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Nathan Lane Reveals Frustrating Reason 'Space Jam' Director Rejected Him For Role
Lane went on to explain why: he's gay.
Less openly so at the time, but he had just come off filming The Birdcage with Robin Williams, a reimagined Cage Aux Folles, wherein a young man finds himself trying to introduce his fiancée and her buttoned-up family to his fathers, who run a drag club.
Lane says that he auditioned for the part of Stan Podolak, Michael Jordan's assistant, but that it ultimately went to actor Wayne Knight, a Seinfeld star. The director, Lane says, could not see him in the role due to his sexual orientation.
"Apparently the director [Joe Pytka] saw me hosting the Tony Awards and thought that suggested I was too gay to play the part."
However, Lane probably dodged a big one, as at the time, no actor would even touch the movie. However, it still was galling to find out the reason.
“So thank God, I didn’t have to do ‘Space Jam...But I don’t know. I’ll never know what people say. Homophobia is alive and well, still.”
People were sad to hear the news, but were conflicted because Wayne Knight did such a memorable job as the character many assumed Lane was aiming to play.
Lane's longtime fans were saying just how good he is in his other roles, and could have been in Space Jam.
Lane's comments reminded people of the trainwreck of an interview that Oprah did at the time.
The talk show host was interviewing Lane and Robin Williams about their movie The Birdcage, and Oprah basically asked Lane if he was gay.
Williams then spun into action to distract from the rude question.
@haubenmeise/Reddit
@walrusbwalrus/Reddit
While people realized that Lane was probably auditioning for the part that Wayne Knight eventually got, some people got a little joking in the comments.
@LasagnaPhD/Reddit
@turdferusonRI/Reddit
Alas, many people said, it was really a different time in the late '90s when this was all going down.
Finally, there was incredulity that, of all movies, Space Jam was the film that Lane was rejected from.
Lane is currently appearing in the Hulu comedy series Mid-Century Modern, premiering on March 28.
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Viral Post Explains Why It's So Alarming That GOP Is Using Signal App For Top Secret Chats
"Use disappearing messages to keep your message history tidy. The message will disappear from your devices after the timer has elapsed. This is not for situations where your contact is your adversary — after all, if someone who receives a disappearing message really wants a record of it, they can always use another camera to take a photo of the screen before the message disappears."
The use of the app by the Trump administration is itself a violation of the Presidential Records Act (PRA), which states that any records created or received by the President as part of his constitutional, statutory, or ceremonial duties are the property of the U.S. government. These records must be managed by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) at the end of the administration.
The PRA established that official records of the President and Vice President are owned by the United States, not by the President. Upon leaving office, the Archivist of the United States takes custody of these records and maintains them in a federal depository. These records become eligible for public access under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) five years after the President leaves office.
Additionally, last month Trump dismissed Colleen J. Shogan, the Archivist of the United States, who was responsible for safeguarding and overseeing access to government records.
With this in mind, consider what jeanie.online pointed out:
"The part that people are missing is that they're doing official communications on Signal to avoid those communications being retained. There are Project 2025 training videos that specifically recommended this type of thing as a way to avoid subpoenas."
"Our government is using 3rd party software to discuss [operational security], [info not releasable to foreign nationals], and Top Secret levels of communication in avenues that do not retain data. They can stage a total takeover of the US and there will be no evidence through any official channels."
You can see her post below.
@jeanie.online/Threads
Her point was validated on Wednesday after The Atlantic published the entire Signal chat, which indicated that "disappearing message time was set to 1 week."
Lev Parnas (@levparnas.bsky.social)
Lev Parnas (@levparnas.bsky.social)bsky.app
Disappearing messages was set to 1 week. WHY ?
Many have sounded the alarm.
The controversy erupted just days after a Pentagon advisory cautioned against using Signal, even for unclassified communications. A department-wide email dated March 18, obtained by NPR, warned of a security flaw in the Signal app, stating that Russian hacking groups were exploiting its "linked devices" feature to eavesdrop on encrypted conversations.
Meanwhile, CBS News reported that Trump’s Ukraine and Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, was in Moscow meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin when he was added to the Signal group chat.
Flight data from FlightRadar24 showed Witkoff arrived in Moscow around noon on March 13, and Russian state media later aired footage of his motorcade leaving Vnukovo International Airport. Roughly 12 hours later, he was included in the "Houthi PC small group" chat.
Trump Dragged After Demanding 'Full-Throated Apology' From Maine's Governor
"We are the federal law and you better do it otherwise you're not getting any federal funding at all if you don't."
"By the way, your population, even though it's somewhat liberal, I did very well there, and your population does not want men playing in women's sports. You better comply because otherwise you're not getting any federal funding."
When Mills said she'd "see you in court," Trump suggested strong-arming her "should be a real easy one," as you can see in the video below.
Trump once again had Mills on his mind over the weekend when he attacked her in a post on Truth Social demanding she apologize:
“While the State of Maine has apologized for their Governor’s strong, but totally incorrect, statement about men playing in women’s sports while at the White House House Governor’s Conference, we have not heard from the Governor herself, and she is the one that matters in such cases."
"Therefore, we need a full throated apology from the Governor herself, and a statement that she will never make such an unlawful challenge to the Federal Government again, before this case can be settled. I'm sure she will be able to do that quite easily."
"Thank you for your attention to this matter, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!"
You can see his post below.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
It was unclear which apology from the state of Maine Trump was referring to or what specific case was being resolved. The White House declined to comment on his statement or clarify any potential consequences for the governor and the state if an apology was not issued.
But Mills nonetheless responded, saying the following to reporters in Bangor:
"My issue is about the rule of law, pure and simple. It's not about transgender sports; it's about who makes the laws and who enforces the laws. I read the Constitution."
"The Constitution says that the president, the chief executive, shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. It doesn't allow him to make laws out of whole cloth by tweet or Instagram post or press release or executive order."
Many have criticized Trump as a result.
Trump’s latest remarks follow a recent ruling by his administration that found Maine in violation of the updated Title IX law. The state was given until March 27 to reverse its policy allowing transgender student athletes to compete in girls’ and women’s sports or risk action from the Justice Department.
Earlier this month, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) temporarily halted funding to the University of Maine System (UMS) amid the dispute. However, after a USDA review determined UMS was in compliance with Title IX, the funding was reinstated.
The university was among several institutions under review by the Education Department for Title IX compliance, alongside the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association.