Kyra Sedgwick Breaks Madoff Silence: 'We Lost Hard-Earned Money'

LOS ANGELES — Kyra Sedgwick and her actor-husband, Kevin Bacon, managed to stay out of the gossip pages until they were among the many victims of the massive Ponzi scheme run by financier Bernard Madoff.

"I think the interesting thing about it was that I always thought, `We're so boring. We should be in the tabloids more. C'mon honey, let's have a scandal,'" the 43-year-old actress said.

"Well, it wasn't the truth that we were destroyed," Sedgwick said in a recent conference call from New York. "And I think when you say `no comment,' that's, of course, where they're going to go, because it's fun and it grabs headlines and people will be more interested."

"It's been really unpleasant and makes you feel really vulnerable. But the fact of the matter is that we did not lose everything," she said. "We lost hard-earned money that we worked very hard for that was what we thought in a safe place. It's painful but a lot of people lost a lot more. And we have a lot of things to be grateful for in our life, and we never ever forget that."

Sedgwick, who was recently honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, has a cross-country commute between Los Angeles, where her TNT series, "The Closer," is filmed, and her family home in Manhattan.

"Every year I think, `It's going to be easier this year,' and it's actually harder," she said of the commute. "You know, you miss things. You miss moments. And, as a mother, that's hard. It's challenging."

Sedgwick said she and Bacon _ and especially daughter Sosie _ are excited that Chace Crawford has been cast as the lead in the remake of "Footloose." The "Gossip Girl" actor will reprise the role that made Bacon, 50, a heartthrob in 1984.

"Well, yeah, pretty big shoes to fill," Sedgwick said. "But, actually, I think it's great. I think he's adorable."

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TNT is owned by Time Warner Inc.

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On the Net:

http://www.tnt.tv/series/closer/

Comments

[wordvarc]

'Stagflation'

Everyone but those brokering goods and assets are going to take a harder hit.
The only way to avert social disaster is to inflate our way out of this mess.

So some jobs, investments, services and homes may at first maintain the literal $ value of the 1990's but all good's will rise significantly. Right now, the prize goes to those who can tighten their grip, work a little harder, and hang on.

[5hy56]

1st 100 days - There are 2.9 million more people unemployed in May than there were

unemployed in January. The unemployment rate went from 7.6% to 9.4%.
Since May 2008, we have lost 5.5 million jobs. The biggest losers were:
Manufacturing 1.5 million lost
Finance & Prof Serv 1.5 million lost
Construction 1.1 million lost
Retail & Leisure 1.3 million lost

one of my new favorite finance websites: href=".http://kl.am/tsc ">Econ & Finance Articles Updated Daily

Having said that, unless we rethink the way we use our wealth, this world is doomed.

al-Waleed bin Talal, however he came by his wealth is in a position to make a difference.

Instead he chooses conspicuous self-consumption.

[lilymarie14]

tro// flagged

[Edogg62]

"HARD-earned money?" C'mon... let's not (as Oprah used to say) "go there." PLEASE. They're talented people, but they've lost more than I'll earn in a lifetime of ACTUAL "hard work." Enough. I've rather enjoyed watching my snobbish, arrogant recently-affluent friends lose much of their PERCEIVED wealth over the last year or three. There's more to life than money, and money doesn't and CAN'T buy class/taste or breeding. The nouveau riche are taking on water... so be it.

[Glenna Jones-Kachtik]

How do you know that the money wasn't hard earned? Just because they are actors or actresses or musicians doesn't mean it was not honest work nor that it was easy making it. It is true that they may have made more than you made but they still lost money. That;s kind of like saying to a talented artist - you should do this - you can't paint for a career or to a musician do something else, you'll never earn any money doing it. It is as if you believe that if you don't do a normal job, that you don't work hard - that you are just playing.

Why should you enjoy watching anyone lose money? Kind of sadistic, much???

Krya said that they had lots of things to be grateful for - so it seems that she has a pretty good take on life in general - and she sounds as if she has class, taste & breeding. I have never heard any scandal about her or Kevin Bacon - no nasty tabloid news; no wild parties, heroin convictions or even use of money inappropriately. So, what did they do to earn your ire?

Your comments on the other hand, sound mean, spiteful and full of contempt for something you might have wanted and didn't get.

[Norak]

Schadenfreude, anyone?

[flowereater]

Why are there so many people who feel it necessary to comment on the fact that they "don't feel sorry for them?" It is blatantly obvious that they are not asking for sympathy from anyone. They are just telling their story. I am so tired of the mindset that if you tell your story then you must be asking for sympathy. Telling our stories both good and the hard-luck kind, is how we collectively learn -- or not.

And who here has not been suckered into some bad money-losing scheme? Or not lost money in the stock market, or your precious 401 K's?

[viewfromuphere]

well to me it's just evidence that some don't read past the headline....and just assume because someone is famous they have more money than god....

they were ripped off by a player who sounds like he was pretty darn good at ripping people off

[Holypat777]

They're one of the most leveled people in the business. They do good work. They don't fill the tabloid freakshow every week.

Rock on! Bacon is one the only actors that keep me interesed in movies.

