Matthew Balan already reported Cybill Shepherd's feminist outburst on yesterday's CBS This Morning. But her CBS interview was also remarkable for what was NOT said. Shepherd was brought in to discuss her role on the new Lifetime series "The Client List," in which she plays the mother of Jennifer Love (for Sale) Hewitt's lead character -- a massage worker who's also a prostitute. That little sex-worker detail never emerged in the entire CBS interview.
The interview began with a clip from the show where Shepherd's "Mama" brought over a nice gentleman to meet her daughter and have dinner -- except, of course, it's obvious that the nice gentleman is a sex client of her daughter. This was completely glossed over by CBS. Like she was never clued in, CBS co-host Gayle King mentioned Shepherd's debut in the movie "The Last Picture Show" and added "Forty years later she's still playing memorable and often surprising characters."
Co-host Erica Hill expressed their giddy fandom: "We've watched Cybill Shepherd on TV and in the movies, listened to her music, seen her on TV, saw her ads, read her autobiography. [We?] As you saw there, she’s now co-starring with Jennifer Love Hewitt in a new drama on Lifetime called 'The Client List.'" King added: "She plays a church-going texas grandma – Cybill Shepherd a grandma! -- who’s been married five times. Cybill Shepherd, hello!"
Then the CBS gals promptly changed the subject to how she asked Robert DeNiro for an autograph. He preceded her on set to plug his new CBS cop series "NYC 22." (He's Executive Producer.) After a bunch of small talk about that, they eventually came back to the Lifetime show, and its poster of busty Hewitt with bedroom eyes:
SHEPHERD: She started very young in the business, as I did. She is one of the most professional people I've ever known. She’s the first to the set, she’s the first in wardrobe. There's no prima -- what do you call it? Prima–
KING: Prima donna.
SHEPHERD: Diva. There’s no divas on this show.....
ERICA HILL: Your character is kind of fun.
SHEPHERD: Yeah, I'm kind of fun. Yeah, Grandma Linette, Memaw. My kids call me Memaw!
KING: Do your kids call you, your grandkids --
SHEPHERD: my -- I don't have grandkids.
KING: Oh, I thought you did. I'm sorry.
SHEPHERD No, no, I can't wait to have grandkids. just don't tell my children.
That's as close as CBS came to discussing the prostitution plot, or asking if Shepherd is playing a "GCB"-style cartoon of a big-haired Texas hypocrite who loves going to church and has five divorces. They went back to talking about how women can age gracefully.
There is a reason why Shepherd wouldn't want to be too insistent about popping out grandchildren.
