'A big, big mistake': Bette Midler regrets not suing Lindsay Lohan for quitting 'Bette' sitcom following the pilot

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Although Lindsay Lohan was only 13 when she secured a role on Bette Midler's television program 'Bette', the iconic actress and comedian almost sued the 'Mean Girls' star after the project fell through.

During her appearance on David Duchovny's 'Fail Better' podcast on Tuesday, May 7, Midler revealed her brief career as a sitcom star, which she openly acknowledged was a "big flop," as per Page Six.

Bette Midler reveals she regretted not suing Lindsay Lohan after her sitcom 'Bette' was canceled

Midler claimed that the partially autobiographical CBS sitcom 'Bette' was a compilation of mistakes, and not suing former co-star Lohan for quitting her show was one of them. 

On the 'Fail Better' podcast, the 78-year-old actress and comedian expressed that she still finds herself regretting not being more staunch when Lohan left her show 'Bette'.

"I did a television show, ‘Bette’. Does it get any more generic than that? A big, big, big mistake," said the 'Hocus Pocus' star as she laughed.

With dwindling viewership, the brief show—which ran on CBS from 2000 to 2001 for only one season—was canceled before airing all 22 scheduled episodes, as per Daily Mail.

Following the premiere of the pilot, the two-time Oscar nominee stated that Lohan declined to return. Midler speculated that her early departure from 'Bette' might have had a role in the show's downfall.

She noted, "Lindsay Lohan was cast as my daughter in the pilot. Well, after the pilot, Lindsay Lohan decided she didn’t 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?" adding that the circumstance was "extremely chaotic."

As Duchovny brought up the fact that Lohan was obligated to a contract and shouldn't have been "allowed to do that," Midler said she regretted not bringing the 14-year-old to justice in this regard.

Midler remarked, "If I had been in my right mind, or if I had known that my part of my duties was to stand up and say, ‘This absolutely will not do, I’m going to sue,’ then I would have done that."

"But I seem to have been cosseted in some way that I couldn’t get to the writer’s room. I couldn’t speak to the showrunner. I couldn’t make myself clear," added the 'Beaches' actesss. 

Bette Midler says 'Bette' might have worked out if Lindsay Lohan didn't leave the project

Midler claimed that even though her name was attached to the project, she was "kicked to the curb" and was not permitted to "take charge" of the CBS show.

The 'First Wives Club' actress did, however, state that she thinks "it would have worked" if not for a few "astonishing" factors, such as Lohan's exit following the pilot episode.

Marina Malota replaced Lohan in the role but failed to resonate with the public, probably because she lacked Lohan's star power from her adolescent career's pinnacle.

Midler further admitted that the show had been unsuccessful for "several reasons," citing "the wrong motivation" and she "did not understand" the media environment at the time as two of the reasons.

"I had made theatrical live events. I had made films. I had made variety television shows. I had been on talk shows. But I had never done a situation comedy," clarified the three-time Primetime Emmy-winning actress, adding, "I didn’t realize what the pace was. And I didn’t understand what the hierarchy was. And no one bothered to tell me."