There’s an old saying that the only reason that men take interest in someone as a friend is because they want to sleep with them. For 11,000 of Elvira Mistress of the Dark‘s ‘horny old men’ followers it was true. Apparently they felt slighted when her autobiography was released, and she came out as a lesbian to the world. Cassandra Gay Peterson (yes that’s actually her middle name I did not make that up) has been performing as Elvira for 40 glorious years.
Peterson told the Behind the Velvet Rope podcast:
“The straight people, I knew that there was going to be some horny old men out there who were just not going to like the fact that they didn’t have a chance with me anymore. I hate to tell them they already didn’t have a chance of me anyway.
Peterson to Behind the Velvet Rope
In one day, the day after the book came out, I lost 11,000.
People just said, ‘Elvira, you lied to me. I don’t respect you anymore. Goodbye.’
But I got 60,000 new followers the same day.
It was mostly straight, older guys who just felt lied to.
I don’t know – can’t please everybody!”
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While maybe Elvira lost thousands of male followers who felt lied to, she also gained many more who are allies. And probably a bunch of new ‘horny old women’ followers as well.
Peterson also explained that when she realized she was gay, it surprised her. It’s a heartwarming story, and one that we think a lot of LGBTQ can relate to when they finally realize what feels right. Peterson and her partner Teresa Wierson have been together for 19 years.
“I think I was even more surprised. What the hell was I doing?
I’d never been interested in women as anything other than friends. I felt so confused. This just wasn’t me! I was stunned that I’d been friends with her for so many years and never noticed our chemistry.
I soon discovered that we connected sexually in a way I’d never experienced.Nobody was ready for that. And apparently we kept it a pretty damn good secret because nobody knew — and everybody was surprised.”
Peterson to Behind the Velvet Rope
It’s a hard thing when you finally come out to the world for someone who’s been an icon for a very long time. Elvira has always pushed boundaries of what PG-13 could mean by the way she presented herself onscreen. Peterson herself has surely been responsible for many people’s sexual awakening. We’re just glad she can be true to herself and she doesn’t take crud from anybody. Especially not those old men.
You can pick up a copy of Elvira’s memoir “Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark” here.
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