Meryl Streep: Gay Audiences Especially Will Connect With New Film ‘Florence Foster Jenkins’

Not to over-generalize too much here, but let’s be clear: the gays love Meryl Streep. And you’ll be glad to know that the feeling is mutual. The gays, Meryl gets you. She really really gets you.

In a recent interview, Meryl opened up about her queer roles, like in Angels in America and her role in 1979’s Manhattan. Surprisingly, she only discovered she’s a gay icon in 2012, when she caught wind of a show where gay men were performing her scenes. She’s a little touchy about encountering Meryl impressions — she says it feels a bit like her kids making fun of her — but she can’t help but feel a connection to the queer community.

After all, she says, LGBT folks were always in her life, from childhood piano teachers on up to today. And her new role, as Florence Foster Jenkins in the film of the same name, should be particularly resonant.

“Well, to the extent that anybody tells you that you can’t be a certain way or you shouldn’t be a certain way. You know, I think the limits other people put on you are the least valuable,” she said. “I feel that way about everything, but certainly LGBT audiences will understand that.”

The movie concerns a society lady who decides that she wants to be a professional singer — despite being really terrible at it. But she perseveres, despite the critics, because it’s what she loves. The whole story is based on a true tale of a woman who refused to give up.

Watch the trailer below: