Morgan Fairchild ‘too sexy for TV’ controversy actually boosted her career

Morgan Fairchild may have made fans wonder if she was “too sexy for TV,” but she refused to play the so-called Hollywood game moving forward.

The actress, whose breakout role in “Flamingo Road” cemented her stunning image before becoming a glamorous vixen in “Falcon Crest,” has a new podcast, “2B—-from Texas” She co-hosted it with her sister, Katherine Hart. The show features never-before-heard stories from their decades in the entertainment world and interviews with celebrity friends.

The 76-year-old told Fox News Digital that, looking back, she didn’t want to “sell my soul” moving forward.

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Morgan Fairchild is seen here in 1984 promoting the TV special “Blondes vs. Brunettes.” She is now the co-host of the podcast “2 B—-es From Texas.” (Bob D’Amico/American Broadcasting Companies via Getty Images)

“When I first moved to L.A., everyone told me: ‘If you don’t go to the right parties, if you don’t sleep with the right people, if you don’t do what everyone else is doing, you’ll never get anywhere,'” she said. “Well, I don’t drink, let alone take drugs. But I never did. And when they told me that’s what it took to get here, I thought: ‘Then I guess I’ll never have a career.’

“I know there were jobs I lost because I didn’t want to sleep with people,” Fairchild said. “I know that, and I accept that I wasn’t willing to accept that. I didn’t want to sleep with them.”

Morgan Fairchild played Constance Weldon Carlisle on the series Flamingo Road which aired from 1980 to 1982. (United Archives GmbH)

Before becoming an icon in the 1980s, Fairchild got her first taste of Hollywood in a small, uncredited role In the movie “Bonnie and Clyde” in 1967, Starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway.

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“I went to an acting party, and I realized everyone was a little weird,” she said. “The next day, I was walking with one of my mentors, and he said, ‘You seem a little down.’ I said, ‘I really like working on this movie, but I realize it’s a strange world.’ I got out of this gig, but that’s the reality of the job, and I can’t keep being out of touch with reality.”

“He gave me the best advice I ever got,” Fairchild said. He said: Nonsense, you can always deviate from reality. That’s how I approached Hollywood.

Morgan Fairchild is seen here starring in the 1982 film The Seduction. (Illustrated Press Limited)

“I create my own reality. I live my life the way I want to. These are choices, as long as you can accept the downside, which is that if you don’t do these things that people tell you you should do, it might not work. And as long as you’re willing to accept that, you’re fine.”

Morgan Fairchild co-hosts 2 B—-es From Texas with her sister, actress Catherine Hart. (Tiberna Hobson/Getty Images)

Fairchild said she has never regretted doing things her own way when it came to focusing on her acting career.

“I’ve never had to look back at anything,” she said. “I made up my mind early on that I would not sell my soul, my pride, or my dignity in order to succeed in this business. I would have done a little better if I had, but I was willing to live with it.”

Loni Anderson and Morgan Fairchild are seen here in this undated photo. (Ron Galella Collection/Ron Galella via Getty Images)

As in her podcast, Fairchild enjoys revisiting her past — even the times when she unexpectedly found herself in a difficult situation.

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Morgan Fairchild appears here opposite Mark Harmon in “Flamingo Road.” (United Archives GmbH)

Fairchild said People magazine photographed her in early 1981 for a feature Her role in the movie “Flamingo Road”. The issue’s release was postponed after the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in March of that year.

“It was at the end of our first season, and we didn’t know yet if we would be picked for season two,” she said.

Actress Morgan Fairchild as San Francisco attorney Jordan Roberts in “Falcon Crest,” circa 1985. (CBS via Getty Images)

“That left People magazine without cover traction. Then, Jerry Falwell, founder of the Moral Majority, and Reverend Donald Wellmon declared me ‘too hot for TV.’ They tried to censor me and get me off TV.”

Morgan Fairchild became a sex symbol in the 1980s. (Ron Galella Collection/Ron Galella via Getty Images)

“They gave me the cover back,” Fairchild said with a laugh. “They gave people the hook, and they got a lot more coverage than they would have gotten otherwise.”

Falwell and Wildmon publicly condemned what they viewed as indecent and immoral television programming, targeting prime-time programs that they said glorified promiscuity. Fairchild’s sensual “Flamingo Road” character quickly became a high-profile symbol of the content they condemned.

Jimmy Kimmel posed for the cover of Morgan Fairchild’s People magazine during an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” It aired on November 11, 2025. During the interview, Kimmel asked Fairchild about the controversy associated with Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority. (Randy Holmes/Disney via Getty Images)

The backlash did not harm Fairchild’s career. Instead, it helped launch her into stardom. People magazine’s July 1981 cover story featured the headline “Is She Too Sexy for TV?” She later obtained an A Golden Globe nomination.

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Actress Morgan Fairchild poses for a photo in Los Angeles, circa 1995. (Harry Langdon/Getty Images)

Fairchild admitted she still had “no idea” why she was targeted at the time.

“I don’t know why they chose me instead of another blonde or anyone else on the show,” she said.

Morgan Fairchild played the mother of Matthew Perry’s character on Friends. (NBCU/NBCUniversal Image Bank via Getty Images via Getty Images)

“I have no idea why they didn’t like me, but I’m grateful. They brought me back this cover – which isn’t a bad title. Otherwise I’d just be Morgan Fairchild from Flamingo Road.” But when they tried to censor me, it backfired. They offered me a bigger deal and gave me what is now considered a classic cover of the magazine.”

Morgan Fairchild and her sister Katherine Hart attend the “I Love New York” celebration on September 30, 1982 in New York City. (Ron Galella Collection/Ron Galella via Getty Images)

When asked how she felt She is classified as a sex symbol, “There are much worse things to be called a sex symbol,” Fairchild replied.

“But it still surprises me,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting it, but there are much worse things to describe.”

Morgan Fairchild told Fox News Digital that she didn’t mind being recognized as a sex symbol during the 1980s. (Paul Archuleta/Getty Images)

In the 1980s, Fairchild became one of Hollywood’s first and most visible advocates during the AIDS crisis. She said it was her choice to speak out when so many others remained silent for fear of being blacklisted in Hollywood. It was a decision that nearly cost her career.

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From left: Susan Lucci, Susan St. James, Rock Hudson and Morgan Fairchild, circa 1984. Hudson died on October 2, 1985, from complications related to AIDS. He was 59 years old. (SD SQL/image link)

“I know it cost me work,” she said. “I’ve been told that it cost me work by people who were in the casting rooms. I’ve been told that I was too controversial because of my Attitude towards AIDS. People don’t want me near their kids. People don’t want me to eat at their place. They didn’t want me in their homes. But I lost friends. “I couldn’t sit and be silent.”

“But here was the beautiful thing,” she said. “The first time I visited a nursing home, I asked myself: What do I say to these men who are dying? What can I say that will comfort me?”

Morgan Fairchild attends the Farrah Fawcett Foundation 2025 Tex-Mex Fiesta at The Rustic on October 30, 2025 in Dallas. (Omar Vega/Getty Images for the Farrah Fawcett Foundation)

“I walked in, and three guys came up and said, ‘We want your eye makeup tricks.’ I did it to make them happy, and I know I lost my job because of it. But those are the choices you make. You have to decide what’s more important: playing it safe or trying to help. And I’ll always try to help.”

Fairchild insisted she would do it again.

“I’m grateful for where my life choices have taken me,” she added.