As for The Closer, well here in Canada (where I am anyways) I can only get it French. WTF????

[QueenCeleste]

It is one thing to lose money in a failed bank, to lose one's job, et cetera. And it hurts to lose money, no matter how much one has. But to invest with someone who was promising consistently (indeed, absurdly) high return rates above the average.... Well, one just has a little trouble mustering the same amount of sympathy one might for an auto worker in Detroit.

[nomadicexpat]

their money was stolen. they invested in a financial institution with over $50bn in assets under management run by a former chairman in the SEC who's returns underperformed the S&P 500 and was registered and cleared by the SEC.

have a little perspective, they are victims of theft

[viewfromuphere]

I didn't know sympathy was something we needed to ration....you can't feel sorry for a guy who got laid off and for a victim of white collar crime...

[jalowe1957]

So you lost your hard-earned money because of a Ponzi schemer who took your money and ran?

Haven't we all, though?

[thepoliticalcat]

I'm sure they both worked hard, but you know what? I can't find a whole lot of sympathy for them. My sympathy's reserved for the poor schmoes who are busting their gut with two or three jobs, trying to raise their kids right and not miss any payments.

[roshni]

Agree.

[Mugzi]

The Bacon's are victims just as the thousands of others. Is there a dollar amount to being a victim? Is there a certain level of sweat to working hard?? Some work in offices, or outside, or own their own businesses or yes,in the entertainment field...is some work more "valuable" than others? It seems there are alot of bitter resentful people here, almost reverse prejudice.

[camper320]

I think Sedgewick's comments reveal that she understands that as well and that she realizes she is still fortunate despite having her money stolen which of course is painful. I thought her comments were smart and honest. I saw her when I was clothes shopping with my husband. We were talking to the salesperson and I looked over and she was standing there waiting to talk to the salesperson. She seemed quite real, she wasn't demanding star treatment.

I have a friend who is an actor. There are moments of glamour but there are long days, lots of travel and time away from your family, and it really is hard work physically and mentally. I think it probably is as hard as working in an auto factory, it just pays more. But you really have to take risks to get there and it can be brutal.

[psychmaj323]

I agree, I think the other poster was being too harsh...

[aznurse]

They weren't asking or looking for sympathy. Just the opposite.

[viewfromuphere]

can a hooker file a rape complaint?

or is the seriousness of a crime entirely dependant on who the victim is?

these people were the victims of a crime....period.

[Tulka2]

Here's a surprising six degrees. I myself am two degrees from Kevin Bacon and so suppose i should be grateful we were too poor to enter Bernie Maddoff's radar. Did that save us? Hell no. We are all in the soup.

[olddognewtrick]

Let this be a caution. Just because a person is rich and famous. Don't listen to all of these celebrity blowhards. They are just as clueless as the rest of us...they just pay more for the advice.

[KarateKid]

Hard earned? Try working in an auto factory, honey.

[helgathewitch]

Oh please! That type of "poor me" attitude is so unbecoming.

[Alvarofms]

It's all about choices....

[Tulka2]

Do you think that's what it's all about? Really?

Fate is luck bleeding into karma. If you see a beggar, you may think, "That's his karma", but if you step over that beggar without helping, that is your karma and you will feel it.

Choices are what you have. You don't lay them on someone else as an excuse to despise their position.

[bluejoewho]

Hard earned? ha ha

[KarateKid]

My thoughts exactly. Actors are so full of themselves, aren't they?

[psychmaj323]

Acting isn't as easy as you think and roles don't just come your way. For many it takes YEARS before they even get a breakout role, so yes HARD EARNED...

[aznurse]

It's been my experience, that EVERY time I look down on someones else's work I find that its always harder than I thought.

[pinkylee23]

Wahhhh....Grow up kyra. When something looks too good to be true then you 'd best start looking into it.

As we all know madoff's returns were just a tad too good to be true.

You have no one to blame but yourselves and your delusion that all good things must come your way.

[jse17]

Close on the analysis with a huge caveat required to correct. No, Madoff’s alleged “returns” were if anything remarkably dull. Madoff’s “success” protocol was based on NO down years (repeat - NO down years)!

Folks, if never a negative year is recorded in an equity investment program, head for the exit post haste as you are involved in a scam until proven otherwise. Yes, the price of equities does fluctuate and in many/most cases aggressively to violently.

[ckfan]

She makes more for 1 TV show than most Americans make in a year.

[RoadCrossingChicken]

Well?

[ckfan]

Well . . . she'll get over it. One big movie for her or Kevin and they're on easy street. . . again.

[julia23]

It is impossible for me to think that these people 'work hard'.
And I still don't have any sympathy for people who invested in something they didn't understand, they didn't read their monthly reports, and were getting unbelievable returns. They must have known someone was getting screwed.

[lilymarie14]

well they do now. And that someone was "themselves".

[Jen Grinnell]

Just a guess here, but I think she's saying "don't feel sorry for us. we're fine."

[viewfromuphere]

that's what I got out of the article but then I actually read it to the end...

[craphappens]

Love her show, The Closer.

[nellie]

Me, too. Cool couple, the two of them.