friendship

Eva Longoria’s Letter of Support for Felicity Huffman Subtly Slams Other Desperate Housewives Actors

Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Felicity Huffman has pleaded guilty and apologized for her involvement in the college admissions scam, and she’s now reportedly facing one month of jail time as a result. (She’ll officially be sentenced on September 13.) Per NBC News, though, 27 of Huffman’s friends have written letters of support to the case’s presiding judge for a more lenient sentence, with one of them being Huffman’s former Desperate Housewives co-star and good friend, Eva Longoria.

In her letter, Longoria writes that Huffman immediately befriended her when they began work on the show — Longoria was “scared†as she was “new to the business†— and Huffman was the only person who stood up for her when an unnamed co-star began bullying her. “There was a time I was being bullied at work by a co-worker,†Longoria explained. “I dreaded the days I had to work with that person because it was pure torture. Until one day, Felicity told the bully ‘enough’ and it all stopped. Felicity could feel that I was riddled with anxiety even though I never complained or mentioned the abuse to anyone.†Years later, when Housewives became a critical and ratings success for ABC, Longoria says Huffman spearheaded the idea for the show’s four leads to negotiate a salary contract as an equal unit. (Teri Hatcher and Marcia Cross being the other two.) The tea begins here:

“This did not go over too well with the others. But Felicity stood up for me, saying it was fair because the success of the show depended on all of us, not one of us. This fight lasted weeks, but Felicity held strong and convinced everyone this was the right thing to do. And thanks to her, I was bumped up to favored nations. It wasn’t about the money for me, it was the fact that I was seen as an equal, which is how Felicity had always seen me.â€

Longoria also said that Huffman was the only Housewives co-star who showed any interest in her charity work, despite pleas from Longoria to her co-stars to show up occasionally for fundraising and charity events:

“I knew I couldn’t do it alone so I asked the other women to join me. They were all usually too busy to help, except Felicity. I can’t tell you how many times she was the only one who would physically show up to help me with the kids with cancer, or children with special needs.â€

Wisteria Lane — it can change a woman, for better or worse!

Update, September 8, 4 p.m.: NBC News and US Weekly have obtained another letter of support for Huffman from Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry. In the letter, Cherry said Huffman was frequently on the receiving end of a “problematic†actress’s temper tantrums, but always showed compassion for the actress and never reciprocated the anger.

“She was a big star with some big behavioral problems. Everyone tried their darndest to get along with this woman over the course of the show. It was impossible. And things went from bad to worse,†Cherry wrote. “Felicity still insisted on saying ‘good morning’ to this actress, even though she knew she wouldn’t get a response. I found out about this and asked Felicity about it. She smiled and said, ‘just because that woman’s determined to be rude, doesn’t mean she can keep me from being polite.’†We’re not saying you need to read about Teri Hatcher’s alleged behavior, but maybe you should.

Longoria’s Support for Huffman Slams Other Housewives Actors