Lindsay Lohan has gained quite a reputation in Hollywood. While she has been entering the limelight in positive ways in recent years, there was a time when this was not the case. After her Mean Girls fame, she was involved in quite a few controversies that tarnished her image in more ways than one.
Before starring in the classic Rachel McAdams film, Lohan was regarded as a Hollywood sweetheart. This is why it is quite interesting to find out that she was almost sued by an Oscar-nominated actress after she decided to go back on a commitment.
During the filming of Bette Midler’s autobiographical sitcom, Bette Lohan walked away from the project, causing it to come undone, and the Hollywood legend looks back in regret.
Bette Midler Was Blindsided by Lindsay Lohan’s Actions
Bette Midler is regarded as one of the greats in the film industry, best known for her work in Hocus Pocus. In a recent interview with the Fail Better with David Duchovny podcast, she talked about one of the biggest regrets of her career; her failed, self-titled sitcom, Bette.
The reason why she looks back with contrition towards the series may surprise many, as the actress was not upset about the series never getting the attention it deserved, but because of how she handled the news. Midler started by revealing that Lindsay Lohan was the biggest reason why the series was canceled.
Lindsay Lohan was cast as my daughter in the pilot. Well, after the pilot, Lindsay Lohan decided she didn’t want to do it. Or she had other fish to fry. So, Lindsay Lohan left the building. And I said, well, now what do you do?
In the show, she played the daughter of the titular protagonist. While many would assume the role to not hold a lot of weight, Lohan was still riding the success of The Parent Trap, so her appearance in the series certainly brought about a lot of viewers. However, soon after the pilot was done, she decided to step away from the series and pursue other projects.
I didn’t realize what the pace was, and I didn’t understand what the hierarchy was, and no one bothered to tell me,” she said. “Well, I was kicked to the curb immediately and I didn’t know what to do about it… I didn’t know that I could have taken charge, that I could have asserted, because I think because I was so terrified of being branded a grandstander.
While such a step may have been the perfect move for Lohan, it was exactly what the executives needed to cancel the project as a whole. It would seem that those in charge believed the Mean Girls star to be more relevant than the Hocus Pocus star, and the entire project went belly up.
Bette Midler Wished She Had Done More
After the entire project was completely wrapped because of the exit of a teenager who was playing a supporting role, Bette Midler was extremely upset. However, she was not able to voice her wishes, in fear of being labeled as ‘difficult’. She did not want to say the wrong thing, she chose to say nothing at all. While these were her feelings in 2000, when the show was being made, a lot has changed in two decades.
If I had been in my right mind, or if I had known that part of my duties were to stand up and say, ‘This absolutely will not do, I’m going to sue,’ then I would have done that,” Midler said. “But I seem to have been cosseted in some way that I couldn’t get to the writers’ room. I couldn’t speak to the showrunner. I couldn’t make myself clear.
During the interview, Midler revealed that she wanted to do much more than stay silent. She wanted to fight back and assert her authority. She wanted to let the executives know that their behavior was not tolerable. She even wanted to threaten to sue so that Lohan would not leave.
Now that she is older and times have changed a lot, she looks back and wishes she had done certain things differently.
