Over the last few weeks, the internet has spun itself into a frenzy over the “news” that Laura Prepon is leaving Orange Is the New Black. Reliable information about when she’s leaving, why she’s leaving, how she’s leaving, or, you know, if she’s really leaving has been scarce because Prepon herself has remained pretty silent about the rumors. Even on Twitter, Prepon hasn’t responded to the onslaught of lesbian fandom pleas for her to wear glasses and play gay for the rest of time. But yesterday, at the Variety/Women in Film Party, she finally spoke a little bit about the coming season.
Prepon aimed to counter reports that she would not be a presence in the sophomore year of Orange, the Netflix show that was a popular follow-up this summer to House of Cards.At this point, I, personally, have heard that she’ll be back for the full season, for half the season, for one episode of the season, that she’s leaving because she wants more money, that she’s leaving for other opportunities, that she’s already agreed to be in another network pilot, that she’s leaving because of salary demands from the supporting cast, that the writers didn’t ever intend for her to stay past season one and are now scrambling because of the popularity of her relationship with Piper, that she’s the most professional actor in the world, that she’s a total diva, that she’s not leaving at all, that she begged to stay, that she couldn’t wait to go. From people in “the industry,” I have heard all of those things, so honestly, it’s nice to see Prepon speaking any of her own words into the abyss of white noise speculation.“I know what’s happening, but I can’t spoil anything,” she said. “But I’m definitely coming back for season two. I know there’s a lot floating around, but I can’t wait to get back there. It’s exciting.”
Whatever behind-the-scenes stuff is going on, I, like you, hope they can get it sorted out. Without the Piper/Alex dynamic, the show sure would lose a lot of electric charge for me.
What do you think of Prepon’s comments to Variety?
