SPILL THE TEA

Bryan Safi interviews one of our favorite comedians and songstresses Sandra Bernhard.

Here's a snip of what  salty Sandra has to say:

Q: When you came out on Roseanne, my parents wanted us to stop watching it. That must have been a huge moment - being one of the first recurring lesbian characters on a hit show.

A: Don't forget I started out married to Tom Arnold. That's what was sort of really funny about it. That was kind of the whole point, that he had driven me to it. So it wasn't kind of like you were getting hit over the head with it -- like, "We gotta throw a gay character on the show." It was much more subtle.

Q: I remember the controversy over that kiss with Morgan Fairchild so well.
A: That kiss wasn't consummated. ABC wouldn't let us have the kiss. Just as we were starting to kiss, the camera cuts.

Q: I just remember being excited about it.
A: Yeah, it's an interesting story. But nobody took [the lesbian thing] seriously on that show. Roseanne just shoots from the hip. She just goes for it. Nothing was ever serious on that show. Nobody was like, "Oh my god this is the most incredible thing." She came up with funny ideas and things that hadn't been talked about and she did it. That's why to me it was so much more effective.

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We learned of Sandra Bernhard from David Letterman's show on NBC in the 1980's.  Sandra was a frequent guest.  We would always see that mug of hers and say, "Who is this chick??"

Q: Are you friendly with Letterman?
A: No! He wasn't friendly with me. He totally turned off to me and didn't have me on anymore. I don't know. I have no idea why. Nothing happened. He moved to another network, and times changed. Maybe that was part of it. Maybe they didn't want people to come on and use the place as an entertainment medium. It doesn't make sense at all.