Julia Louis-Dreyfus revealed on Amy Poehler’s “Good Hang” podcast that she felt “backed into a corner” when she publicly disclosed her breast cancer diagnosis in 2017. At the time, HBO’s “Veep” was preparing for its seventh and final season, but production was delayed while Louis-Dreyfus underwent chemotherapy.
On the Dec. 9 episode of the “Good Hang” podcast, host Poehler praised Louis-Dreyfus for being open about her diagnosis, saying the disclosure was “very helpful for a lot of people.” But Louis-Dreyfus explained that going public wasn’t entirely her choice.
“I was kind of backed into a corner on that one because we had to shut our show down,” the “Veep” star said. “It’s funny how that worked out, because normally I would not have done that. I’m very private.”
Louis-Dreyfus played Selina Meyer on “Veep” from 2012 to 2019, earning six consecutive Emmys for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series.
According to Louis-Dreyfus, who also served as an executive producer, production on the final season of the HBO series had to shut down “for a year” so she could undergo chemotherapy. “Two hundred fifty people weren’t going to be working,” she added, “so I had to make a public thing about it.”
Even though she had reservations, Louis-Dreyfus said she’s ultimately glad she shared her diagnosis because it allowed her to connect with others who were also battling cancer.
“The good thing about doing that was that I did have this incredible experience of people reaching out to me asking me for, you know, asking me about my experience going through breast cancer, for advice,” she said. “And I was able to help and there was something unbelievably comforting about being able to do that on the other side of this trauma.”
Louis-Dreyfus was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2017. She announced the news on Twitter (now X), writing, “1 in 8 women get breast cancer. Today, I’m the one.”
“The good news is that I have the most glorious group of supportive and caring family and friends,” she added. “The bad news is that not all women are so lucky, so let’s fight all cancers and make universal health care a reality.”
Watch Louis-Dreyfus’ full interview on the “Good Hang” podcast below.
