Latest news with #TimBagley
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tim Bagley claims he couldn't audition for 'SNL 'because 'they wouldn't hire openly gay people'
Tim Bagley says any dream of his to join the Saturday Night Live cast was crushed early on. During a recent appearance on SiriusXM's The Julia Cunningham Show, the 67-year-old comedic actor claimed that despite having a promising start as part of the Groundlings — an improvisational and sketch comedy troupe that launched the careers of many SNL stars — in 1989, he couldn't audition for the sketch comedy series because he was out as a gay man. "I was out as a gay man and people knew that they would not hire openly gay people," Bagley alleged about SNL boss Lorne Michaels and late manager Bernie Brillstein. "[They] had kind of a thing where they did not hire gay people, so I never got to audition," the Somebody Somewhere star continued. "All my friends did, and I was always kind of a standout at the Groundlings, but I was out. That [was] the problem with being out back then was there were no guardrails. I mean, if somebody didn't want to have you on their show, they just [didn't have to]. They weren't trying to seek out LGBTQ people back then." As it happens, Bagley is not the first person to accuse SNL and Michaels of having issues with hiring openly queer people during the peak of the show's popularity. Comedian James Adomian told the Daily Beast in 2018 that he thinks being openly gay kept him from getting a spot on the cast, though he did get to audition several times in the early 2000s. "It certainly didn't help that I was openly gay," Adomian said. "I think that Lorne Michaels is afraid of America's dads." Still, Bagley — who has proven his comedic chops with guest appearances on shows like Will & Grace, Seinfeld, and Curb Your Enthusiasm — noted that SNL has boasted its LGBTQ+ representation over the years, especially with cast members such as Kate McKinnon and Bowen Yang becoming prominent figures on the show. "It's taken quite a long time... he was the actual first conscious, you know, gay person hired," Bagley claimed. "It's taken a long time, but the SNL machine has kind of changed or shifted, and I know that there are people that have come out since." SNL's first openly gay cast member was actually Terry Sweeney, who Michaels brought onto the season 11 cast when he returned as executive producer to the show after a five-year hiatus in who had joined the cast after starring on the Logo sketch comedy series The Big Gay Sketch Show, became the first openly lesbian cast member in the history of the show when she joined in 2012. John Milhiser joined the cast as an openly gay man in 2013, followed by more LGBTQ+ cast members such as Yang, Punkie Johnson, and the show's first nonbinary performer Molly Kearney. Other LGBTQ+ cast members who were not out professionally during their time on SNL include Denny Dillon, Danitra Vance, and Sasheer Zamata. Yang started at SNL as a writer in 2018 before being promoted to cast member the next year for season 45, becoming the show's first Chinese American cast member and one of only a few out gay stars in the show's history. He's made a name for himself at the legendary sketch show with impressions of JD Vance and Fran Lebowitz, and out-of-the-box "Weekend Update" characters like the Iceberg That Sank the Titanic and viral baby pygmy hippopotamus Moo Deng. Not to mention, Yang has also scored four Emmy nominations during his time on SNL, including making history in 2021 as the first featured player to be nominated. He's also the lead of a fan-favorite sketch from last year in which the actor "reveals" himself to be a toxic straight man that the night's host fall in love with. The OG sketch featured Sydney Sweeney and the sequel, titled "Bowen's Still Straight," included Scarlett Johansson. Yang can next be seen in Wicked: For Good, coming to theaters later this year. Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tim Bagley claims he couldn't audition for 'SNL 'because 'they wouldn't hire openly gay people'
Tim Bagley says any dream of his to join the Saturday Night Live cast was crushed early on. During a recent appearance on SiriusXM's The Julia Cunningham Show, the 67-year-old comedic actor claimed that despite having a promising start as part of the Groundlings — an improvisational and sketch comedy troupe that launched the careers of many SNL stars — in 1989, he couldn't audition for the sketch comedy series because he was out as a gay man. "I was out as a gay man and people knew that they would not hire openly gay people," Bagley alleged about SNL boss Lorne Michaels and late manager Bernie Brillstein. "[They] had kind of a thing where they did not hire gay people, so I never got to audition," the Somebody Somewhere star continued. "All my friends did, and I was always kind of a standout at the Groundlings, but I was out. That [was] the problem with being out back then was there were no guardrails. I mean, if somebody didn't want to have you on their show, they just [didn't have to]. They weren't trying to seek out LGBTQ people back then." As it happens, Bagley is not the first person to accuse SNL and Michaels of having issues with hiring openly queer people during the peak of the show's popularity. Comedian James Adomian told the Daily Beast in 2018 that he thinks being openly gay kept him from getting a spot on the cast, though he did get to audition several times in the early 2000s. "It certainly didn't help that I was openly gay," Adomian said. "I think