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.

That's a million dollar post, Vee. I'm sorry for PM, because she has no idea how bigoted her comments about the issue sound.

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.

The only thing i can comeup with is she's trying to make a name for herself as an church/Rightwing speaker/spokesperson.

U know she or her peeps contacted Fox News.

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.

Exactly.

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.

Oh yes, Carlotta's obsession with Keri's credit card debt. That story line beat lasted several weeks and "culminated" during Live Week! Oh the days of Tomlin as EP. So hit and miss....

Oh yes, Carlotta's obsession with Keri's credit card debt. That story line beat lasted several weeks and "culminated" during Live Week! Oh the days of Tomlin as EP. So hit and miss....

Yeah, that and the 10 episode Eli subplot from a dozen years ago that went exactly nowhere.

Well, I was skeptical of this story at the time that it was reported, and wanted to give PM the benefit of the doubt, but I guess now I'll eat my words. This makes me sad as someone who has been a fan of hers for a long time, and the fact that she went running to Fox News to cry that the big bad gay mafia in the entertainment biz was intolerant of her intolerance just makes me angry. I'm sure Fox was all too happy to help an older woman of color burn any bridges she might have left in the tv industry, seeing as how it promotes Ann Coulter as some sort of ideal of femininity.

That said, what aired on Thursday and Friday was not worth any of this ugliness, as far as I'm concerned. I'm not actually sure whether I think that Carlotta reacting positively to the implication that her son was gay was in-character (I do think that it's stupid that anyone, let alone his mother, would think Cristian was gay after he has been such a horndog with women for all of these years. I would have at least been impressed, if stunned, if the book were called "How to Tell Your Parents You Are LGBTQ" and Carlotta reassured him, "Love is fluid, mijo, and it exists on a continuum, and you just have so much love to give. Heaven knows we've all seen you give it to just about every woman in Llanview except Viki and Renee for all of these years, so it's only natural that eventually that love could not be limited by something like labels or gender, which are socially constructed to begin with"). But everything about the scenes was painfully contrived - from Carlotta's tangential connection to the Kyle and Fish story, to the exposition-laden recap of everything that's been going on in Cristian's life in the past six months or however long it's been since Carlotta last appeared, to the goofy mix-up with the book. And what on earth was the point? Maybe the intent was to send some sort of message to young viewers who might be in Fish's shoes that their parents may surprise them, no matter how strict they have been in the past? Well, if that was the point, I think the disruption in continuity caused by having to recast Carlotta put a damper on that. I don't think it would have been much comfort to me when I was coming out to see a story in which a character's mother found out he was gay and suddenly morphed in Carmen Santos from Guiding Light, but she was totally loving and accepting.

If the actress is a homophobe and was becoming increasingly unpleasant to be around for what may be the gayest cast and crew in daytime, then by all means, phase her out. (Especially if this was not the first instance of the actress taking liberties with scripts to suit her agenda. I have to say, I'm suddenly remembering a bizarre scene about a year ago, in which Carlotta got wind of Cristian's plans to marry what's-her-name so she could stay in the country, and lectured him about how marriage is a sacred thing between a man and a woman who love each other. At the time, that struck me as such an odd line of dialogue for a show with an openly gay head writer, in the midst of Proposition 8 no less, but I wrote it off as some sort of tongue-in-cheek line meant to poke fun at those who are opposed to gay marriage that just fell flat. Now I can only guess that the actress ad libbed that line as part of her newfound desire to use this show as a vehicle to spread her message of Christian love and charity, and they were unable to do a retake because of its ever-shrinking production budget.) She's barely on the show to begin with. But all of this dirty laundry did not need to be aired, and I for one derive no satisfaction from knowing that an actress I used to respect has come to believe that God wants her to hate people like me. This was poorly handled by the show, IMO...

Edited September 5, 200916 yr by DeliaIrisFan

Well, I was skeptical of this story at the time that it was reported, and wanted to give PM the benefit of the doubt, but I guess now I'll eat my words. This makes me sad as someone who has been a fan of hers for a long time, and the fact that she went running to Fox News to cry that the big bad gay mafia in the entertainment biz was intolerant of her intolerance just makes me angry. I'm sure Fox was all too happy to help an older woman of color burn any bridges she might have left in the tv industry, seeing as how it promotes Ann Coulter as some sort of ideal of femininity.

