In the mid-2000s, actors Sarah Paulson and Cherry Jones were madly in love. In fact, the two caused quite the stir at the 2005 Tony Awards when, upon winning the award for best actress in a play, Jones was seen kissing Paulson on-screen. Although we think it was a very cute kiss, keep in mind that this was 2005, when the LGBTQ+ community was marginalized and often misunderstood. Paulson was eventually exposed when the kiss happened by accident.
In an interview with NOTOFU, Paulson reflected on the situation, stating, “She won a Tony Award, I kissed her, and all of a sudden I was outed.” She continued, “I didn’t really think about it in that way at the time — I was just doing what one would do when a person they love has just won a big fat acting prize.” Paulson had a hilarious justification for the debacle, opining, “What am I gonna do, pat her on the back and say ‘good job, dude?’ It didn’t occur to me to do anything but what I did.”
Paulson, who was set to star in Aaron Sorkin’s “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” was worried the kiss would ultimately cost her the role. Paulson shared Sorkin’s touching reaction to the fallout and stated that he was proud of it. “I didn’t know you were with Cherry Jones, that’s so wonderful … I just want you to know that you’re safe here. You never have anything to worry about.”