'Elvira' Actress Cassandra Peterson Says News Of Her Coming Out Felt Like Betrayal To 'Some Horny Old Men'

Cassandra Peterson who is best known for portraying the iconic Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, came out last year in her memoir, Yours Cruelly, Elvira. This news came as a surprise to a lot of people. But some seem to have taken it harder than others, according to the 70-year-old who recently revealed on the Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef podcast.

Recalling the reaction to her coming out, she said people "flipped out." She went on to explain, "Nobody was ready for that. And apparently, we kept it a pretty damn good secret because nobody knew—and everybody was surprised." But while this news was mostly well-received, there were others who found it unacceptable. "The straight people, I knew that there was going to be some horny old men out there who were just not going to like the fact that they didn’t have a chance with me anymore," Peterson told Yontef, laughing. She added, "And I hate to tell them they already didn’t have a chance of me anyway."

Losing fans was not just an assumption she made. She lost roughly 11,000 followers on social media, noted Pink News. "People just said, 'Elvira, you lied to me. I don’t respect you anymore. Goodbye,'" she said. On the other hand, to make up for the homophobic fans leaving, she gained 60,000 followers. "It was funny," she shared. "I know it was mostly straight older guys who just felt lied to. I don’t know. Can’t please everybody!" Peterson made a name for herself as the sexy goth host of Movie Macabre. Her tight-fitting, low-cut, revealing black gown gained notoriety, giving her a cult following and image.

Peterson revealed in the book that she has been in a relationship with a woman named Teresa “T” Wierson for over 19 years now. The two first met at a gym where they developed a friendship. At the time, Peterson was married to Mark Pierson, a musician who later became her personal manager, for 25 years. The marriage soon ended and she became romantically involved with T.

She revealed that her real concern was how her queer fanbase would take the news. "Honestly, I worried more about my gay fan base," she said. "Because I hope they embraced it, but I was feeling like: 'What if they think I’m a big fat hypocrite, and I was lying to them?'" However, speaking to PEOPLE, she said, "It's been fantastic. Everybody is happy and thrilled about it," and added, "I know they're loyal and they love me, so I really shouldn't have been afraid. But that part of me, somewhere in my head said, I don't know, 'Are they going to think I'm a big lying hypocrite?'"