Tag Archives: The Handmaid’s Tale

Samira Wiley Touts Ellen as the ‘Lord of the Lesbians’

Samira Wiley was on The Ellen Degeneres Show for the first time.

However, Wiley revealed that she’d had a previous encounter with the host.

“I met you, like, really briefly one time. I know you don’t remember it because you’re Ellen, but it meant a lot to me because you’re lord of the lesbians.”

When DeGeneres pressed her as to where they’d crossed paths, Wiley ― who recently celebrated her one-year wedding anniversary with wife Lauren Morelli at Disneyland ― quipped,

“Probably at a lesbian event. I go to those sometimes. I see you at those.”

Later in the interview, Wiley touched on the cultural relevance of The Handmaid’s Tale, which returns for its second season this April.

Noting that the show’s iconic red costumes have been used in women’s rights demonstrations across the country, Wiley said,

“You see how much it permeates the culture that we’re living in right now. It’s everywhere.”

Watch the interview below:

Samira Wiley On Her Emmy Nomination

Samira Wiley has scored her first Emmy nomination for outstanding supporting actress for her role as Moira in The Handmaid’s Tale.

But, in a recent conversation with People, the actress recalled receiving rejection letters from all of the acting schools she applied to over a decade ago

I remember being so sad and downtrodden after hearing that I couldn’t even go to an arts school. And now this Emmy thing is happening. I feel like Cinderella.”

The out actress also went on to reveal that her wife, Lauren Morrelli, was the first person she called after hearing about her Emmy nomination.

We’re not both actors, which I like. There’s no competition there, but also she works in this industry so she understands it so much more. I just feel so blessed to be able to have her on my team.”

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As for what fans can expect from The Handmaid’s Tale season 2, Wiley admits,

I do not know much. The last thing that we saw was Moira overwhelmed from getting her health insurance card, all the money she got from the nation, and we’ll be able to pick up there and see what their journey is like,” the actress explains of Luke (O-T Fagbenle) and Moira’s futures in Canada. “And hopefully see — this is just my speculation — how they’re going to get the rest of their family back.”

Here’s to Wiley snagging an Emmy on Sept. 17!

The Handmaid’s Tale Paints A Grim Future For Queer Women

In a world where women are tortured and harvested, LGBT women get the worst treatment.

Enter the realistic torture chamber that is Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, based on the horrifying Margaret Atwood novel of the same name.

In this women, women are stripped of their identities and assigned to men for procreating. Their very existence revolves around heterosexual reproduction.

So what happens to queer women?

In Atwood’s book, the government immediately hanged all lesbian, bisexual and queer women, but the TV show decides to explore their predicaments a bit more in-depth. Two queer women help anchor the narrative.

First, there is Ofglen (Alexis Bledel). She’s a headstrong lesbian who refuses to bend to the establishment.

Bledel says,

In playing her, I certainly felt that she had more at stake than some of the other handmaids because she would be deemed a gender traitor. She’s a lesbian, and they don’t approve of her sexual orientation, so she’s really vulnerable.”

Add that vulnerability to the fact that she’s a major player in the resistance movement, and Ofglen is a walking target.

But the most heartbreaking narrative is that of Moira, played by Samira Wiley, who recently faced a horrifying death in Orange is the New Black – she can’t get a break. A few episodes in, the audience is told that she has been killed.

The only reason that the government allows queer women to live is because their ovaries are functional. Before the fascist revolution that led to the enslavement of women occurred, there was a major environmental disaster that sterilized many women.

The queer ones who were unable to have children were shipped to colonies and left to die.

In the third episode, Ofglen is publically declared a gender traitor. In what is the most heartrending moment of the series, she is forced to undergo physical and emotional torture, humiliation and mutilation.

Of course, all of this torture is carried out in a way that will prevent Ofglen from ever experiencing any type of sexual pleasure in the future, but will still allow her to have children.

Why tell such a horrifying story? And why now?

With a President that seems hellbent on stripping away the rights of women and LGBT people, these types of stories are more pertinent than ever. They’re a warning: Fight for your rights before it’s too late.

Watch The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu.