Appearing on NBC’s Today show Thursday morning, actress Michelle Pfeiffer talked about how eager she was to play the late First Lady Betty Ford for Showtime’s upcoming 10-part series, The First Lady. While discussing the new role with co-host Savannah Guthrie, Pfieffer hailed the wife of late President Gerald Ford as a “pro-choice Republican” who “took on a feminist agenda.”
“Michelle Pfeiffer is one of Hollywood’s most recognizable and versatile stars, and in her latest role, she portrays another real-life icon, Betty Ford, a First Lady who spoke her mind and surprised Americans with her refreshing candor,” Guthrie gushed at the top of the segment. After playing a brief clip of Pfeiffer as Ford, the anchor declared that “she really was ahead of her time.”
In response, Pfieffer immediately cited left-wing political concerns:
She really was. She was incredibly outspoken. She was a – a pro-choice Republican who became first lady who then took on a feminist agenda, and was one of the few who were willing to disagree with her husband in public.
Guthrie chimed in: “In a lot of ways, she’s one of the few first ladies who kind of eclipses the president, her husband, in a way in terms of legacy and what people know about her.” Pfieffer agreed, saying Ford was “really popular” because of her “candor.”
Only later did the pair move on to highlight Ford’s advocacy for less political causes like breast cancer awareness, mental health, and addiction treatment.
In 2016, NBC’s Andrea Mitchell similarly celebrated Betty Ford for her liberal activism, as the MSNBC host lamented: “I remember first covering this with First Lady Betty Ford and even the Republican First Lady couldn’t move the ERA [Equal Rights Amendment] across the finish line.”
On Thursday, Guthrie asked Pfeiffer: “So what made you so confident this was going to be a good project?” In part, the actress explained:
But when Susanne Bier, the director, who I was anxious to work with, called, all she said to me was, “I’m doing a project on first ladies and I’d like you to play Betty Ford,” and I said I’m in. Now, it also helped that Viola Davis was attached to play Michelle Obama, and I knew that they were assembling a really, you know, high pedigree of women and I was just so honored to be a part of it.
Guthrie noted: “Well, it’s an incredible lens to look at history, through first ladies, three different generations. You’ve got Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford, and Michelle Obama.”
Based on Showtime’s narrow selection of first ladies to highlight and Pfeiffer’s emphasis on the left-leaning credentials of the only Republican presidential spouse included in the series, viewers can expect the project to be typical leftist Hollywood propaganda.
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Here is a transcript of the April 7 segment:
8:38 AM ET
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Michelle Pfeiffer is one of Hollywood’s most recognizable and versatile stars, and in her latest role, she portrays another real-life icon, Betty Ford, a First Lady who spoke her mind and surprised Americans with her refreshing candor.
MICHELLE PFEIFFER [AS BETTY FORD ON SHOWTIME FIRST LADIES SERIES]: My doctor advised me that the source of my pain, it was actually much deeper than any injury. And he thought it might be a good idea for me to see a psychiatrist.
GUTHRIE: Michelle, good morning. “A psychiatrist.” You know, it’s funny to kind of step back in time with – through the lens of the first lady, three first ladies in this Showtime series, but she really was ahead of her time.
PFEIFFER: She really was. She was incredibly outspoken. She was a – a pro-choice Republican who became first lady who then took on a feminist agenda, and was one of the few who were willing to disagree with her husband in public.
GUTHRIE: In a lot of ways, she’s one of the few first ladies who kind of eclipses the president, her husband, in a way in terms of legacy and what people know about her.
PFEIFFER: She was really popular with – and it was because of her candor and because she was so open and transparent about her struggles.
(...)
GUTHRIE: I heard that when this script came along, I mean, you didn’t even see a script before you said yes.
PFEIFFER: I didn’t.
GUTHRIE: It’s like buying a house without seeing it.
PFEIFFER: I know, it’s crazy.
GUTHRIE: So what made you so confident this was going to be a good project?
PFEIFFER: Well, I knew about – and like most people, she’s really famous for, you know, the Betty Ford Clinic, which has, again, saved hundreds of thousands of people’s lives, and obviously, you know, her issues with substance abuse. And so that, in and of itself, was a really interesting story to tell, and I felt really important.
But when Susanne Bier, the director, who I was anxious to work with, called, all she said to me was, “I’m doing a project on first ladies and I’d like you to play Betty Ford,” and I said I’m in. Now, it also helped that Viola Davis was attached to play Michelle Obama, and I knew that they were assembling a really, you know, high pedigree of women and I was just so honored to be a part of it.
GUTHRIE: Well, it’s an incredible lens to look at history, through first ladies, three different generations. You’ve got Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford, and Michelle Obama. And it starts on Showtime, it’s ten parts, right?
PFEIFFER: Mm-hmm.
GUTHRIE: Yeah. Alright, well, we’ll look forward to it. Michelle Pfeiffer, thank you so much.
PFEIFFER: You’re so welcome.
GUTHRIE: Appreciate your time. And of course The First Lady premiers April 17th on Showtime.
