Bette Midler regrets her short-lived sitcom, saying it was a “big, big mistake”.
The actress and singer says she should have filed a lawsuit after a young Lindsay Lohan was dropped from the Hocus Pocus star’s sitcom of the same name, Bet, after the pilot aired 24 years ago.
“I think it would have worked better if I had a team on my side,” Midler told David Duchovny on the 2000-2001 CBS podcast “Fail Better,” in which he played the character.
She continued, “Some really amazing things happened. I never knew something like that could happen. For example, Lindsay Lohan was cast to play my daughter in the pilot. Well, in the pilot. After that, she decided she didn’t want to do it.” So Lindsay Lohan walked out of the building and I said, “Okay, what do we do?”
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Bette Midler and Lindsay Lohan on the set of “Bette” in 2000. (via CBS, Getty Images)
She said the studio didn’t help her after Lohan’s exit, adding, “It was very confusing.”
Duchovny pointed out that that’s why actors sign contracts. “There’s no way you can do that.”
Midler told him, “If I knew it was my duty to stand up and say this is a no-no, I would sue.” He couldn’t go to the writers’ room, so he couldn’t talk to the showrunners, and there were a lot of competing characters, so important things had to be said. What was shocking to me was the speed. I couldn’t understand how fast I had to run. ”
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Lindsay Lohan appeared on BET as a teenager, but left after the pilot.
The 78-year-old told David Letterman on “The Late Show” during the sitcom’s short run that it was “the worst thing that ever happened to me in my life.”
She added, “Of course, the next day I got fired. My lawyer called me at like 9 in the morning and said, ‘You’re fired,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s not great. ‘Is that so?’ he added. “”
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The “Ruthless People” star explained that the show was the 18th of 22 episodes that had been published on The Greenlet, adding, “I didn’t feel the need to continue because I just couldn’t muster enough of myself to go through with it.” I was really excited about how to make it work.”
She went on to say, “So I’m glad I got fired.”
However, she was unhappy that she ended up leaving the production company after the show was cancelled.
Midler, now 78, said the 2000 sitcom was a “big, big mistake.” (Mark Sagliocco/WireImage)
“My biggest mistake was acting too hastily and impulsively,” she admitted of her decision to appear on the show.
“The Bet” aired for 18 episodes on CBS from 2000 to 2001.
Lohan, who was around 13 or 14 when she left the sitcom, posted a throwback to Midler on Instagram last Thursday.
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Lohan captioned the post: “So much fun filming with the amazing @bettemidler.”
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Lohan, 37, was a child actress when she starred in Bette after her breakout role as twins in The Parent Trap.
She went on to make films like “Freaky Friday” and “Mean Girls” until personal struggles stalled her career. She has recently started making a comeback with films such as 2022’s Falling for Christmas.
FOX News Digital has reached out to Midler and Lohan’s representatives for comment.
