Lynda Carter: ‘I endured my fair share of inappropriate behavior.’
Vibrant and outspoken, original Wonder Woman Lynda Carter returns to the Kennedy Center to perform songs from her new album.
For Lynda Carter, appearing at the Kennedy Center has become an annual pilgrimage of sorts. “It’s a thrill to come back every year,” she says. “There’s a mix of old material and new material.” Much of that new material will be from her forthcoming album, Red, Rock ‘n Blues.”
At 66, Carter, whose iconic status in pop culture was cemented in the ’70s when she portrayed Wonder Woman on network television, is busier than ever. In addition to her performances, including two at Lincoln Center, she also reprised her role as Governor Jessman in Broken Lizards’ Super Troopers 2, out April 20, narrated Smithsonian Channel’s series Epic Warrior Women, premiering March 19, and on April 3 will be awarded a long overdue star on Hollywood Boulevard.
Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins will speak at the star unveiling. “I’m very close to her,” says Carter. “It’s nice to have company in the Wonder Woman arena.” Carter can’t say if she’ll have a cameo in the Wonder Woman sequel, though she has discussed the possibility with Jenkins, who she calls “brilliant,” adding “I loved the first movie.”
When it comes to the #MeToo movement, Carter, a Hollywood veteran, feels it’s long overdue. “I endured my fair share of super uncomfortable and inappropriate behavior [back in the ’70s] and had to talk my way out of terrible situations,” she says. “But who do you tell? Who do you complain to? And there’s a difference between being hit on by a guy, and someone in a position of power cornering you and doing those kinds of things. There is a difference.” She adds, “I never got asked out very much. I don’t know why.” (Here’s one far-flung theory: Maybe men feared that Carter actually wielded the Lasso of Truth.)
As for the current administration, Carter says “I put most of the blame for what is happening in our country squarely on the shoulders of the congress. They own what is being passed without actually reading the things that they’re passing. There’s no deliberation. They’re using the bully pulpit to pass things. They’re shoving things through that will affect our nation’s poorest people. Taking away their healthcare. Social Security’s going to end up gutted. So is Medicare. People say, ‘Oh I’m getting more money in one pocket,’ but it’s gonna be taken away from another pocket. People are being bamboozled — it’s a scary time. So, yeah, we all know what this administration is. And that’s why anyone who doesn’t agree [with the president] is being fired.”
She gets even more riled up over the way the press is being dismissed. “They have perpetuated the idea that journalists — well-respected, Peabody, Pulitzer, award-winning journalists — are writing fake news. And that is an untenable situation. Never before in history of our great republic has there ever been such an attack on a free press.
“But I will say this,” she concludes. “Liars always think other people are lying. And people who steal always think other people are stealing.”
Lynda Carter appears with her band in Red, Rock ‘n Blues, on Saturday, March 17, at 7:30 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Tickets are $55 to $110. Visit Kennedy-Center.org.
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