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Watch the tense moment Lucille Ball tells a host to take his hands off female audience members

It was common for male hosts to kiss, hug, and touch women in the 70s. It was not common for a woman to publicly challenge them.

CBS Television (Public Domain)
Lucille Ball was a powerhouse both on screen and off.

According to her daughter, Lucille Ball never considered herself a feminist, but there's no question she blazed many a trail for women. A working mother in real life, she depicted issues facing housewives with her brilliant television comedy and became the first female studio head in Hollywood. She broke glass ceilings but wasn't particularly outspoken about women's rights. In fact, in a 1980 interview with "People," she said, “They can use my name for equal rights, but I don’t get out there and raise hell because I’ve been so liberated, I have nothing to squawk about.”

Ball empowered women by example—and by speaking her mind. Carol Burnett shared a story on PBS about how Ball was unhappy with a script for her new show, but women at that time didn't raise concerns about such things. Men could express criticism and demand changes, but women simply didn't. Ball did—and firmly—despite being non-confrontational by nature. Later she told Burnett, "Kid, that's when they put the 's' at the end of my name."

A video has been circulating on social media showing Ball's no-nonsense way of speaking up when she felt the need to, and people are gushing over it.


Lucille Ball, 70s, 80s, 60s, I Love Lucy, television, actress, hollywood, sexism, misogynyLucille Ball was a massive star, but perhaps best known for the show 'I Love Lucy'By CBS Television - Public Domain

In 1978, Ball participated in a Q & A session with UCLA theater arts students on the television program "America Alive!" The viral clip shows Ball repeatedly telling one of the hosts, David Sheehan, to take his hands off of female audience members when they were asking a question.

"Will you take your hands off, David?" she says as he introduces one young woman. "Take your hands off of her," she says again as he places his hand on the shoulder of another. "David, would you take your hands away?" she says as he places his hands on another woman in a sparkly gold dress.

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People laughed every time, but Ball didn't so much as crack a smile during her clear, simple, repeated "hands off" admonitions.

For 1978 especially, her advocacy for the women in the audience was extraordinary. Sheehan wasn't touching these women in a lewd or sexual manner, but he was touching them in a way that he wouldn't have touched a man who was asking a question. Most people wouldn't have thought much of it at the time, but Lucille Ball immediately noted it and didn't let it stand.

"I love that she didn't even laugh when the room was," shared one commenter. "She was not joking."

"'Take your hands off her, David,' should be a sound AND a t-shirt," wrote another.

"He kept trying. She kept telling him. Love her," shared another.

"Lucille Ball always reminds me of my grandma," offered another. "She hated to be seen as delicate, and she hated men that would touch her even more. She would say, stone-faced, 'Get your paws off.'"

Here are a few more of the best comments:

"the audience laughed and she said 'ain't nothing funny.' love her"

"This happened to me so much growing up and I noticed from very young the boys weren't treated this way."

"Even then she knew how the industry was I LOVE IT AND LOOOOVE LUCY SO MUCH"

A commenter on Reddit noted that Ball started her career as a chorus girl and dancer. "She knows every creepy man trick in the book"

Television and game shows from the 70s and 80s are an incredible time capsule of the culture and norms of the era. Sheehan wasn't the only one who tended to get a little handsy.

It was common for male hosts to kiss female contestants. Richard Dawson, host of The Family Feud, was famous for it. Even our beloved Bob Barker of The Price Is Right often had women suggestively reach into his jacket to fish out their $100 bill.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

There's a casual lecherous-ness that famous men seemed to get away with easily at the time. For anyone to publicly challenge them on their behavior was absolutely shocking.

Even if Sheehan was casually touching those women out of habit and not ill intent, it's laudable that Ball made a point of making him aware of it. Unfortunately, women are still having to deal with men touching them without being invited to, but seeing Lucille Ball's serious face while calling it out is a good reminder that women have been fighting this battle for a long time. Good for her for using her microphone and the respect afforded her to speak up for the young women in her audience.

This article originally appeared last year.

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10 remarkable things about Lucille Ball that made her totally fierce.

Lucy was way ahead of her time in so many ways.

1. She paved the way for female comedians.

Actresses like Tina Fey, Melissa McCarthy, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus can thank Lucille Ball for opening the door. She trained with Buster Keaton and Red Skelton to become one of the best physical-comedy actors of all time. She really earned her nickname "Queen of Comedy."

GIFs via "I Love Lucy."

2. First interracial couple on TV.

Lucy insisted that her husband, Desi Arnaz, co-star in her show. When producers refused, saying he was "too ethnic" for American viewers, she wouldn't take no for an answer. She and Desi took the show on the road, creating a huge fan base for him. Before long, he became her leading man on TV too.

3. First woman to run a major television studio.

Lucy and Desi co-owned Desilu Productions (yep, she made sure her name was in it) until she bought him out and ran it on her own. It had 2,000 employees, 36 sound stages, and 62 acres. She eventually sold it for $17 million (in 1967 dollars). The name was changed to Paramount Pictures. Now, that deserves a round of applause.

4. Married a younger man when it wasn't really acceptable.

He was only six years younger, which was nothing compared to the age gap of older male actors and their younger starlet wives. Think Lucy would let that double standard dictate who she would marry? Not a chance.

5. First pregnant woman to be shown as pregnant on TV.

Women had to hide their pregnancies on TV. They also worried they wouldn't be allowed to continue their careers and be moms at the same time. Lucy broke that mold by incorporating her pregnancy and her son into the show. She compromised with producers, promising not to use the word "pregnant." She used the word "expecting" instead.

6. Was 40 years old when she started "I Love Lucy."

Ageism is real. but Lucy wasn't going to be put out to pasture. In fact, she became America's #1 star with over 16 million weekly viewers. People still watch it to this day. That says a lot.

7. Reflected the frustration of women struggling for equality.

We need to put the show in the context of it's time. She pushed limits to show how gender roles oppressed women. At the same time, she knew she had to remain "likable" to a 1950s audience that mostly preferred "childlike" female characters. Using humor helped her walk that delicate line.

8. Didn't always act like a lady.

June Cleaver wasn't dirty, clumsy, or overtly funny. She also didn't complain, defy, or get too assertive. Lucy did all of these things. She made qualities deemed "unfeminine" become a little more accepted.

9. Left a man she loved because she deserved more.

"Desi was the great love of my life. I will miss him until the day I die. ... I just couldn't take it anymore," she said. Lucy's daughter said Lucy spoke with Desi just days before he died of cancer and quoted her as saying through tears: "I love you. I love you. Desi, I love you."

10. The world's favorite redhead.

She colored her hair so she would stand out from the typical Hollywood "beauty image."

She was courageous, pioneering, talented, funny, and ahead of her time.

And that's why we will always "Love Lucy."

See Lucy in action with the best clips from season 1:

Share the laughs in honor of an extraordinary trailblazer.

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