Chris Colfer reflects on playing an openly gay teenager on television and the hostility he faced (death threats, security risks). He credits Carrie Fisher’s memoir Wishful Drinking with teaching him to use humor as both protection and a coping strategy during that period.
I was playing an openly gay teenager at a time when it was people did not like seeing openly gay teenagers on the television. And the death threats and the security risks started almost immediately. I always came back to Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher, because if it had not been for her and for that book, I think I would have gone crazy from that experience. She was really one of the first authors to teach me how humor can be used as a weapon and protection, just. And just how important humor is to use in really tough situations.