that Lorne Michaels is afraid of America's dads." Still, Bagley — who has proven his comedic chops with guest appearances on shows like Will & Grace, Seinfeld, and Curb Your Enthusiasm — noted that SNL has boasted its LGBTQ+ representation over the years, especially with cast members such as Kate McKinnon and Bowen Yang becoming prominent figures on the show. "It's taken quite a long time... he was the actual first conscious, you know, gay person hired," Bagley claimed. "It's taken a long time, but the SNL machine has kind of changed or shifted, and I know that there are people that have come out since." SNL's first openly gay cast member was actually Terry Sweeney, who Michaels brought onto the season 11 cast when he returned as executive producer to the show after a five-year hiatus in who had joined the cast after starring on the Logo sketch comedy series The Big Gay Sketch Show, became the first openly lesbian cast member in the history of the show when she joined in 2012. John Milhiser joined the cast as an openly gay man in 2013, followed by more LGBTQ+ cast members such as Yang, Punkie Johnson, and the show's first nonbinary performer Molly Kearney. Other LGBTQ+ cast members who were not out professionally during their time on SNL include Denny Dillon, Danitra Vance, and Sasheer Zamata. Yang started at SNL as a writer in 2018 before being promoted to cast member the next year for season 45, becoming the show's first Chinese American cast member and one of only a few out gay stars in the show's history. He's made a name for himself at the legendary sketch show with impressions of JD Vance and Fran Lebowitz, and out-of-the-box "Weekend Update" characters like the Iceberg That Sank the Titanic and viral baby pygmy hippopotamus Moo Deng. Not to mention, Yang has also scored four Emmy nominations during his time on SNL, including making history in 2021 as the first featured player to be nominated. He's also the lead of a fan-favorite sketch from last year in which the actor "reveals" himself to be a toxic straight man that the night's host fall in love with. The OG sketch featured Sydney Sweeney and the sequel, titled "Bowen's Still Straight," included Scarlett Johansson. Yang can next be seen in Wicked: For Good, coming to theaters later this year. Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Wanda Sykes Urges Hollywood to ‘Protect Our Trans Brothers and Sisters' at Critics Choice LGBTQ+ Celebration: ‘That's Our Next Movement'
Comedian Wanda Sykes has a rallying cry for the entertainment industry and beyond: 'Protect our trans brothers and sisters… that's our next movement.' Sykes, who was honored with the Career Achievement Award Tuesday at the Critics Choice Association's 2nd Annual Celebration of LGBTQ+ Cinema & Television, said, 'I believe that's what our community does, we take care of each other… I know that love is stronger than hate… We gotta be prouder, we gotta be louder.' More from Variety Chad Stahelski on the 'John Wick' Franchise's Insane Body Count and Keanu Reeves' Fifth Movie: 'Still Working on It' Chuck Lorre Family Foundation Donates $350,000 to Van Ness Recovery House (EXCLUSIVE) 'Ballerina' Star Ana de Armas Says Tom Cruise 'Supports Every Movie' and 'Really Wants' Audiences to 'Go to the Theaters': 'We Are Working Together' The celebration honored achievements from LGBTQ+ creators and talent within the entertainment industry, showcasing emerging and established talent. Sykes, who is currently on the European leg of her 'Wanda Sykes Please and Thank You' tour, flew in for the event. Accepting the award from 'Wanda Does It' co-star Tim Bagley, Sykes said, 'I can't think of a community that's more loving than who we are. We are just trying to love and exist, and then when you have people from the outside that's attacking you for that, I think that's what makes us stronger.' She added, 'Any adversity makes you stronger, and that's who we are.' Other honorees from the night included Bowen Yang (Comedy Award; 'Saturday Night Live'), Bridget Everett (Ensemble Award; 'Somebody Somewhere'), Eric d'Arbeloff (Industry Leadership Award; Co-President of Roadside Attractions), the Queens of 'RuPaul's Drag Race' (Reality TV Award; 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 17), Niecy Nash-Betts (Groundbreaker Award; 'Grotesquerie') and Tramell Tillman (Supporting Performance Award – Drama Series; 'Severance'). Nash-Betts praised the LGBTQ+ community for its support. She said, 'When I was five years old, I said, 'I want to be Black, fabulous and on TV…' and here we are. I want to thank the Critics Choice Association for seeing me, not just for what I play on screen, but for who I am when the cameras stop rolling. You keep going, not for the applause – but for the impact.' She concluded her speech by urging the audience to 'keep breaking ground together until there's not one closet left to hide in.' Yang, who was honored with the Comedy Award, praised his fellow honorees and said, 'While I'm very honored to be receiving this, I do think a Comedy Award is the closest thing that queer people have to a participation trophy. We're all funny. I mean, I've never met a non-funny queer person. It's the way that we relate to each other in a world that's inhospitable at times.' The event took place at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Century City and was hosted by Sherry Cola. Best of Variety 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Animated Program — Can Netflix Score Big With 'Arcane,' 'Devil May Cry' and the Final Season of 'Big Mouth?'
