Last month, the lesbian kiss in the hit Western series Yellowstone made LGBTQ+ fans happy, and now actor Lilli Kay has talked about what happened behind the scenes.
Kay, whose father was the director of Yellowstone, plays Clara Brewer, the assistant to John Dutton, the new governor of Montana and head of the Dutton family.
The Dutton Family owns the biggest cattle ranch in the US, and the show is about them. There is almost no representation of LGBTQ+ people. There is only two “blink and you’ll miss it” moments that have never been properly addressed.
So, when viewers saw Clara kissing what looked like another woman in the midseason finale of Season 5, it caused quite a stir among fans.
During the episode, John’s girlfriend and environmental advisor Summer (Piper Perabo), who is married to Stephen Kay, tells him that he and Clara shouldn’t be kissing in public.
That person turned out to be her non-binary real-life partner Juli Kocemba, and Kay has now explained how they got the job.
Clara in Yellowstone being gay pic.twitter.com/zfJ3lDIoKc
— halloween rat (@tequilaandsnax) December 27, 2022
clara on yellowstone gay??? LET'S GOOO
— dee (@alltooswiftly) December 20, 2022
Kay told Deadline, “We were following our Covid protocol.” “It was written that behind John and Summer, Clara is kissing someone in the background.
“And we were trying to find people in the testing cycle who were easy and comfortable to cast.
“My partner, Juli Kocemba, was with me in Montana, so they said, ‘Oh, let’s just have you two make out in the background.'”
“My partner is non-binary, so we were like, “Well, it’s a gender-fluid make-out in the background.” We thought no one would pay much attention to it. Then, many people made a big deal out of it.”
Even though the unexpected same-sex kiss made a lot of people happy, it also made conservatives angry, who said the show was “going woke.”
Kay went on to say that she thought the uproar was “Very Funny,” especially since she didn’t think anyone would “catch on.”
“Everyone said, ‘Lesbians on the range!'” But it was a good evening. We got to hang out, listen to some great music, and kiss quietly in the background. The ranch has lesbians!”
Kay says that her father also had an interesting day at work because of the last-minute casting choice.
“He was really great and wonderful,” she said.
“It was also the most awkward day for him at work because he had to direct his wife kissing Kevin Costner and his daughter making out with her partner.”
On Paramount Plus, you can now stream Yellowstone Seasons 1 through 5.
