Bette Midler admitted she blames Lindsay Lohan for the failure of her 2000s sitcom, “Bette.”
She spoke candidly in a recent episode of the failed endeavor on David Duchovny’s podcast “Fail Better,” citing that the then-child actress wreaked havoc on the show when she failed to uphold her contract by abandoning the show.
“The fact is that I believe it would have worked if I had had a team that was on my side,” Midler said in an audio clip from the podcast, shared by TMZ. “If I had been – if I had been in my right mind – or if I had known that part of my duties were to say this absolutely will not do, I would sue, I would have done it,” she said.
Midler went on to explain how the situation unfolded.
“Lindsay Lohan was cast as my daughter in the pilot. Well, after the pilot, Lindsay Lohan decided she didn’t want to do it. Or she had other fish to fry,” she said.
“So, Lindsay Lohan left the building. And I said, well, now what do you do?”
“Things happened that were so astonishing, I didn’t know those things could happen,” she said, referencing Lohan’s decision to suddenly pull out of the show.
Singer Bette Midler poses for photographers in the photo room the finale of the television reality series “American Idol” in Hollywood, California May 23, 2007. REUTERS/Fred Prouser (UNITED STATES)
Actress Lindsay Lohan appears in court at the Beverly Hills Municipal Courthouse as she surrenders for a 90-day jail sentence for violating the terms of her probation on drunk driving charges by missing alcohol education classes in Beverly Hills, California July 20, 2010. REUTERS/Al Seib/Pool
“The studio didn’t help me,” she told Duchovny.
She explained that Lohan abruptly left, and she didn’t know how to handle being left in a lurch.
Midler admitted she was left to “adopt or adapt,” then quipped, “and I didn’t manage to do either, and it was all very chaotic – it was very chaotic!” (RELATED: Dermot Mulroney Reveals The Strange Thing That Kept Him Out Of Work After Filming Hit Movie)
Actress Bette Midler, star of the comedy series “Bette” poses after winning at the 27th annual People’s Choice Awards in Pasadena, January 7, 2001. Midler won as Favorite Female Perfomer in a New Television Comedy Series and “Bette” is a nominee for Favorite New Television Comedy Series. FSP/RCS
Cast member Lindsay Lohan arrives for the world premiere of the film “FreakyFriday” in Hollywood, California August 4, 2003. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith PP03080014 RG/JV
Duchovny weighed in to say “You’re not supposed to be allowed to leave a show,” and agreed with Midler, saying that’s the whole reason contracts existed in the first place.
Lohan was a child at the time of filming.