Earlier this week, Elaine Stritch spectacularly dropped the F-bomb on the Today show. (Go ahead: Watch that moment on loop again.) She wasn’t sorry about it then. And she’s not sorry now. She told us so at last night’s premiere of Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me, a documentary about the legend herself. “If you’ve got any confidence in yourself, you say what you think is appropriate and press on,†she said. “It’s like a mystery thing, on television now. Can I say it, can I say it? Like you’re waiting for approval from the people with the money.â€
Equally outspoken celebrity Alan Cumming — who was there in support of the movie along with Alec Baldwin, Jane Krakowski, and Stritch’s fur coat — shared his own theory on why it’s such a shock to hear “fuck†on television. “I think America’s too sensitive about everything,†he told us. “I think things that America’s been taught are wrong, are forbidden — even if you say them or do them, even if America doesn’t really understand why they’re forbidden or why they’re such a big deal — it’s like a horror story. When you consider America was made because some Puritans left England because that wasn’t Puritanical enough, that puts things in perspective.†And what about his favorite swear word — does he have one? “Yes,†he told us before walking away. “Fuckface.â€