Rosie O’Donnell.Photo: Amanda Edwards/Getty
Rosie O’Donnellis alleging a huge change for her character inNow and Thenwas made without her consent.
O’Donnell, 61, played the adult version of Roberta Martin in the 1995 coming-of-age film — a character who is a tomboy as a preteen and said to live with a boyfriend in the present day.
She added, “And when they showed the film, the producer said, ‘Let’s take out that she’s gay.’ And they took every little, tiny thing that I had done to build the character into an accurate gay woman and made her straight.”
A rep for O’Donnell tells PEOPLE that the actress/comedian misspoke, and that the studio, New Line Cinema, made the decision to change Roberta’s sexuality.
PEOPLE has also reached out to reps for Warner Bros./New Line Cinema,Now and ThendirectorLesli Linka Glatter, co-producer Suzanne Todd and star/co-producerDemi Moorefor comment.
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Rosie O’Donnell (L) and Christina Ricci inNow and Then(1995).New Line/Kobal/Shutterstock, Kimberly Wright/New Line/Kobal/Shutterstock
O’Donnell went on to tell Shields, 57, that she couldn’t believe the change was “really happening.”
“But you know, this was beforeWill & Grace. This was beforeEllen [DeGeneres]was out,” she continued. “And it was very controversial to be gay, and — my agent didn’t know if I should take the job because ‘What if people find out that you’re gay?’ "
“And I was like, ‘Come on, I’m an actress,’ " O’Donnell said.
Now and Thenfollows three friends as they reconvene to help their fourth friend through her pregnancy. The group shares their memories of the unforgettable 1970 summer in which they all felt themselves grow up.
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“I don’t know why people make such a big deal about the gay thing,” she declared onstage at Carolines comedy club in New York City on Feb. 25, 2002. “People are confused, they’re shocked, like this is a big revelation to somebody.”
Last month, O’Donnell told PEOPLE amid the launch of her iHeartPodcasts' Onward with Rosie O’Donnell podcastthat she’s embarking upon a “third chapter” of her life these days.
“When I turned 60, I felt as though life is like a three-chapter book: zero to 30, 30 to 60, 60 onward,” she shared. “I’min the third chapter of the book. So let’s put all the past in the past, and let’s just focus on being where we are right now, and onward to another day.”
O’Donnell added, “And that’s kind of the place that I’m at in my life and careers. And that’s the place that we arrive at the podcast.”
source: people.com
