Gay Norfolk

1. On pitching her talk show "When I started this show, there were a lot of people who did not want to buy this show.

It was not an instant, 'Let's put her on the air!' I think the thought from a lot of station managers was, 'She's a lesbian! These are housewives at home. They're not going to relate to her.' There was a lot of fear of what this show would be about, like I was just going to wave a rainbow flag around...

It took people awhile to realize I was not on some kind of agenda... This was not an easy sell" 2. On how she survived her professional slump following her sitcom's cancelation. "I think what saved me is me being honest.

I think I somewhow had the courage to do something and say something that I knew would possibly end my career. Instead of making business more important I made my soul and my life more important. And I think by being truthful, and being honest, that saved me." 3.

On lingering resentment from that time. "I was furious at the time because I just felt like it was my fault...I was so mad that I lost my show, and not just my show but for three years I didn t have any offers. I mean literally, the phone did not ring for three years, and I had no money....All of a sudden just because of one revelation (gay) I was the joke. I was the punchline of every late night talk show, I was made fun of in a magazine, and it felt horrible at the time.

Now I look back on it and I am thankful because it gave me a chance to examine myself and say who are you without fame, who are you without success, who are you without money?

4. On the beginning of her career rebound. "Out of nowhere Finding Nemo came along. He wrote that fish for me; he wrote Dory for me.

Then this show came along and just kind of took off. It just reminds me that no matter how much we think we have control over things and we think can guide our lives the way we think they can go -- we have some control over it; we can choose to do things rather than not doing things... I used to care whether people liked me, and I want people to like me, I still care about that, but I know I have no control over that...

I can be myself. I'm a good person, I'm a kind person, I'm a gentle person, I live my life in a kind way and that's all I can do. And if I go to sleep knowing that I've done the best I can, that's the best I can do." 5.

On how adults are part of the bullying problem. "I think adults need to know they're doing the same thing.

It's not just kids.

There are adults that are out there bullying, and they need to be kind." via Towleroad Continue reading →