Julianne Moore Admits She Was Fired From Lesbian Film Role

Julianne Moore is opening up about her brief experience with last year’s Oscar-nominated film Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Moore had previously said she left the film due to “creative differences” — the excuse that’s always a dead giveaway that something else is going on behind the scenes. But on Thursday’s episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, she came clean about what really happened.

“I didn’t leave that movie, I was fired,” she admitted. “Nicole fired me. So yeah, that’s the truth.”

The film, which was about a true story about a lesbian literary forger named Lee Israel, was originally slated to be directed by Nicole Holofcener, who also co-wrote the script. When Holofcener was replaced with Marielle Heller, Heller opted to cast Melissa McCarthy in the lead role.

“I think she didn’t like what I was doing,” Moore said of Holofcener. “I think that her idea of where the character was was different than where my idea of where the character was, and so she fired me.”

It wouldn’t have been the first time Moore played a queer character…by a long shot. Most notably, she starred opposite Annette Bening in The Kids Are Alright, and opposite Ellen Page in Freeheld.

And it’s clear that she would have loved the chance to tackle that kind of role again, admitting that she hasn’t even been able to watch the film yet “because it’s still kind of painful.”

“The only other time I was fired was when I was working at a yogurt stand when I was 15,” she added. “So yeah, it felt bad.”