Steel Magnolias has officially entered the gay cinematic canon once again, thanks to Sally Field casually revealing that her son believes the movie may have played a role in making him gay.
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Honestly? A baby being raised around Dolly Parton, Julia Roberts, Shirley MacLaine, and a film powered entirely by female friendship, emotional chaos, and beauty salon gossip sounds less like a coincidence and more like destiny.
In a new interview with PEOPLE, Field reflected on making the beloved 1989 classic and shared a memory involving her youngest son, Samuel Greisman, who was just an infant during filming.
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@people Imagine getting to say you were on the set of #SteelMagnolias as a baby because your mom is SallyField. 😱 Iconic.
“We’re looking off because it was the wrap party, and there was a big band, so it’s all of our tight headshots, and on my chest is my little son Sam,” she said while describing a photo she keeps in her office featuring herself with Shirley MacLaine, Dolly Parton, and Julia Roberts.
Because Samuel was only 6 months old at the time, Field explained, “I’m holding his head because I’m trying to save his ears because it was loud. He was on the set all the time and my friends took care of him. Sam has always said that that’s probably why he’s gay,” she joked.
And honestly, exposure to Steel Magnolias during infancy probably does alter your brain chemistry a little. One minute you’re learning basic motor skills, the next you instinctively understand the emotional significance of women gathering in kitchens to discuss heartbreak over snacks.
The female friendship multiverse
Part of what has kept Steel Magnolias alive for decades is how deeply it understands female friendship — the humor, the tenderness, the drama, and the occasional verbal assassination disguised as concern.
Field recalled how close the cast became while filming.
“We all just completely adored each other, and we would go shopping on the weekends, all together — even Dolly sometimes. We’d go to the market, we played games, we’d get together at somebody’s house.”
Imagine bumping into Dolly Parton at the grocery store while she’s buying produce with Sally Field. Some people truly get the premium version of life.
The legendary ensemble also included Daryl Hannah and Olympia Dukakis, meaning the set probably had enough charisma to power an entire state.
Sam Greisman inherited the family storytelling gene
Samuel Greisman, now a writer and producer, has previously spoken about growing up around his mother’s film sets, which honestly sounds like the world’s most emotionally intelligent childhood.
“I grew up so connected to my mom that I can trace my life through her career. While she shot Mrs. Doubtfire, I built model airplanes and hung them all over our rented house in San Francisco. During Forrest Gump, I would get to buy something at the toy store in Beaufort, S.C.,” he wrote in 2023.
Then came the detail that really ties the whole mother-son dynamic together.
“Later, a frank, heartfelt conversation about my queerness was used verbatim for a scene between her and Matthew Rhys. Still waiting on a retroactive writing credit on that, if I’m being perfectly honest,” he joked.
The older you get, the more you get Ouiser. Steel Magnolias is now streaming. pic.twitter.com/TUp4KehhJC
— Roku Channel (@TheRokuChannel) June 3, 2025
A gay son accidentally contributing dialogue to prestige television through an emotional conversation with his Oscar-winning mother? Deeply Hollywood. Deeply gay. Deeply iconic — sorry, deeply memorable.
Sally Field remains one of Hollywood’s most beloved moms
Field has spent years publicly supporting her son in ways that feel sincere instead of performative, which is probably why so many people continue to adore her.
During a 2012 speech at the Human Rights Campaign annual national dinner, she spoke proudly about all three of her sons.
“The three things I am most proud of in my life are Peter, Eli and Sam — my sons. They are kind and loving, productive human beings. Each very different from the other.”
When speaking specifically about Sam, she added, “Sam was given colors and innate perceptions that his big brothers just simply don’t have. He’s a gentler nature, and it is a gift. Nature made Sam, it wasn’t a choice. He was always, always Sam, glorious, smart, funny, sweet Sam.”
And really, that’s the heart of why this story resonates. Sure, the “Steel Magnolias made me gay” joke is funny. But underneath it is a genuinely lovely relationship between a mother and son who clearly adore each other.
Also, if your baby spends months surrounded by Southern women delivering devastating one-liners and emotionally wrecking audiences, a lifelong appreciation for drama was probably inevitable.