Xena and Gabrielle Still Going Strong

Xena: Warrior Princess may have aired its last episode six years ago, but you'd never have known it last weekend in Burbank, Calif., where hundreds of Xena fans — mostly lesbians — turned out for a standing room-only appearance by stars Lucy Lawless (Xena) and Renee O'Connor (Gabrielle) at the 12th Annual Xena Convention. We spoke with Lawless and O'Connor after their turn at the convention about their fans, their careers and the possibility of a Xena movie.

Lawless was glowing after she came offstage after her appearance with O'Connor, the sound of the standing ovation they received still loud in the background. After a star turn on Celebrity Duets and a critically acclaimed role on Battlestar Galactica, her public profile is at its highest since Xena wrapped up its final season in 2001. During the weekend of the convention, she also delivered two sold-out musical performances at Los Angeles ' Roxy Theater.

Asked about the almost palpable adoration shown by the audience at the Saturday night's concert, Lawless gave a radiant smile and said, “It's great, isn't it? It must have been, because even the technical people [at the Roxy] mentioned it. … And when the technical guys say something, it really means something.” One fan at the convention told Lawless that Xena's Michael Hurst (Iolaus) commented to her at the concert that one of the Roxy tech staff said they hadn't ever seen a fan reaction like the one Lucy received, “not even when Bruce Springsteen was there.”

During the first two numbers there were some sound problems, and at one point Lawless asked the audience to turn around and face the sound booth. These folks, she said sweetly, “want to hear me.” It worked, and the next day she laughed about it, saying that being threatened with 500 angry Xena fans is “worse than being threatened by one angry Xena, because Xena has one ounce of compassion.”

Did Lawless and O'Connor ever make a conscious decision to foster such a devoted relationship with their fans? According to Lawless, it just happened. “No, there was no decision,” she said. “I think how you conduct your life and dealings means that people who are not like-minded fall away. They can't handle it. I do not have glittery star people on my payroll.”

Asked what it's like to perform for an almost exclusively lesbian audience, Lawless answered: “I just want to emphasize again how it is of no interest to us what form people have. It's all about the heart for us; that's what we identify with in our fans.”

As to interviewers who sometimes make negative comments about her lesbian fans, Lawless said, “I don't care to add to their mockery. I have come to know a great many of our fans, and they are phenomenal people.”

“It's so patronizing,” said O'Connor, who joined the interview during this exchange.

“And we do have a lot of fans who are men,” Lawless pointed out.

O'Connor laughed. “Yeah, when I was voted … what was it, number one lesbian of the year …”

Lawless broke in, also laughing, “Yeah, yeah, you're lesbian icon number one.”

O'Connor said, “That's it. And when I posted a thank you to ‘the girls,' a lot of guys posted, ‘Wait a minute, we voted for you, too!'”

Being seen as lesbian icons obviously suits Lawless and O'Connor just fine. At the convention, Lawless told the crowd that Xena was voted the second most loved lesbian icon in the world, and asked, “Would you like to meet number one?” The audience screamed and applauded, and O'Connor joined her co-star on the stage.

During her sold-out concert the night before, Lawless found lots of ways to make her lesbian fans happy. The emcee greeted the audience by saying, “Welcome, ladies and ladies,” and backup singer Sharlotte Gibson laughed that there were all of four men present. Lawless performed a sizzling version of Melissa Etheridge's “Like the Way I Do” and tossed the name “Gabrielle” into the lyrics of “Piece of My Heart.” Midway through the evening, she went offstage and came back in the fringed minidress she wore on Celebrity Duets and blew the stage apart with “Tell Mama.” Then O'Connor put on a fringed minidress of her own and came out and danced while Lawless sang “What'd I Say.”

O'Connor said she originally had a different outfit in mind, but “Lucy called and said, ‘Oh, Ren, I have a dress for you to wear; it matches the beads.' And I was like, it was this big. Does it have a bottom half? And Lucy told me, ‘Just wear fluffy panties, and it would be fine.'”