Entertainment

Proof That Elaine Stritch Gives Zero F*cks

by Caroline Pate

As the saying goes, Elaine Stritch has no fucks to give... unless, of course, she's on the Today Show. Stritch was promoting her new documentary, Shoot Me, when she dropped an F-bomb that the producers didn't quite catch in time to bleep out.

Of course, they were practically begging her to say it. Kathy Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb, who were interviewing Stritch, prompted hertritch with the question "You are so beloved, as much for your work, of course, but for your mouth. You say whatever you want to say. When did that happen?" So naturally, Stritch replied "If you just say things naturally, it's fine. You know, they just think in fuck." Gifford squeaked out an "Oh, dear!" and Kotb quickly tried to move things along, but Stritch was unfazed, saying "I meant a serious point by that!"

Stritch has long been a master of the art of doing whatever the hell she wants. She may not be as mean as Jack's mother Colleen, who she played on 30 Rock, but she's just as tough, and she's been that way since her early days in the theatre and on Broadway. Here's why Stritch is such a badass.

Her Wardrobe

You know that memo everyone got that said "You cannot wear leggings as pants?" Yeah, Elaine Stritch did not get that memo. She is pretty much morally opposed to pants and chronically wears dress shirts and tights like it's nobody's business. Her style is no one's but her own. After all, who else would wear giant, bug-eye sunglasses, men's ties, and bowler hats but a complete badass?

Her Sass

This woman has sass like no other. In her one-woman show, At Liberty , Stritch told the story of how she lost out to Bea Arthur in her audition for the Golden Girls because she kept saying "f*ck" in all her lines. She's nonplussed over it, though. "I could have made a lot of money doing Golden Girls, and I would have been good," she said. "But the image of it! And for me to work with Betty White every day would be like taking cyanide."

Her Voice

Stritch is no Idina Menzel, and she knows it. But she has a gruff, no-nonsense voice that can turn something that's just a song into a real emotion — that's why her performance of "Ladies Who Lunch" has become so iconic.

Her Delivery

If you've ever watched 30 Rock, you know — Stritch has a habit of dropping searing one-liners that stop people dead in their tracks. Just the way she says "Oh my god" when Colleen meets Jack's bird-boned fiance Phoebe speaks volumes.