Jessica Lange says FX never provided a car service for the cast of “American Horror Story” during its third season, which was filmed in New Orleans, and she did not hold back about it at a PaleyFest panel on Thursday.
“We had to drive ourselves,” the 77-year-old actress said while sitting alongside co-stars including Sarah Paulson, Billie Lourd and Gabourey Sidibe, according to a video of the panel that went viral. “Thank you, FX,” she added sarcastically, giving the network a mock salute as the audience and Paulson laughed.
Lange, who played Fiona Goode in the show’s “Coven” season set in New Orleans in 2013, recalled driving home from set in the middle of the night without any assistance from the production. “We would drive ourselves home at like 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning, park on some street in the French Quarter and find our way home,” she said. “Because they were too f—ing cheap.”
She later softened the complaint somewhat, saying she ultimately “had a good time” filming in the city because “New Orleans is a good place to shoot.”
Paulson did not comment directly on the lack of a car service but reacted with visible laughter at Lange’s remarks. Reps for FX did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Page Six, which first reported the panel comments.
Online reaction largely sided with Lange, with some social media users calling it surprising that cast members were left to find their own way home late at night. One commenter joked about French Quarter bystanders who claimed to have spotted Lange walking the streets at 4 a.m. and weren’t believed.
Why she came back for one more season
Lange has appeared in six seasons of “American Horror Story” altogether: “Murder House,” “Asylum,” “Coven,” “Freak Show,” “Apocalypse” and the newest season, a greatest-hits revival. She won two Emmys for her work on the anthology series.
At the PaleyFest panel, she explained why she agreed to return for Season 13 after an eight-year absence. “I said, ‘Well, I might consider if I can do all four characters that I had originated, and also work with all the rest of the actors,'” she said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “Because we were a repertory company … and I loved that part of it, really, really loved that part.”
Series creator Ryan Murphy told Vogue in August that Lange’s one condition for coming back was getting a musical number.
Despite enjoying the return, Lange made clear she considers her run on the show finished.
“It was great fun, but I don’t see any future in it. We’re not going to keep bringing these old bitches back. We’ve had enough!”
