The L Word stars are a beautiful example of the power of queer friendships
BY YASMIN VINCE, IMAGE BY SHOWTIME
We don’t talk enough about the beauty of LGBTQIA friendships. The solidarity and comfort that our community emanates are some of the best bits about being queer. One example of the beautiful platonic love that can exist between sapphics is the close friendship between The L Word’s Leisha Hailey and Kate Moennig.
To celebrate their upcoming book, So Gay For You, here is a complete timeline of their beautiful friendship.
The L Word Auditions
In the early noughties, both Kate Moennig and Leisha Hailey auditioned for Shane McCutcheon on The L Word. In an excerpt of their upcoming book, Kate and Leisha revealed how they were convinced the other one would book the role.
Kate, who Leisha likened to Mick Jagger, embodied everything her soon-to-be friend thought Shane should be. She was cool and “drop-dead gorgeous”. As the two sat next to each other, waiting to be called up, Leisha thought: “Well, there’s Shane.”
Meanwhile, Kate thought Leisha was a shoe-in. “She had Shane in the bag,” said Kate.
Thankfully, both were cast in the show – Kate as Shane and Leisha as Alice Pieszecki.
Joining season one of The L Word
The pair have spoken a lot about how they became firm friends on the set of The L Word. The friendship between their characters is so strong, it would’ve been almost impossible for that not to be reflected in the actors’ relationship. From the start the two have had each other’s backs.
In an interview with Coveteur, Leisha spoke about how she made sure Kate’s privacy was protected in interviews, as her friend was still in the closet during the first season. “They would try to get me to spill that Kate was gay, and I was never going to do it.”
Becoming best friends
The friends remained close even after the show ended in 2009. They now refer to each other as best friends, primarily because they’ve been close friends for so long.
On Tig Notaro’s podcast, Don’t Ask Tig, Kate said: “We’ve just been through so much, and, you know, she stuck around me as well. So it just kind of trickles off the tongue. Best friend: Leisha Hailey.”
The L Word: Generation Q
A decade after The L Word ended, lesbains everywhere were given the gift of all gifts – a sequel series. Both Kate and Leisha reprised their roles. Once again, their characters, Shane and Alice, were incredibly close friends, with Alice helping Shane through her divorce and Shane helping Alice try to get over her feelings for Nat.
In their upcoming book, Kate and Leisha talk about their time on The L Word and its sequel and how they became each other’s chosen family.
Co-hosting their podcast, Pants
In 2020, as the pandemic forced people into quarantine, Kate and Leisha decided to start a podcast that recapped The L Word, delved into their lives and interviewed fellow icons of the lesbian world.
It was named Pants after something people used to say about not only their characters on The L Word, but the duo themselves: “Two legs of the same pair of pants.”
Writing a book together
In June 2025, a joint memoir, written by Kate and Leisha, will be available to buy. So Gay For You will give readers behind-the-scenes stories of The L Word and its sequel, but it’s also a love-letter to the power of chosen families and friendship between queer women.
Tegan Quin, of Tegan and Sara, and Rose O’Donnell both love the book!
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