Drag icon Coco Peru has shared a statement addressing her deleted appearance from Mid-Century Modern after her specific scenes were mentioned and praised by actor Matt Bomer in an interview to promote the new gay sitcom.
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This week, the Los Angeles Times published a story noting that the pilot episode of Mid-Century Modern edited out "one joke that proved to be too racy" — one that happened to include Coco Peru acting on the show.
"Jerry [Bomer's character] is the kind of character who's gracious and kind and positive on the outside, but if he looks under the hood too much, he can break down really easily," Bomer told the Los Angeles Times. He then described a scene where Arthur (played by Nathan Lee Graham) challenged Jerry to look inward, prompting Bomer's character to have a "meltdown where he spills the drink all over himself."
In the interview, Bomer observed that this deleted scene was his "favorite bit from that first episode." The Los Angeles Times story also underscored that showrunners Max Mutchnick and David Kohan — who had worked before with Coco Peru on Will & Grace — "were just as sad to see the bit go."
Following those new comments from Bomer, Coco Peru set the record straight about her experiences filming Mid-Century Modern — and being edited out — in a statement that reads:
"There's been a lot of you asking what happened to Coco on Mid-Century Modern and why I have a credit. I worked for 2 weeks on the show and, because the show had to be shortened, my scenes were cut even before we started filming. I had 2 lines when we filmed and I was happy they got big laughs, but they also ended up cut. Perhaps jokes about jizz aren't Hulu's thing."
The drag performer continued, "I think jizz jokes are always funny and it was a great set up for Matt Bomer whose follow-up jizz line also got big laughs. However, because I did the work, it's in the contract that I get a guest star credit. In the hotel scene, you can see me in the office. Also, producer Max Mutchnick knew that I was still grieving my mom. He did the sweetest thing and had my mom's name put on the set of the hotel. [heart emoji] See if you can find it!"
"I said this in a previous post, I had the best time," she clarified. "I got to work with Nathan Lane (and make HIM laugh,) and Matt Bomer and Nathan Lee Graham as well a childhood idol of mine, Linda Lavin who, I am told, asked, 'When is Coco coming back?' What's not to celebrate? I'm very lucky!"
Coco Peru concluded, "The entire cast and crew were all wonderful to me. Watch the show. We need as much queer representation as we can get now."
To be clear, Coco Peru isn't new to the Hollywood acting gigs. In fact, she's had a long and successful acting career with credits in films such as 1995's To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar, 1997's Nick and Jane, 1999's Trick, and 2003's Girls Will Be Girls.
The drag performer, actor, and producer — credited as Clinton Leupp out of drag — was also seen on TV shows like New York Undercover, Will & Grace (original run), Boy Meets Boy, Arrested Development, Twins, How I Met Your Mother, Detroit 1-8-7, and an exciting return onto the Will & Grace reboot.
It's also worth mentioning that Mid-Century Modern has been described as a gay version of The Golden Girls, which is another series that Coco Peru has had a history with. Namely, the 2023 edition of The Golden Girls Live: The Christmas Episodes — a traditional drag show in San Francisco — cast Coco Peru to play Dorothy Zbornak after the sudden death of drag legend Heklina, as reported by The San Francisco Standard at the time.
Nonetheless, Coco Peru's new statement and older posts suggest that she's at peace with being edited out of the new Hulu sitcom. Instead, the actor and drag queen is focusing on the experiences she's had on set while filming the show, like spending a "blissful week working with a childhood hero, Linda Lavin, on Mid-Century Modern this past summer."
"I was obsessed with [Lavin's] hit TV show Alice," Coco Peru wrote in an Instagram post that followed Linda Lavin's passing in December 2024. "I was beyond thrilled that we hit it off right away. We had mutual friends, mutual interests, and a mutual love for storytelling. She was full of energy and life and curious about everything. I was so honored that she wanted to be a friend."
She concluded, "She is wonderful on Mid-Century Modern. My heart goes out to the cast and crew, and to her sweet husband, and all of her friends and family. I'm so grateful I got to tell her how much she meant to me."
Mid-Century Modern is streaming on Hulu.
