Will & Grace reunion sketch 'wasn't a Hillary Clinton ad', says Debra Messing

Helena Andrews-Dyer
Friday 30 September 2016 11:45 BST
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First things first: Debra Messing, who for eight years played one-half of the odd couple “Will & Grace,” is absolutely positively “with her.”

“I’ve been a passionate Hillary Clinton supporter and advocate,” said the actress. We know.

She’s fresh off a trip to Ohio stumping for the Democratic presidential nominee. She spoke at the Democratic National Convention in July. And then there’s that Twitter dust-up Messing had with actress Susan Sarandon, who supported Bernie Sanders.

Messing’s personal message is clear — Hillary or bust — but she wants fans to know that the election-themed “Will & Grace” reunion that hit YouTube on Monday, the night of the first presidential debates, isn’t about Clinton.

Although Grace’s support of Clinton “just so happened to align completely” with the actress’s own views, the nine-and-a-half minute sketch in which Grace, Will (both Clinton supporters) and Karen (in the bag for Donald Trump) try to persuade an undecided Jack to vote, she said, was not a Clinton ad. The point was to get folks to the polls on Nov. 8.

“Votes are the great equalizer,” Messing said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re wealthy, it doesn’t matter what color your skin is, or what religion you are, every vote is weighted equally and it is our greatest privilege as Americans.”

Another reason Messing said “yes” to the top secret one-day shoot in Los Angeles? She needed the break.

“I knew it would be a great reprieve to just go and laugh and have fun,” said Messing, who’ll be working full-time for the Clinton campaign until Election Day.

If “Will & Grace,” a show that Vice President Biden credited with changing the country’s views on the LGBT community, were still on the air, the series would be tackling the 2016 race, she said.

“There is no question the writers would have a field day with the wild happenings of this election cycle,” said Messing.

So has Clinton watched the first “episode” of “Will & Grace” in 10 years that’s about her but not about her? Messing hasn’t heard directly from the former secretary of state, but praise has trickled down the ranks.

“I heard through [a contact] that the entire campaign was overjoyed and delighted by the video,” Messing said.

​Washington Post.

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