http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,546720,00.html??test=faces

If you tuned in to the soap "One Life to Live" this week, you may have noticed there's been a change of character. One character in particular.

Actress Patricia Mauceri says she was fired and abruptly replaced for objecting to a gay storyline because of her religious beliefs.

Mauceri played the recurring role of Carlotta Vega on "OLTL" for the last 14 years. But when she objected to how the writers wanted her deeply religious character, a Latina mother, to handle a storyline involving homosexuality, she objected. And for that she claims she was fired.

Mauceri, 59, a devout Christian, told FOX News that character Vega's gay-friendly dialogue was not in line with the character she helped create by drawing on her own faith.

"I did not object to being in a gay storyline. I objected to speaking the truth of what that person, how that person would live and breathe and act in that storyline," she said. "And this goes against everything I am, my belief system, and what I know the character's belief system is aligned to."

Mauceri said she was replaced despite offering changes to the script and hoping for a compromise.

An ABC spokesperson said they were not aware of any such claims by Mauceri, adding such claims "would be frivolous."

When asked why Mauceri is no longer playing Carlotta Vega, the spokesperson said the show does not comment on personnel matters. The scene in question was scheduled to air Friday afternoon.

Mauceri told FOX News she is exploring her legal options. AFTRA, the actors union that represents her, did not respond to a request for comment.

IMO, Mauceri's religious beliefs and Carlivati/Valentini's sexual orientations are below secondary.  No matter who the producers and writers are, no matter what their orientations or beliefs are, they should have enough  impartiality to seek to keep the characters true to form.  I don't think PM should have had to tapdance for Valentini and Carlivati if she saw something in her script that contradicted the character she has played for fifteen years so much that she had to take a pause.  They should have at least listened to her, and considered what she had to say.  Even if PM's religious convictions added resistance to her refusing to play out the scenes as written, the more important thing to me is that she was right about this not being how the character would react in this scenario.  The attitude that she should just shut up and act, IMO, is callous.  Sure, employees should primarily do their job as instructed by their bosses.  However, if there is an employee who has been at the company for fifteen years, and in all that time has done their job well, the employer should give them enough credit to be able to voice an opinion and to take it seriously when they have a gripe about something.  I think the whole Carlotta-momentarily-thinks-Cristian-is-gay thing should have been totally cut out.  Not only did Carlotta's reaction contradict the personality of the character, but the whole scenario made little sense (why would Carlotta even think Cris was gay, just because she saw a book?  That was stupid on her part) and didn't advance anything.

In the end, it looked as though they replaced her just to send the message that they could.

absolute and utter BS. What if they wanted her to be a murderer? Or to die as a complete fool(see Edmund on AMC)

Carlotta having taken in a HIV positive teenager would totally be against homosexuality, because she is that judgmental and unaccepting. Yeah....

It would have been love the sinner hate the sin, and that is homophobia. It's not violent but it is homophobia.

I wonder if most of the people commented in this thread have been watchers of OLTL and if you've seen the new Carlotta in action. Having now seen the scenes, myself, of what the new Carlotta was given, I have to say she was written completely out of character. It wasnt so much that she was accepting of a gay son but that she was so quick to beleive Cris was gay. She always suspected it? Um when? Cris has always shown an interest in women. Carlotta thinks that Cris being gay explains why he and Jessica broke up? Um really? It wasnt any of that history with Will and Roxanne? I didnt get why she wouldnt believe him when he told her that he was straight as if she was so happy to have a gay man in her life to go shopping and decorate with her. WTF? The writing was just plain bad and wasnt believable considering the history of all the characters involved. I can see why PM would have spoken against what they gave her

Edited September 5, 200916 yr by Cheap21

I wonder if most of the people commented in this thread have been watchers of OLTL and if you've seen the new Carlotta in action. Having now seen the scenes, myself, of what the new Carlotta was given, I have to say she was written completely out of character. It wasnt so much that she was accepting of a gay son but that she was so quick to beleive Cris was gay. She always suspected it? Um when? Cris has always shown an interest in women. Carlotta thinks that Cris being gay explains why he and Jessica broke up? Um really? It wasnt any of that history with Will and Roxanne? I didnt get why she wouldnt believe him when he told her that he was straight as if she was so happy to have a gay man in her life to go shopping and decorate with her. WTF? The writing was just plain bad and wasnt believable considering the history of all the characters involved. I can see why PM would have spoken against what they gave her

It was poorly written and would have benefitted from more reflection, but this gay story has been on too much of a fast track anyway. That said, homophobic PM could have played along like everyone else did. I can't see why she would have had a problem with this. She is an actress on a soap. Not a writer. Anything can happen for her. Frankly, it sounds to me like she's dealing with some kind of dementia.

I knew PM would make an appearance on Fixed News over this sooner or later. I smell a possible new Fixed show in the works: "Patricia and Prejean".

I knew PM would make an appearance on Fixed News over this sooner or later. I smell a possible new Fixed show in the works: "Patricia and Prejean".

I hate Perez Hilton but holla to this post.

Fox News is so painfully obvious in their reporting it's pathetic.

Patricia Mauceri refused to do her job. She got fired. Why is everyone arguing over whether or not the "gay" head writer and "gay" executive producer had the right to do so?

