Q&A: Glee’s Naya Rivera Talks About Santana and Brittany’s “Shipper”

SPOILER ALERT!
Naya Rivera plays awesome mean girl Santana on Glee, and—as a lifelong and infamous meanie myself—I find her presence to be one of the most compelling on the show. But like most meanies, Santana has outward-focused rage that seems to be driven by fermenting internal damage. Last week, we got a clue to the toxic catalyst: she’s secretly in love with her best friend. And that best friend is a girl. In the interest of exploring Santana’s new status as Sapphic icon, I gave Naya a call to discuss this role, and to play a few good-natured rounds of Lesbian Multiple Choice.

Brett Berk: When I talked to Heather Morris [Brittany] for the first time last year, she said that your on-screen relationship was going to be more B.F.F. than F.W.B. We all know the show isn’t known for it’s internal consistency, but what changed, and how?

Naya Rivera: I think it was because the writers and Ryan [Murphy] were getting such a strong craving from the fans—from the Brittany and Santana fans—for them to be together. And we sort of took it lightly at first. But then we thought it was something people really wanted us to do, that it was something we should tackle. And so, one day, [head writer] Brad Falchuk came up to me and said, “We’ve decided that we’re going to explore this storyline,” and I was totally for it, and knew people would appreciate it.

I know your character defies labels, but Santana is now sort of a lesbianic role model. So I have a few questions for you about the subject. Favorite girl-on-girl make-out music: Cyndi Lauper, Sade, Taylor Swift, TLC, or Nicki Minaj?

I’m going to go for a little Sade. Sade is good for making out with any gender.

Favorite Mischa Barton teen-lesbian TV character: Katie on Once and Again or Marissa on The O.C.?

I would go with The O.C., because I was a big O.C. fan.

Favorite lesbian fashion accessory: wallet chain, blazer, lipstick, wingtips, Hot Combover (former Bieber hairstyle), or boxer briefs?

Is it bad that I think half of those aren’t even lesbian-specific? I mean, I wear blazers all the time!

Me too! But so does Suze Orman. We’re playing around with stereotypes here, morphing them and taking them apart. That’s what I do in this column.

Well, I would probably go with blazers, but that’s universal. If I had to pick one that feels more specific, I would go with boxer briefs.

Speaking of stereotypes, a B.F.F. of mine who is a lesbian political writer wanted me to ask you this question: Santana has the sexy-mean-girl stereotype down. Can she start a new sexy-confident-lesbian stereotype now?

I think she is very capable of bringing confidence to anything.

O.K., back to my dumb game. Favorite lesbian pet: stray Siamese cat, shelter-rescue pit bull, illegal ferret, albino boa constrictor, or falcon?

An illegal ferret sounds fun. So I’ll just go with that.

Last question. You know The Golden Girls, right? It’s a show about a bunch of covert but adorable lesbian clichés—the bitch, the butch, the nerd/airhead, and the slut—living together in senescence in south Florida. So for the last question. Golden Girl make-out session you would most like to have seen: Dorothy/Rose, Dorothy/Blanche, Blanche/Rose, Blanche/Sophia, or Dorothy/Sophia?

Blanche and Sophia. Because their names sound good together. You could mash them up and have a really good shipper name.

What is that “shipper” thing? I’ve seen that on some of the fan sites, and since I’m over 15, I’m like, huh?

“Shipper” is when the fans started mashing up all the couples’ names. That’s where me and Brittany got “Brittana.”

And why “shipper”?

I think it comes from the word “relationship.”

Ohhhh. Speaking of relationships, is Santana going to get to sing some more? That “Landslide” thing made me fucking cry.

It made me cry, too! I’m sure I’ll be singing more. They’re nice enough to give me some great solos and some great songs. In this week’s episode, “Original Song,” Santana sings one of her original songs that’s pretty hysterical.

I very much look forward to seeing—and hearing—that tonight!

[Photo Credit: FOX Television] - source: Vanityfair.com

0 commenti:

Post a Comment

Thanks for watching!

credits: tumblr
 
GLEE Fans © 2010 | Designed by Chica Blogger | Back to top