Maya Rudolph tells The Advocate she is “ashamed” of her home state California for passing Proposition 8

I always look forward to reading any interview Brandon Voss does for The Advocate. The latest is with Saturday Night Live alum Maya Rudolph who is currently starring in the feature film Away We Go opposite John Krasinski.

Here is a little nibble for you to enjoy:

There are many similarities between you and your character Verona in Away We Go. Though pregnant, Verona rebuffs her boyfriend’s proposals because she doesn’t want to get married. You and your partner, filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson, have also stayed unmarried even though you’re expecting your second child together. Do you not believe in marriage?
Well, I don’t really talk about that stuff. I never have and I never will, because I feel like it’s one thing to make movies and another thing to unbutton your personal life until you’re naked. There are similarities, but I’m certainly not Verona, and I don’t feel like my beliefs are in the movie.

You do believe in gay marriage, though, as indicated by your participation in Prop. 8: The Musical for FunnyOrDie.com.
That was probably the most joyous thing that came out of the Prop. 8 vote for me. Filming that was an amazing experience because we got to put our anger into something fun and have this really beautiful day. I grew up in California, and I’m a proud Californian, but I was really offended and surprised at how many people feel differently [about marriage equality] than I do just in California alone. I was ashamed of my state.

When your Donatella and the real Donatella finally appeared onstage together at the 2002 VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards, somewhere a gay man probably burst into flames.

Well, I almost burst into flames! VH1 called me up and said, “Donatella won’t be able to attend, so we’ll do a bit where they call her name and you’re in the audience sitting next to P. Diddy or something.” I was like, “Great. I’ll do it.” Then 15 minutes later, I get another phone call, and they’re like, “She found out you’re going to be there, so she’ll be there too.” As they were putting on my makeup and wig backstage at the event, she walked in. She pretended she was angry and did this fake “I’m going to choke you” gag, but then she was very sweet about it. It was a surreal moment. I was just happy I could fit into the one gown they sent from Italy, but we had to use about three pairs of panty hose underneath because Spanx weren’t invented yet.

What draws you to divas?
Growing up, I was kind of a tomboy and didn’t know how to be feminine or how to put on makeup, so I’d sneak into my friends’ bathrooms at slumber parties to see what products they had, because I was too embarrassed to ask anybody. I lost my mom when I was little, but when she was alive she was this glamorous woman always onstage singing into a microphone, so that was my idea of the most beautiful woman in the world. I’ve carried that with me, so almost every one of the characters I’ve created is my version of an ideal woman: They’re all huge dames with enormous hairdos and personalities, and they’re usually incredibly drunk and loud. Years into my tenure at SNL, I stepped back and realized that all of my characters were drag queens! Whether I was playing Liza or strange women who were apropos of nothing, they were weird, wonderfully content, whiskey-swilling women who enjoy a young man. I love those kinds of ladies, and I’ll probably end up being one when I get much older.