BETTE Midler has admitted to wishing she would have sued 14-year-old Linsay Lohan after the film star backed out of the singer’s show.
The Hocus Pocus actress spoke about regretting not suing Lindsay, now 37, during her recent appearance on David Duchovny’s Fail Better podcast.
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During the episode, Bette, 78, reflected on some of her career failures, one of which she revealed was not “asserting” herself when a teenaged Lindsay backed out of her sitcom Bette.
Bette premiered on CBS in 2000, lasting only 18 episodes before it was ultimately canceled after one season.
Lohan signed on to play Bette’s daughter in the comedy series, appearing in just the pilot episode before backing out to pursue other opportunities.
The Herbie: Fully Loaded star was replaced with actress Marina Malota but according to Bette, Lindsay’s exit threw the production into a tailspin.
READ MORE ON LINDSAY LOHAN
She told David, “Lindsay Lohan was cast as my daughter in the pilot.
The First Wives Club star continued, “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?’”
The X-Files actor mentioned that Lindsay’s contract should have stopped her from leaving the show or at least provided consequences for her doing so.
Bette replied, “If I had been in my right mind, or if I had known that my duties were to stand up and say, ‘This absolutely will not do, I’m gonna sue,’ then I would have done that.”
The three-time Grammy winner admitted that Lindsay’s exit from Bette wasn’t the show’s only problem, revealing that she had a tough time getting a handle on the production, even as an executive producer.
“I seemed to have been [blocked] in some way, that I couldn’t get to the writer’s room,” Bette stated.
“I couldn’t make myself clear – and there were so many competing personalities,” she continued before adding, “I couldn’t speak to the showrunner.”I couldn’t make myself clear – and there were so many competing personalities.”
The notoriously fast pace of sitcom production wasn’t a help either.
“I had no idea how fast people make [sitcoms],” she told David.
The Beaches actress continued, “You have to give people so much credit when it’s great, because the speed of it is so taxing, and if you didn’t keep up, you were in big trouble.
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“I was booked on David Letterman and he said to me, ‘How do you like it so far?’ I said, ‘It’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to me in my entire life. It’s like being a dung beetle and pushing a pile of s**t up a hill every day.’ And of course, the next day I was fired.”
There appear to be no hard feelings coming from her one-time co-star, however, as Lindsay posted a throwback promo photo of herself and Bette on Instagram last week.
She captioned the photo, “Had such a blast filming with the incredible @bettemidler #tbt.”
FREAKY FRIDAY 2
Lindsay is reteaming with her former co-star Jamie Lee Curtis, 65, for the sequel of their 2003 comedy film, Freaky Friday.
Freaky Friday 2 has been put into motion after years of fans begging for a sequel.
Lindsay and Jamie starred as the mother-and-daughter duo who swapped bodies in the original movie.
Well, after the pilot, Lindsay Lohan decided she didn’t want to do it, or she had other fish to fry.”
Bette Midler
The pair are rejoining for a follow-up to the beloved teen comedy, which will be similar to the first movie but with a new twist.
While they will be switching bodies again, this time around, they won’t be body-swapping with each other.
Instead, Lindsay’s character, Anna Coleman, and Jamie’s character, Tess Coleman, will be shown switching places with two teenage girls.
Emmy-nominated director Nisha Ganatra will be directing the movie.
Shortly after it was announced that Nisha was taking on the projector, the Late Night director shared info on an open casting call for the role of Harper.
Harper is set to be Anna’s 14-year-old daughter.
In the posting, Harper’s character is described as “a tomboy with a sharp sense of humor” but who is “in a bit of a mood these days because her longtime single mom is set to marry British restaurateur Eric Davis.”
Additionally, Eric’s fellow 14-year-old daughter Lily doesn’t see “eye to eye” with Harper even though their parents are about to tie the knot.
Lindsay Lohan left the building – and I said, ‘Well, now what do you do?’”
Bette Midler
Entertainment Weekly saw the audition sides, including an eight-page script sent to “prospective stars,” which expressed that “this is a ‘body swap’ scene,” the news outlet reported.
“Harper should channel ‘Anna’ (Lindsay) and Lily should channel ‘Tess’ (Jamie),” the publication added.
Other qualities of Harper outlined in the note of the casting call were that the character “would like to see things go her way and use her intelligence to stop this marriage from ever happening.”
‘EXCITED TO WORK’
Lindsay dropped the deets on Freaky Friday 2 to People last month.
She confessed she was “just excited to work with Jamie again” and that she wanted to see how much further they “could take it.”
The Irish Wish star revealed that she thought she and Jamie were “going to have a lot of fun with this” since the two women “talk almost every other day.”
Lindsay also opened up about the sequel while guesting on SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live in March.
The actress teasingly shared, “I don’t want to say too much,” but confirmed that the project was underway.
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