Bette Midler Now Wishes Shed Sued A Teenage Lindsay Lohan For Quitting Sitcom

Bette Midler is opening up about her ill-fated foray into television with the benefit of nearly 24 years worth of hindsight. 

Appearing on this weeks episode of David Duchovnys Fail Better podcast , Midler shared some of the behind-the-scenes mishaps  including a less-than-desirable experience working with Lindsay Lohan , who was briefly cast as her characters daughter  that led to the demise of her CBS series, Bette, after just one season. 

I believe it would have worked if Id had a team that was on my side, the actor and singer said. Things happened that were so astonishing, I didnt know those things could happen. For instance, Lindsay Lohan was cast as my daughter in the pilot. Well, after the pilot, Lindsay Lohan decided she didnt want to do it, or she had other fish to fry. So Lindsay Lohan left the building, and I said, Well, now what do you do? The studio didnt help me.

When Duchovny pointed out that Lohans premature departure from the show was likely a breach of contract, Midler agreed.

If I had been in my right mind, or if I had known that part of my duties were to stand up and say, This absolutely will not do. Im going to sue, then I wouldve done that, she said. 

Bette aired from October 2000 to March 2001. Though Lohan had already enjoyed big-screen success in the 1998 remake of Disneys The Parent Trap , she was only 14 at the time of her Bette casting. 

After the future Mean Girls star withdrew from the production, she was replaced by actor Marina Malota for the remainder of the show. 

Describing Bette as a big, big, big mistake, Midler blamed much of the shows failure on herself, adding: It was a part of the media I simply did not understand.

The main thing that was so shocking to me was the pace of it, she said. I didnt understand how fast you had to go. Really, you have to give people so much credit when its great, because the speed of it is so taxing, and if you didnt keep up, you were in big trouble. 

Midler also recalled a conversation shed had with late night talk show host David Letterman as the show was airing, during which hed asked her how she felt about the experience. 

I said, Its the worst thing thats ever happened to me in my entire life. Its like being a dung beetle and pushing a pile of shit up a hill every day, she said. Of course, the next day I was fired. 

As for Lohan, it appears she harbors no ill will toward the Divine Miss M. Last week, she shared a throwback photo from the Bette set on Instagram, noting in the caption that shed had such a blast filming with the incredible Midler. 

Listen to Midlers Fail Better interview below. Her comments on Bette start around the 25:40 mark.