Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says he intends to block the use of the state Senate chamber for the filming of a movie that will highlight the 13-hour filibuster by abortion advocate and former state Sen. Wendy Davis.
“If I have anything to do with that, I’m not going to let them use the Senate chamber to shoot because they have already disgraced it once,” Patrick said in a speech to Texas Public Policy Foundation think tank. “I’m not going to let them do it again.”
According to Statesman, Patrick added he has received a copy of the script for Let Her Speak, but has not read it, yet noted he was portrayed as using a curse word while criticizing Davis, who became known among pro-life activists as “Abortion Barbie.”
“I’m a long way from being a perfect person … but I don’t curse,” he said.
Patrick said he told his wife Brad Pitt or George Clooney would be his recommendations of actors who might portray him in the film.
“Without skipping a beat she said, ‘Dan Aykroyd,’” he quipped. “She said, ‘Like he looks today.’”
Actress Sandra Bullock is slated to portray Davis, who became a rock star among abortion advocates in 2013 when she donned pink sneakers and a urinary catheter, and then filibustered a bill that would ban abortions past 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Davis’s filibuster took the state Senate into recess, but then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry called a special legislative session to complete passage of the bill.
Subsequently, Davis ran for governor, but was never a true contender and ultimately lost her bid by 20 percentage points to current Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R). During the campaign, the news was filled with what eventually came to be recognized as her fictional accounts of her life and her flip-flopping on key issues – even abortion.
In January 2014, Davis admitted she lied about important life events, including her divorce, and, one year later, also admitted she was faking her support for gun rights to boost her chances in her gubernatorial bid.
In February 2014 – just half a year after her famous filibuster – Davis told the Dallas Morning News she supported bans on abortion after 20 weeks. The news was not a complete shock, since several months earlier Davis had also described herself as “pro-life.”