That said, what aired on Thursday and Friday was not worth any of this ugliness, as far as I'm concerned. I'm not actually sure whether I think that Carlotta reacting positively to the implication that her son was gay was in-character (I do think that it's stupid that anyone, let alone his mother, would think Cristian was gay after he has been such a horndog with women for all of these years. I would have at least been impressed, if stunned, if the book were called "How to Tell Your Parents You Are LGBTQ" and Carlotta reassured him, "Love is fluid, mijo, and it exists on a continuum, and you just have so much love to give. Heaven knows we've all seen you give it to just about every woman in Llanview except Viki and Renee for all of these years, so it's only natural that eventually that love could not be limited by something as socially constructed as gender"). But everything about the scenes was painfully contrived - from Carlotta's tangential connection to the Kyle and Fish story, to the exposition-laden recap of everything that's been going on in Cristian's life in the past six months or however long it's been since Carlotta last appeared, to the goofy mix-up with the book. And what on earth was the point? Maybe the intent was to send some sort of message to young viewers who might be in Fish's shoes that their parents may surprise them, no matter how strict they have been in the past? Well, if that was the point, I think the disruption in continuity caused by having to recast Carlotta put a damper on that. I don't think it would have been much comfort to me when I was coming out to see a story in which a character's mother found out he was gay and suddenly morphed in Carmen Santos from GL, but was totally loving and accepting.

If the actress is a homophobe and was becoming increasingly unpleasant to be around for what may be the gayest cast and crew in daytime, then by all means, phase her out. (Especially if this was not the first instance of the actress taking liberties with scripts to suit her agenda. I have to say, I'm suddenly remembering a bizarre scene about a year ago, in which Carlotta got wind of Cristian's plans to marry what's-her-name so she could stay in the country, and lectured him about how marriage is a sacred thing between a man and a woman who love each other. At the time, that struck me as such an odd line of dialogue for a show with an openly gay head writer, in the midst of Proposition 8 no less, but I wrote it off as some sort of tongue-in-cheek line meant to poke fun at those who are opposed to gay marriage that just fell flat. Now I can only guess that the actress ad libbed that line as part of her newfound desire to use this show as a vehicle to spread her message of Christian love and charity, and they were unable to do a retake because of its ever-shrinking production budget.) She's barely on the show to begin with. But all of this dirty laundry did not need to be aired, and I for one derive no satisfaction from knowing that an actress I used to respect has come to believe that God wants her to hate people like me. This was poorly handled by the show, IMO...

Maybe it's the half of this second Heineken I'm having with this BBQ kicking in, but I found this incredibly difficult to follow.

DIF, I had forgotten about that "man and a woman" scene until you mentioned it now.

There have been rumors to the effect of how PM had become difficult in later years because of her changing values. David Fumero's statement about her, while loving, had that vibe to me - "well, what can you do."

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.

I suspect its on a fast track because Ron knows time is running out to tell the story he wants to tell, whatever that is. The fact that Stacy's involved shows that Frons is already giving his "input", the ratings have been stagnant and ABC is clearly focusing on AMC. Ron's gonna tell his story and if it means writing Carlotta OOC or treating Layla like a speedbump (again) then so be it.

I don't know where people are getting this skewed mother goose image of Carlotta from. Yes she's always been gracious...but she's also always been self-righteous and judgemental...with a clear conservative & traditional value system. Even if PM's own personal views about homosexuality aren't progressive, she was right in that Carlotta wouldn't react the way she did yesterday. That was completely out of character. The whole thing came off as painfully phony.

Layla's hardly been a "speedbump." This storyline is the most characterization and rooting value that character's ever had. Fans actually like her and are interested in her for once. They feel for her. I've seen a surge of investment in Layla since this began. Sumpter's done her best work, as opposed to standing around twirling her bangs, saying things like, "You go, Vang/Adriana!" Here, she doesn't have to be Kelly Rowland to other airhogs anymore. And don't try to tell me Scott Evans and Claywell have hogged the airtime for Layla, because that's plain false. They've represented Fish and Layla equally here, with Kyle still on the outside somewhat, because the story is still building.

Edited September 6, 200916 yr by Vee

I don't know where people are getting this skewed mother goose image of Carlotta from. Yes she's always been gracious...but she's also always been self-righteous and judgemental...with a clear conservative & traditional value system. Even if PM's own personal views about homosexuality aren't progressive, she was right in that Carlotta wouldn't react the way she did yesterday. That was completely out of character. The whole thing came off as painfully phony.

Then, the only other possible reaction would be for Carlotta to go off on a tirade, preaching how much she wishes Cristian wasn't gay and start denying him until he goes into some kind of Christian Conversion Therapy -- which would do what to both the Carlotta and Cristian character? Make them sympathetic? Carlotta refusing to accept her son and Cristian being forced deal with a negative stigma brought upon by his mother... AFTER showing that he is tolerant of Fish's orientation?

st

Fine. A devout Catholic like Carlotta has the possibility of being intolerant and assertive in regards to Cristian's "newly discovered" homosexual orientation. But I, as a person who is gay and raised and a participating member in a black Baptist church, thinks the idea that Carlotta saying that her faith is what allowed her to accept her son rather than using her faith to disown him.