Sorry I don't agree with that mentality. I think actors should speak out when they KNOW it's something their character wouldn't do(or say)

No one knows the characters than the actors playing them-not even the writers

Your character will do whatever the writer says it will do. She wasn't playing Dungeons and Dragons, getting to role play a character and lead it down the story based on her decisions. There really is no way to slice this except she objected to portraying someone who was not critical of homosexuality, and her reasons are she is critical of it herself. But who cares about her and her backwards religious beliefs? Is OLTL now some reality show where we need to know her innermost thoughts? If Carlotta is an axe murderer, a cannibal, a terrorist out to blow up the Banner, or just someone who wears plaid a lot, it does not matter. It's all the same and all she was asked to do was say some lines, content being immaterial to her ability to say them.

ETA: I see that in the actual interview, Patricia admits she disagrees with homosexuality.

Did we really need her to publicly admit that? Didn't everyone know this already who looked at the original item with common sense? Not you, but some around here will go through the most twisted contortions in logic before they will ever admit this woman (and that putz from Y&R) is nothing but a hate monger who hates homosexuality so much she couldn't even tolerate fictional homosexuality.

The gay storyline was bigger than Patricia Mauceri's token rare appearances. She was collateral damage in order for OLTL to tell a gay storyline. I see her being quietly killed off off-screan and then not mentioned again.

I wonder if most of the people commented in this thread have been watchers of OLTL and if you've seen the new Carlotta in action. Having now seen the scenes, myself, of what the new Carlotta was given, I have to say she was written completely out of character. It wasnt so much that she was accepting of a gay son but that she was so quick to beleive Cris was gay. She always suspected it? Um when? Cris has always shown an interest in women. Carlotta thinks that Cris being gay explains why he and Jessica broke up? Um really? It wasnt any of that history with Will and Roxanne? I didnt get why she wouldnt believe him when he told her that he was straight as if she was so happy to have a gay man in her life to go shopping and decorate with her. WTF? The writing was just plain bad and wasnt believable considering the history of all the characters involved. I can see why PM would have spoken against what they gave her

Whoever that was in the Diner, it wasn't Carlotta. Not a single "Dios Mio" was uttered. It was a disservice to the fans not to have left the backstage drama backstage. They should have written Carlotta as off visiting Adriana or Antonio & Jamie and brought on SS as some Vega or Delgado Aunt who was taking care of the Diner while she was away. It's never a good idea to twist the character to fit the plot, even if it's well intentioned.

I've watched Carlotta since her debut. I saw nothing so out of character. First of all, the scene was a simple, quick broad gag bit; it's not supposed to be that deep. If you don't like the gag, that's fine, but let's not try to make it more than it was. Secondly, I could buy the gag - Carlotta's long-held neuroses over her sons' luck in love extrapolated into a wild conclusion that that was why he had never had made it work with Jessica, or Natalie, or Sarah. This is far, far from the first time Carlotta Vega has jumped to wacky ideas to explain things involving her boys or their women. Who can forget Carlotta's endless obsession with Keri Reynolds' credit level? Carlotta's main function in at least the last decade has been as a talk-to and foil for her children and their love interests; she is constantly obsessed with them, constantly brainstorming and getting ideas as to how they can improve their relationships, or picking at them when their romances are rocky. For Carlotta to get the wrong idea and have an "epiphany" about a cure-all for her boys' troubles is not new for her.

It was Carlotta. She loves her boys, and she always thinks she knows best or has it all figured out.

Whoever that was in the Diner, it wasn't Carlotta. Not a single "Dios Mio" was uttered. It was a disservice to the fans not to have left the backstage drama backstage. They should have written Carlotta as off visiting Adriana or Antonio & Jamie and brought on SS as some Vega or Delgado Aunt who was taking care of the Diner while she was away. It's never a good idea to twist the character to fit the plot, even if it's well intentioned.

I imagine there's quite a few offline fans who recognized the change and are scratching their heads.

I've never understood why being tolerant of her gay son would be out of character for Carlotta. I've never seen or heard Carlotta mention gay issues.

I was just going to post the same thing. I don't think this issue has ever come up for Carlotta.

For the record, I'm not opposed to actors fighting for the integrity of their characters. I think the genre suffers when there's no consistency and everything appears to be plot driven instead of character driven. It's akin to watching a 'variety' show with its various skits than a continuing daytime drama.

The problem I have is that PM is saying that she and Carlotta are the SAME. Carlotta is a Christian who is opposed to homosexuality because SHE is. That bothers me. Surely there have been other storylines involving Carlotta and her boys that raised PM's hackles because of her religion. Why is this one so different?

Edited September 5, 200916 yr by NorrthCafe

Carlotta has always been represented as a warm character who takes in all sorts of wounded birds and outcasts. Her faith is a testament to the best of her religion's aspects, not the worst. Mauceri's complaints are bullshit.

Bigotry in a character should never be honored because the actor is a bigot. As a hypothetical, what if Scott Evans had refused to kiss the gorgeous Tika Sumpter because he suddenly decided both he and Fish had a problem with people of color? What if Trevor St. John hadn't wanted to romance Renee Elise Goldsberry? What if Hillary B. Smith didn't want to play opposite Nathan Purdee? Oh, but that's different, of course, whereas this is religion and the gays. Same old double-standard. Everybody shuffle along, you know the tune.

I find it hilarious that there are these entertainers who are intolerant of homosexuality -- yet they are willingly pursuing a career in the gayest field this side of fashion... the performing arts. That's like moving to Tijuana and complaining about the Mexicans living in your neighborhood.