Helena Bonham Carter’s White Lotus season 4 replacement confirmed as queer icon
Helena Bonham Carter (Getty Images)
Queer favourite Laura Dern is replacing Helena Bonham Carter on The White Lotus season four, after the Harry Potter star exited production.
Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Bonham Carter had left the show. Soon after, she was forced to deny that a behind-the-scenes clash with Sandra Bernhard was the reason.
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Jennifer Tilley was rumoured to be in talks to join the show instead, however it has now been confirmed that Laura Dern will be stepping in.
According to Deadline, Dern is set to play a brand new character which is being written for her, rather than playing the character Bonham Carter had been due to play.
That should come as no surprise, as a HBO spokesperson previously confirmed that the role was being completely rewritten.
It means Dern is set to reunite with show creator Mike White, having previously worked on 2007 movie Year of the Dog and HBO series Enlightened together.
Laura Dern the queer icon
Laura Dern has long been a favourite of the gays. She has been a vocal ally to the LGBTQ+ community, saying the love from her gay fans is “the greatest gift ever”.
Dern also helped Ellen DeGeneres (and her character) come out as a lesbian in the sitcom Ellen. In “The Puppy Episode”, Dern plays a lesbian producer, Susan, who comes onto Ellen, who, at the time, was denying she was gay.
Eventually, Ellen comes out to Susan. DeGeneres used the episode to kickstart her own coming out too, officially doing so with Time magazine in April 1997.
Despite the episode seeing success, Ellen was cancelled not long after. Dern even faced career backlash over the episode, despite being heterosexual.
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