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Susan Olsen’s ugly anti-gay hate speech has killed a part of my Brady Bunch childhood
An ugly controversy involving The Brady Bunch cast member Susan Olsen and her use of anti-gay slurs has really messed with my inner child.
As a gay man, I’m upset when anyone calls a gay person a ‘faggot.’
But as a child of the 70s who grew up watching the show and fantasizing that it was my life, Olsen has done more than upset me, she has killed part of some very lovely memories for me.
The Brady Bunch on Friday nights was one of the great joys of the week for the six Hernandez children.
We would joke that we were the Mexican version of the Bradys only we had four boys and two girls instead of three each and our dog’s name was Shorty not Tiger. But we did have a station wagon and we all had to share one bathroom.
And instead of having Alice the maid, our Spanish-speaking grandma would often stay over and help out with cooking and babysitting.
Friday nights was the one day a week we would get to have McDonalds for dinner and watch the Bradys. Honestly, those nights were some of the absolute best of my childhood.
We would be positively giddy with anticipation from the moment we got home from school – giddy with thoughts of burgers and fries and of a new adventure involving Greg, Marcia, Peter, Jan, Bobby and Cindy.
Then in the middle of the show’s run in 1972, my parents got divorced after 20 years of marriage.
Suddenly, our family did not seem so much like The Brady Bunch anymore.
But McDonalds and Brady Bunch on Friday nights continued and provided immeasurable comfort to my siblings and me.
No matter how much our lives had changed – and they had – Mike and Carol Brady were still together with Alice helping them run their chaotic but loving household.
The memories and the feelings from the show run deep for me and for many others.
I found that out first-hand five years ago when I moderated a book panel in West Hollywood featuring Florence Henderson who played Mrs. Brady.
I had gotten to know her a bit through her publicist who was a friend of mine and we were fond of each other.
So after the panel was over, I asked Florence to lead us in singing The Brady Bunch theme song. (See video below)
What I remember so well from that event was how after so many people came up to me and expressed how absolutely over the moon they were at being there for that famous theme song actually being sung by Carol Brady herself.
Florence was a wonderful woman and that day during the panel, we had talked about her late TV husband Robert Reed and how Florence leapt to his defense early in the show’s run when a homophobic director was trying to bully the closeted gay actor.
Florence just wasn’t having it – not for one minute – and made that clear to the director. The bullying stopped then and there.
She loved gay people and was a staunch LGBTI ally throughout her long career.
It is so sad that this wonderful woman died last month at the age of 82 while seeming so healthy only days earlier.
Some have said it is a good thing Florence isn’t alive to know that Olsen, who played her youngest daughter Cindy Brady, would in a Facebook message twice call a gay actor a ‘faggot’ and a ‘pussy’ and make what seemed like veiled threats in regards to his safety.
But Florence would have spoken up and said something publicly I have no doubt and maybe tried to help make this a teachable moment for Olsen who was fired from her radio job and has remained silent since the controversy broke.
During the holidays, my 14-year-old nephew and I usually watch some episodes of The Brady Bunch on DVD or YouTube and start quoting lines like ‘Mom always said don’t play ball in the house,’ ‘We’re having pork chops and applesauce,’ and the less famous haughty Marcia Brady line: ‘A youth from school.’
For him, I’m going to try and enjoy them as much as I used to but it will be impossible to watch scenes involving Olsen the same way.
It’s like somehow the innocence is gone.
Comments
(All comments are reviewed before being published, and I review submissions several times per day.)
Tommy Marx says:
More than once, I’ve heard or read the comment, “It’s only a television show,” and I’ve wondered how someone could miss the point so completely. Of course, it’s “only” a television show, in the same way that it’s “only” music, it’s “only” family, it’s “only” oxygen.
I wasn’t a big fan of the Brady Bunch, but I did love the Bradfords from Sacramento, the Waltons on Walton’s Mountain, the Ingalls growing up in Walnut Grove, the Lawrences living in Pasadena, and so many others. I came and knocked on their door, I gave them any chance and they took it, I moved on up with them to the East side. In later years, I cried like a baby when Joyce Summers died, when Rory broke up with Dean, when Sun-Hwa and Jin-Soo died in that submarine.
It’s not only a television show. So many memories are shaped by television shows and movies and songs and books, so much of what we learn comes from what we see and hear and read. Whether it’s an incredible series like “Breaking Bad” that manages to challenge and stun or a “comfort show” like NCIS with friends we’ve spent years with or comedies that make us laugh or snort or really anything, television is a powerful medium that touches us in ways we will probably never understand.
So yes, I completely understand why you feel betrayed. I read her message three times on three different sites, because I kept wanting to believe it wasn’t as horrible as I originally thought. And the fact that it came from someone you grew up with, someone that became your extended family, that makes it so much more of a betrayal.
I wasn’t a big fan of the Brady Bunch. But it hurt me deeply that Cindy Brady, with her irritating lisp and her Kitty Carryall doll, would use such ugly, hateful words specifically designed to tear down someone who disagreed with her.
I’m sorry, but 2016 has been a HORRIBLE year.
And Susan Olsen just made it that much more ugly.
K. Martinez says:
Those sound like some sweet childhood memories you have, Greg. I find that memories like that can sometimes comfort us in adulthood. I refuse to let Susan Olsen ruin my memories of viewing the show as a child and I’ll still enjoy an occasional episode of the Brady Bunch today regardless of Susan’s hateful rants. I’ve seen some people grow sour and bitter with age and it’s very sad and ugly to see. She’s the one who will ultimately pay for her own behavior.
Florence Henderson was a classy and generous lady. No one had a bad thing to say about her. That alone is why I still enjoy the Brady Bunch occasionally. In fact it was her portrayal of Carol Brady and Robert Reed’s portrayal of Mike Brady that made the show for me. They were the ultimate loving but firm mom and dad. Now, I’ll just think of little Cindy as the rotten apple of the bunch.
Max says:
I believe that people like Susan Olsen are “carefully taught” to hate.
Every parent must keep their child safe from all the prejudice and evil hate in this world. As a society (all humanity) it is the adults who must change the next generation to be tolerant, gracious and humble. Please teach your children compassion, charity and love from the earliest age.
John says:
What a sweet post! Thanks.
Chip says:
I hope she understands just what she’s done with any legacy she may have had otherwise. I know that being a child actor, stereotyped, and so on is a rough life. But she was around people during important, formative years that taught her better than she’s showing us now.
I hope she sees this and wether or not she cares, realizes that she’s spit in the face of the very people who helped make her famous to begin with.