One production of The Vagina Monologues has just lost its star. Veteran actress Maria Conchita Alonso, who was set to star in the Spanish-speaking version of the popular play in San Francisco next month, stepped down from her role Friday, Jan. 17 for expressing political support in a Tea Party campaign video.
After facing threats of boycotts and protests for backing California Gubernatorial candidate Tim Donnelly in a bilingual Internet campaign video released last week, Venezuelan-raised Alonso, 56, decided it was best if she stepped down from the production. "They were saying they were going to burn down the theater, they were going to boycott the show," she told Fox News Monday, Jan. 20.
"We really can't have her in the show, unfortunately," show producer Eliana Lopez told San Francisco's local CBS affiliate, KPIX 5. "Of course, she has the right to say whatever she wants, but we're in the middle of the Mission [a heavily-Hispanic section of the city]."
Alonso has been barraged by Internet commenters, along with the political left and right, for her appearance in the clip. (In the video, the Latina actress holds her Chihuahua, Tequila, and sort-of translates Donnelly's comments into Spanish. "Politicians and big government are killing our prosperity," says the candidate, which Alonso then translates into, "We're screwed.")
The Cuban-born star's history with political activism is actually quite extensive: back in 2011, Alonso got into a verbal public altercation with actor Sean Penn at the baggage claim of LAX. The reason? His support for Hugo Chavez, the Socialist leader of the actress' home country.
Penn called her "a pig." She then retorted and called the Gangster Squad star a "communist a–hole." She later spoke in a radio interview and apologized for calling the actor an "a–hole."
"I'm not apologizing for calling him a Communist, because that's what he is."
