Julia Louis-Dreyfus: Harris says ‘Veep’ is ‘more like DC than anyone would care to admit’
Vice President Harris says “Veep’s” satirical take on Washington life was actually spot-on, according to the show’s star, Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
“It was incredible,” the actor — who starred as the conniving-but-bumbling fictional politician Selina Meyer in the HBO comedy — recalled in an interview with Variety published Tuesday.
“Her husband, the first gentleman, and she told me they love ‘Veep,’” Louis-Dreyfus said of her face-to-face with Harris and Doug Emhoff, “and that it’s more like D.C. than anyone would care to admit.”
The series ended its run after seven seasons in 2019.
Harris posted a photo of her smiling for a selfie alongside Louis-Dreyfus at President Biden’s first state dinner at the White House in December, quipping on Instagram, “Great to see you, Madam Vice President.”
Louis-Dreyfus, who reunited with the “Veep” cast in 2020 as part of a virtual fundraiser for Democrats and then-White House hopeful Biden, says it will likely be a while before she’d ever consider playing the role again.
A critic of former President Trump, Louis-Dreyfus said the country needs “multiple years of normalcy in Washington before we could revisit something.”
Asked by the publication if a potential rebooted “Veep” plot could feature something on 2021’s deadly riot at the Capitol by supporters of Trump, Louis-Dreyfus replied, “I don’t know how we could.”
“I don’t know how to make that funny, especially when people lost their lives,” the 62-year-old performer said.
Louis-Dreyfus also weighed in on the pressure for comedians and productions to balance both political correctness and humor.
“It’s tricky. I’m in favor of sensitivity,” she said. “When people complain about being too politically correct, I start to question what their motives are,” she said.
“I believe in irony and satire — there must be a place for it for a culture to survive — but I also believe in being sensitive and kind at the same time,” she added.
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