Playboy’s first ever non-nude issue has hit the shelves and inside is a Q&A and some sexy new shots of Rachel Maddow.
The entire Q&A is a must-read for any Maddow fan, as she talks about politics, music and (what else?) sex. And in case you’re wondering how she spends her weekends, it’s just as magical as you might imagine: “I have a place behind our house in western Massachusetts where I watch football, and there’s a hot tub in it. I get to see [partner] Susan [Mikula], who is patient enough to put up with me. Without her, I might not be able to get out of bed on Monday morning.”
Here are some of our favorite bits from the Playboy interview. Warning: SEXY TALK AHEAD. (p.s. You’re welcome.)
On the hate mail she receives:
“It’s interesting. I get a lot of it, but it has always been the same percentage of negative to positive. The first media job I ever had was in 1999 and 2000. I was on the radio, on The Dave in the Morning Show on WRNX in western Massachusetts. I was the lesbian newsgirl sidekick, and part of the shtick was that I was gay and looked like a dyke. That offended some people. Typical hate mail was the same then as it is now: all caps, misspelled, saying that I’m a man or I’m going to hell for being gay or that I’m a socialist. Or “I’m going to kill you.” That was 10 to 15 percent. Then I moved to my own show in Northampton, Massachusetts. That was Big Breakfast. It was the same thing. Then I got to Air America and had a national platform, and again it was the exact same proportion. Then I get a show on MSNBC, and again 10 to 15 percent hate me, think I’m a man or a socialist and want me dead. Fortunately NBC security is really good. If you look out that window, you’ll see snipers.”
On coming out in college:
“I put up a public letter in the stalls in my dorm. I was a freshman and very cocky and had incredible self-regard, as all good 17-year-olds do. I hadn’t known I was gay for a long time. I was just figuring it out. There were very few openly lesbian students. Once I was sure, I quickly realized that I did not want to be a closeted person-that that was a weak place to be.”
On if she’s ever had sex with men:
“Oh right, this is Playboy [laughs] It’s none of your business! The point is, I stopped thinking of myself as broken when it occurred to me that I might actually not be just a failed heterosexual. I might be this other thing. It was sort of an abstract concept. The first time I consciously thought I might be a lesbian I remember thinking: But I hate softball. Then I went to college and started sleeping with girls and was like, ‘Ah, that’s what my body’s for.'”
Read the rest of the interview at Playboy.com.
