Melissa Benoist Says Women’s Rights Are ‘Not Safe’ in America

April 26, 2024 @ 11:11 AM

In an election year, Melissa Benoist is taking her activism to the screen and begging voters to, well, vote. According to the actress, the country should never “have an election that we’re not involved in ever, ever, ever again” — especially given the current status of women’s rights.

In her new series “Girls on the Bus,” which follows four female journalists on the campaign trail for a fictional presidential election, Benoist stars as Sadie McCarthy, an idealist who writes for a paper similar to the New York Times. But, in Episode 8, now streaming on Max, she wants to get an abortion.

The thing is, being on the campaign trail means she can’t exactly schedule an appointment with her normal doctor, so she needs to travel across state lines to pick up pills for a medical abortion. And, in a real-life post-Dobbs world, the story was a particularly important one for Benoist and the “Girls on the Bus” showrunners.

“We’re not safe in this country with our rights as women,” Benoist said during a recent episode of the “UnWrapped” podcast. “We have to just keep telling those stories, to hopefully be a part of it changing.”

And, with a very real presidential election on the horizon, Benoist urges everyone to go to the polls and advocate for their rights.

“We have to be so involved now and we have to know who we’re voting for,” she said. “We have to vote in every single election. It is so important.”

During this episode Benoist also…

Says she will “never say never” when it comes to a “Supergirl” return

Reveals she “didn’t ever feel like” or “realize” that her feelings weren’t validated as a child until she “was in therapy later as an adult”

Says being a mother has changed “everything” from her “perspectives” and “priorities” to the content she decides to “put out into the world”

Shares how she and her husband try to validate their son’s feelings by saying things like, “It’s OK that you feel this way, it’s OK that you’re sad, it’s OK that you’re angry”

Reveals she journals and does pottery at least once a week to take care of her mental health

About “UnWrapped”

“UnWrapped” is a podcast produced by WrapWomen, dedicated to empowering the next generation of women in media and entertainment. Each episode “unwraps” topics from entertainment news and industry trends to career advice, Hollywood headlines and more.

Special guests include industry leaders, actors, producers and studio execs. The aim of the series is to connect those looking for knowledge and access to those with the knowledge and access, providing the WrapWomen community with tools to succeed in their personal and professional lives.

You can listen to the full episode on TheWrap.com, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, TheWrap’s YouTube page or wherever you get your podcasts.