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Jennifer Coolidge at the Minecraft Movie premiere
At Emerson College, the White Lotus star gave a speech about reaching goals, even if they seem unattainable.
Jennifer Coolidge had a special message for the gay students of her alma mater, Emerson College.
The White Lotus star was delivering the commencement address at the Boston school when she gave a special shoutout to her gay fans in attendance.
"I'm excited that I'm speaking with some very excited gay students…" Coolidge said, before pausing as the audience cheered and laughed. "And some less excited hetero students."
Those students then heard from the Massachusetts native about making dreams come true, even if they seem ridiculous.
Coolidge's speech included a story from her childhood. She said that during a first-grade field day, she ran in an obstacle course and beat the fastest girl in school.
"I was so elated that I won, and to me, it meant that I was going to get the blue ribbon," she said, per CBS News. "And then the teacher came up to me and told me that I didn't win the blue ribbon because I was disqualified. And it turns out, I had skipped all the obstacles."
She said that even though the event led to teasing by her classmates, she decided then to have "insane expectations and believe they're going to come true."
"I do have a little confession to make. The story I told about the obstacle course … it was just a metaphor," Coolidge then admitted to laughter, per Emerson Today. "Wait, before you turn on me, I just want you to know it really did happen…. I brought it up … today … so I can tell you it doesn’t really matter what anyone thinks or says. When it comes to the obstacle course of your life, you have to find your own path."
Coolidge has been showing love to the queer community and her LGBTQ+ fans for years.
In a 2023 GLAAD Media Awards speech, when she was awarded GLAAD's Special Recognition Award, Coolidge said, "Here I am again, surrounded by gays. It's the story of my life."
"I want to give back, you know. I believe we all have the right to be who we are and to love the people that we love and tell our stories and celebrate that in every way that we can," she added.
At the recent opening night party for Out100 honoree Tristan Schukraft's new queer resort, Tryst Puerto Vallarta, Coolidge was asked about the difference between her gay fans and straight fans.
"I don't know, I think maybe heterosexual people are more self-conscious," the Emmy winner said. "I think gay men and gay women just let it, just let loose and have a blast. They know how to have a really, really good, really fun time."
"They're really original, you know…" she added, "They're, I don't know, just a superior group of people."
Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.
Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.
