Cate Blanchett Seems Pretty Stoked That ‘Tár’ Has Made Her A ‘Lesbian Icon’: ‘Yeah, Baby!’

Cate Blanchett already has two Oscars to her name, and with Tár there’s a good chance she’ll get a third. (That is, if Michelle Yeoh doesn’t finally get one.) Not everyone is a fan; a female conductor who likely inspired Blanchett’s character — though not the story — has come out against it. But the responses have been largely rapturous and it’s even earned the beloved actress a new title: lesbian icon, with which she’s cool.

In the film, Blanchett plays Lydia Tár, a groundbreaking conductor and composer who’s an EGOT and the first female chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic. She’s also a lesbian, married to the Philharmonic’s concertmaster (Nina Hoss). Though Tár, born Linda Tarr, is accused of some shady business later in the film, the character has become a gold mine for social media memes and jokes. It’s also made Blanchett what you could call a “lesbian icon.”

When asked about that, in an interview with Attitude alongside Hoss (as caught by IndieWire), she replied happily. “Yeah, baby!” she exclaimed. That said, there was a catch to her response. “Don’t know what it means but it’s nice. Yeah, cool, I’ll take it.”

As she continues to Hoover up awards, Blanchett has been making the press rounds, sometimes making news with her amiably eccentric responses. Last week she seemed flabbergasted that fellow Aussie Margot Robbie — or anyone, really — could love awesome heavy metal music.

You can watch more from Blanchett and Hoss’ Attitude interview below.

(Via IndieWire)

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