I love a good blind item, especially when it comes directly from a celebrity themselves. Those are the ones that you know have some substance behind them! Today’s blind item comes courtesy of the one and only Allison Janney. Allison and Keri Russell are currently promoting the third season of their series The Diplomat, which dropped on Netflix on October 16.
Last week they sat down with Andy Cohen for an episode of movie What Happens Live! Andy did his segment where he asked both costars questions and had them hold up an “agree” or “disagree” sign. Keri and Allison were in complete agreement on almost every question. The answer that has everyone talking, however, was when Andy asked them if they had a costar that they’d “refuse to work with again.” They both quickly answered with some big “hell yes” energy. When Andy pressured them to name names, Keri laughed it off while Allison refused to, only letting it be known that the person in question has passed on.
“Well, mine is no longer with us, so I really can’t — I really couldn’t work with them again, even if I wanted to,” she said. When Russell and Cohen encouraged her to name the actor, she added, “No, I’m not saying it. I will not be lulled into a false sense of safety being in this small little club.”
“What was your mom’s thing you know, when we talk s— about people?” Russell asked. “Oh, my mom would say ‘In the car, windows up, out of the driveway,’ ” Janney responded.
Cohen also asked Janney and Russell if there are any projects the pair wish they could delete from their IMDb pages, but both women declined to answer. “No, thank you,” Janney said.
Janney and Russell later disagreed when it came to whether they have “offered a costar a breath mint” before filming a scene with a kiss. “I don’t get — I mean, you know. I don’t have a lot of kisses,” Janney said.
Who is this toxic actor? Allison has worked with so many different actors that it’s impossible to ever really know who she’s talking about here. The popular guess online is that it’s William Hurt, who died in March 2022 from prostate cancer. Hurt was known to be difficult to work with and at least three former partners, including Marlee Matlin, publicly alleged that he abused them. That seems like a solid guess, but again, Allison has such a prolific career that the person she’s referring to really could be anyone. She doesn’t even specify whether it’s a man or woman. I also think it’s funny that Keri got off scot free. Andy “accidentally” asks the question a second time later on, but neither actress took the bait. Women like Allison and Keri, who have been around for ages, must have so many wild stories to tell.
Here’s the video clip of Keri and Allison answering Andy’s questions:
https://www.youtube.com/movie?v=wy-FZ_tkxzI
Photos credit: Getty Images for Netflix, James Warren/Bang Showbiz/Avalon, Justin Ng/Avalon
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