like this should have come out so long ago,” Aubrey Plaza told The Independent.
The actress – who has previously said she falls in love “with girls and guys” – continued: “Not to toot my own horn but I was calling my agency years ago and going, ‘You know, what you should do is take a romcom script and just… make it two women. Don’t make it about them being gay or coming out or anything, just a love story with two women.'”
Aubrey Plaza thinks it’s ‘wild how completely ignorant’ the film industry has been
The response, Plaza said, was not ideal.
“It was ridiculous. It was, ‘Haha, arghhh, I don’t know!’ Literally someone said to me, ‘Well, imagine the poster and how confusing it would be for people.’ And I would be like, ‘Are you out of your f**king mind?'”
Plaza added: “Can you believe? It’s wild. It is wild how completely ignorant this industry has been.”
She went on to explain that she wishes she had “tried harder” to get a queer romantic comedy made sooner.
“But yeah, it is so about time for those stories to be told in a mainstream way,” she added.
Elsewhere in the interview, Plaza reflected on the fan outcry when – spoiler alert – her Happiest Season character Riley did not end up with Kristen Stewart’s character Abby.
Fans were furious when Abby decided to stick with her longtime girlfriend Harper (Mackenzie Davis), despite her undeniable chemistry with Plaza’s character.
Plaza said she “couldn’t believe” the fan response when the film was released last year.
“When Clea [Duvall] asked me to do the film, I remember saying to her, ‘Look, if I do this, I am going to come for Abby. I’m coming for her. The audience is gonna want me to be with her at the end, and that’s what I’m gonna want. So just as long as you know that…’ And she was kind of like, ‘Yeah yeah yeah.’
“But then I couldn’t believe the response when it was over. I was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s exactly what I said, but… crazier.”
Plaza added: “Look, at the end of the day, you just can’t deny me and Kristen’s chemistry. You just can’t.”
