Nathan Lane Says Robin Williams ‘Protected’ Him From Being Outed By Oprah In 1996
perezhilton.comNathan Lane is remembering his friend Robin Williams — as a “saint.” For so many years now, the acclaimed Broadway darling has been a beacon to the LGBTQIA+ community, serving as a longtime board member and fundraiser for the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS nonprofit.
Frankly it’s difficult to imagine a time before he was comfortable publicly owning his sexuality. Funny enough, when he was cast alongside Williams in his first major motion picture role for 1996’s The Birdcage, where the two portrayed gay men, he was not yet out of the closet!
Now he’s revealing the late, great Robin helped him to maintain his discretion throughout the film’s press tour. Related: Prince William Spotted At A Gay Hotspot In Poland! While chatting with Sunday Today over the weekend, the Only Murders in the Building star remembered how nervous he was to be interviewed on The Oprah Winfrey show all those years ago, as he wasn’t quite ready to come out: He was aware that would be “sort of unavoidable because of the nature of the film” — but remembered confiding in Williams prior to being infamously grilled about his sexuality by Oprah Winfrey, who he was worried would ask the serious questions: He recalled his co-star quickly coming to his support in that moment: The Emmy winner then reminisced on the sort of questions Oprah asked, like, “How come you’re so good at that girlie stuff?” and “Are you worried about being typecast?” before Robin “sort of swoops in and diverts Oprah, goes off on a tangent and protects me because he was a saint.” The Aladdin star could definitely go on a tangent!
So glad he was using that power for good! You can see for yourself (below)! Nathan was certainly grateful! He added: Sad but true… Related: JoJo Siwa
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