Sandra Bullock confirms ‘Miss Congeniality’ was gay

A blast from the past! Remember when Sandra Bullock appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to talk about Ocean’s 8 but ended up talking much more about Miss Congeniality?

During the interview, Ellen joked that she made Sandra’s career because she auditioned for Miss Congeniality and Speed. The host quipped, “Do you ever thank me for your career?” After a brief banter between the two women, where Bullock joked that she and her family thank Ellen every night when they say Grace. Still, Ellen insists that she’s serious. Then, the Ocean’s 8 actress revealed a nugget about the infamous pageant comedy that proves Ellen’s theory.

Was Mrs. Congeniality written for Ellen Degeneres?

According to Bullock, the film’s writer, Marc Lawrence, saw Ellen hosting the Emmys back in the day. The lesbian actress talked about wearing a dress and not liking it, or “it didn’t feel like you.”

“Maybe he lied to me, maybe he did write it for you,” Bullock explained. Ellen added that the role was never offered to her. Instead, she found out later when Lawrence approached her and said, “You inspired me cause you were learning how to walk [in the dress].”

Gracie Hart is queer

Now everything makes total sense. Every time I watched Miss Congeniality in my youth or watched it more recently, it holds up. I’ve thought to myself “Gracie Hart is far and away a queer woman.” After 18 years of speculation, I knew the suit-wearing, swagger-walking, pugnacious, muscular agent was as gay as I knew her.

If the character was inspired by a MoC lesbian woman, then entire movie is an allegory for queerness. And I felt it in my bones. As a tomboyish kid, I wholly identified with Gracie’s struggle to present more masculine or identify with “boyish” things. How viscerally uncomfortable she felt when being forced to dress more typically “girly.”

Which other movies that give us gay vibes will come on record about being written for queer people? Next, we want the stars of Bring It On to confirm that these are also canonically queer movies.

Welcome to the Lesbian Cinematic Universe, Miss Congeniality.

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