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'Pretty Little Liars' Nia Peeples: Emily's mom is 'absolutely not a villain'
"I'm gay."Emily (Shay Mitchell) boldly said those words to her father in the Jan. 3 winter premiere of "Pretty Little Liars." Those two words inspired two very different reactions from her parents. Her father was more accepting of the news, saying he was just thankful she's alive and healthy. Her mother, Pam (Nia Peeples), had a less than desirable reaction: "How are we going to fix this? This is wrong."
Peeples spoke with Zap2it about the storyline and admits she initially struggled with Pam's reaction to Emily's coming out.
"I have to tell you, this is the first time that I've played a character that is so opposite me. It was really hard in the beginning because there just wasn't enough information for me to connect to the truth," she says. "As an actor, what we understand is that we are everyone. Every piece of everyone else is in me, but it's an issue of how much of that person am I? So am I a murderer? No, but if someone was coming after my daughter, I'd knock him out in a heartbeat. You can find that place that becomes your truth."
Filming the second half of Season 1 and learning more about Pam has helped Peeples understand her justifications, something she is extremely grateful for and excited for fans to see: "Because there was so little information on Pam, I didn't know why she was so uptight. Once they went into these 10 episodes, I was able to connect with the truth. Rather than to just show up and say, 'You're wrong. Homosexuality is a choice and you're wrong,' they actually allow me to explore why I might believe that and explore, 'This is my daughter and I love her. Who is she and how do I help her along?'"
While a lot of fans are vilifying Pam and sending Peeples tweets saying, "We don't like you," the actress is quick to defend her character. "She's absolutely not a villain. She is a mother who loves her daughter. Pam reacts this way because she's scared," she tells us. "She does not want her daughter to just jump off of a cliff. she wants to make sure if the daughter jumping, she knows exactly where she's trying to land. That's different than just going, 'Woo hoo! I'm just going to check this out because it looks like fun because this other person is going there.'"
Peeples, who is a big fan of "Glee," believes Burt Hummel's (Mike O'Malley) reaction to his son's homosexuality is "setting the example of what should be," but also thinks Pam's reaction is interesting to see. "The truth is everybody deals with all these differences all the time. We don't have control of everything," she says. "So what are we actually trying to get to here? I think watching a parent explore that is just as important as watching the child explore it."
In a preview for Monday, Jan. 10's episode, "Salt Meets Wound," an extremely nervous Emily and Maya (Bianca Lawson) prepare for dinner with Emily's parents. While there is definitely tension, don't expect any fisticuffs. "I don't like kick her in the face or anything. There's no fist fights," Peeples says with a laugh.
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Photo/Video credit: ABC Family
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I really hope that the people who were tweeting "we don't like you" to Nia were clear in their tweets about not liking how her CHARACTER was reacting to the news. There's such a huge difference between actors and the characters they portray!
On a positive note to Nia, when you're getting that kind of response to your performance, you know you NAILED it. :)
This nasty show is not for families, and parents should dissuade their children from watching. The producers' glorification of homosexuality and statutory rape is not to be commended. "Glee" and "Modern Family" are just as bad.
I found both parents reactions to be realistic. When it comes to gay/bi girls, Glee is definitely getting out written by PLL.
Nia was great in Monday's episode! I was especially impressed with how much her eyes could hold in the most intense scenes. I vividly remember her look when it became clear to her that her husband wasn't going to be on her side about this. She felt so alone and desperate...
About the tweets... I think most of them really do think Nia's to blame for her character's actions. It never ceases to amaze me how people can't tell the difference between the two. =/
When I came out, my father said "I love you no matter what". My mother cried and didn't know how to deal with it. My father lived up to his words, but we don't talk much about the aspects of my life that involve anything gay. My mother has gone through stages, has asked me 1000s of questions and has consulted with other parents of gay men and women. We discuss it. She has come to accept it and is actively involved with gay organizations. Both of my parents love me, but my mother has become a bigger ally and a better friend(through questioning).
In an ideal world, all parents would react like Burt Hummell. This isn't an ideal world.
i love that this series causes all of us to stop and consider, just consider. we're all dealing with things we don't understand, can't relate to, trying to learn from. compassion and empathy are so important. confession: as a mother of a 12 year old budding young woman, i thought the show was a bit racy for my daughter and her friends....but they are sooo far ahead of where i was at 12. it is what is so and i must accept and try to guide that. heres to all the moms and dads out there doing their best!!
My friend are addicted to Pretty Little Liars we talk about it 24/7. When my mom first found out that I was watching it she said is that good for 11 year olds. Then I said I watch 2 and 1/2 men with daddy and the game with you. How worse is it gonna get. Her jaw just dropped. She said you're right. So I watch it everyday. And Tonight's episode was amazing!
They shouldn't say they don't like "her." It's okay not to like her character, but I understand her character. I think a lot of parents would be scared if their child said that to them because it's scary and not the life you pictured for your child. I LOVE Nia Peebles and have since Walker, Texas Ranger! :)