I think the only reason it came off phony was due to the fact that an actress who hasn't played this type of role on soaps in years -- if ever -- tried too hard to "be" Carlotta, rather than tell the truth of the moment. The truth of that scripted moment remains. A mother, who is aware of what's going on outside of her church, is attempting to let her son know that he is still love and accepted by her. In the end, what the f**k is so horrible and out of character about that?

We're often told that we think we know how we'd react to something until we're actually faced with it. I think that philosophy holds true here.

It would appear Ms.Mauceri has found a new calling and wants give speeches and hangout at Fox News.

Let's get one thing very very very born agian Christians but still act on Soaps.

One of them just won an Emmy last week.

I will never get why it's only the gay stuff but not the cheating and murder and stuff that Christans have a problem with on soaps.

There's nothing in the Bible that says being gay is worse than cheating on your Spouse.

Then, the only other possible reaction would be for Carlotta to go off on a tirade, preaching how much she wishes Cristian wasn't gay and start denying him until he goes into some kind of Christian Conversion Therapy -- which would do what to both the Carlotta and Cristian character? Make them sympathetic? Carlotta refusing to accept her son and Cristian being forced deal with a negative stigma brought upon by his mother... AFTER showing that he is tolerant of Fish's orientation?

st

Fine. A devout Catholic like Carlotta has the possibility of being intolerant and assertive in regards to Cristian's "newly discovered" homosexual orientation. But I, as a person who is gay and raised and a participating member in a black Baptist church, thinks the idea that Carlotta saying that her faith is what allowed her to accept her son rather than using her faith to disown him.

I think the only reason it came off phony was due to the fact that an actress who hasn't played this type of role on soaps in years -- if ever -- tried too hard to "be" Carlotta, rather than tell the truth of the moment. The truth of that scripted moment remains. A mother, who is aware of what's going on outside of her church, is attempting to let her son know that he is still love and accepted by her. In the end, what the f**k is so horrible and out of character about that?

We're often told that we think we know how we'd react to something until we're actually faced with it. I think that philosophy holds true here.

For petesake R Sinclair, not everything has to be so extreme positive or extreme negative. No the only other possible reaction WASN'T for her Carlotta to go off on a tirade and insist that he goes into some kind if conversion therapy. No one is talking about disowning anyone. Sometimes there are shades of gray.

Let's say Cristian really was gay. Carlotta (if they were interested in being true to her character) would have reacted like a majority of mothers of gay children historically have when they found out. She would have been shocked…emotional…angst-ridden…in denial…and probably blame herself. Her devout catholic faith, meanwhile, would have just compounded her angst. She would have been stuck in between her maternal devotion and her religion/conservative values. Along the way I would imagine that there would have been some tense moments, some anger, some narrow judgement and yes perhaps even some naive hope that Cristian reaffirming his faith would deliver him from his homosexuality...but ultimately her love as a mother would win out and she would slowly come to embrace him (even if part of her always regretted that he wasn't straight.)

No she wouldn't have tossed him out in the cold or demand that he go to some camp to get fixed…but she certainly wouldn't have been ready to tack a PFLAG button on her apron and say that it was ok either. With Carlotta, there would have most definitely been "stages."

That's if Cristian was gay.

As far as those Friday scenes go…if Carlotta had been written in-character, when she saw that book she would have been startled and demanded to know what the meaning of his having such a book was. She would have more quickly believed him when he insisted that it was indeed for a friend, been visibly relieved…and then maybe even offered Cris some neutral/pragmatic advice on how to deal with this friend. And if Cristian had asked her how she'd have felt if he really was gay, I would imagine that her response wouldn't have been hateful, but not especially accepting either. It would have been something like "your my son and I'd always love you, but I wouldn't be thrilled or comfortable with it." Which would have been realistic and ring totally true to the character…even if it wasn't accepting enough for a bunch of shot gun sensitive viewers who have a "YOU'RE EITHER WITH US, OR AGAINST US…" attitude about people being gay-friendly.

As they were, those scenes were just heavy handed and plotted. By having her be so uber accepting, the writers were clearly trying to use Carlotta to create a deliberate contrast with the way Fish's parents are said to be. Unfortunately by doing that they proved that they care more about advancing their here-and-now storyline than they do about maintaining the continuity of a long running character.

Being gay myself, of course I don't agree with evil attitudes and propaganda against gay people…but there is a middle ground between Phelps and PFLAG. As a soap viewer, I don't want some plastic butt-kissing story. Cute as it was, I wasn't at all warmed by the instantly accepting way Carlotta dealt with faux-gay Cristian on Friday. I was annoyed because it rang phony and inaccurate. Anytime a character is deliberately rewritten to placate a story, the story becomes counterfeit.

Edited September 6, 200916 yr by Marc