In an interview with Vulture that ran last week, The Real O’Neals star Noah Galvin went off on a number of fellow actors and directors. He slammed Colton Hayes for the way he came out, saying he was “not doing anything for the little gays but giving them more masturbation material”; he referred to allegations that director Brian Singer was a pedophile; and he spoke frankly about losing roles because he was deemed “too gay.” (Vulture quickly deleted the reference to Singer, but it lives on in other stories about the interview.) It caused a firestorm—Galvin quickly apologized—but it was also refreshing, not just because he clearly didn’t give a damn what anybody thought, but because actors are rarely as forthcoming as he was. The interview with Vulture was many things, but it wasn’t PR.
There’s a reason why actors tend not to speak their minds to the press: The networks and studios they work for will punish them if they do. According to The Hollywood Reporter, ABC threatened to cut The Real O’Neals’s episode order as punishment for Galvin’s insubordination. According to THR, ABC executives had already talked to him about his “ego and entitlement.” But it’s safe to say this wasn’t just a threat aimed at Galvin—this was a message for the rest of ABC’s talent as well: Don’t rock the boat, or you could not only lose your job, but jeopardize the jobs of the people you work with.