Susan Olsen Claims ‘Brady Bunch’ Revival Was Canceled Due To Donald Trump Support, Views On Covid Vaccines & Anti-Trans Opinions
Susan Olsen, best known for playing Cindy Brady in The Brady Bunch, claims that CBS Studios canceled a sitcom revival due to her political views.
In a new interview, Olsen says a sequel show being developed at CBS Studios was scrapped due to her support of Donald Trump, her views on Covid vaccines, and her stance on the LGBTQ+ community.
More from Deadline
“I am what I was going to portray, so what kind of show would this be if I can’t say anything controversial?” Olsen said on the Walk Away Campaign podcast.
In the updated Brady Bunch series, Olsen would have reprised her role of Cindy Brady and play a Libertarian podcaster.
“I did have a phone call with my [TV] siblings and my agent. Everybody was saying, ‘We’re sorry, but they just won’t budge. They just will not have you in this.’ I was like wow, I’ve been canceled,” she said. “A role that I’ve played for over 50 years, I can’t play it now because I’m too dangerous. I was like ‘Well, okay guys, good luck, I hope you can sell it.’ “
Olsen recalled that about a year later, she had a video call with who she calls “The Inquisition,” which consisted of the showrunner, the producer, and Sherwood Schwartz’s son, to talk about how to move forward and appease the network. The actress said they questioned her about her stance on political issues, saying they had “drank every drop of the Kool-Aid” and continued to disagree with her opinions.
Olsen said she fought back, telling them, “by now we know the vaccine was not safe or effective.” The topic of trans children also came up during the conversation, and the Brady Bunch reboot producers noted suicide rates among children who don’t get treatment. Olsen said she pushed back by asking to “imagine” the suicide rate of those who had gender-affirming surgery and regretted it later.
Olsen revealed that in the Brady Bunch revival, one of Jan’s kids was going to be trans with the actress adding, “There was also a Black spouse. To that I was like, come on, let’s not be so obvious … Let’s make this Black spouse somebody who has a really close relationship with another Brady, and that’s how this Brady met them. Give them a foundation so this isn’t a token position.”
In discussing “tokenism,” Olsen dismissed systemic racism as the U.S. “elected a Black president twice.”
In 2016, Olsen was fired from LA Talk Radio’s Two Chicks Talkin’ Politics after sharing anti-LGBTQ views on social media.
“We will not tolerate hateful speech by anyone associated with our radio station and have severed our ties with a host that veered off the direction in which we are going,” LA Talk Radio said in a statement back in 2016.
Olsen said “they did a web search and they came up with 50 pages” of comments she had made on social media “and the resounding result was, ‘No, we cannot have her in a show. If we go forward with this project, it will not be with her.’ “
The actress doubled down and added, ‘To be honest, those 50 pages were my greatest hits. I stand by everything I said, I don’t just say things.”
Best of Deadline
Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.