Many thanks to Kim for the transcript below

New Weekly
March 30, 1998
page 26
Story: Martine Allars

                        ALL THE GIRLS LOVE LUCY

    Lucy Lawless, better known as Xena: Warrior Princess, may be
straight, but she's a lesbian icon. And, unlike some stars who feel a
little	threatened by such attention, Lucy is thrilled.	"I realy enjoy it
- it feels like an honour," Lucy told NW from the New Zealand set of her
hit show. "It's great to be	a strong female role model."

    So strong that she inspired a legion of Xenas in the recent Sydney
Mardi Gras, where 200 lesbians dressed up as the warrior princess and
marched proudly with swords flashing. Lucy was delighted. "I was so
flattered they decided to do one on me," she grins. 'The person who
designed the costumes for the float did mine on the show, too." But Lucy
hasn't yet seen any footage of the Xenas and is eagerly awaiting the
arrival of a video of the event promised by a friend.

    Sydney was abuzz that Lucy would actual turn up on the night and
lead her Xenas up the street. But word was sent at the last minute that
scenes for the TV show had to be re-shot, and she wouldn't be able to
show. So was she ever meant to appear?

    "Yes, yes, most definitely," says Lucy. "I realy wanted to do it,
but the filming just went on too long and I missed my plane. The
organisers even had a car waiting for me at the airport in Sydney to
take me straight to the parade."

    Whether Xena will have another float dedicated to her next year,
however, remains to be seen. She is getting married soon for the second
time, to TV producer Rob Tapert. "Some of my fans will probably be
disappointed," Lucy admits. "But I've found my soul mate and I'm real
happy. I think most of my fans will be happy for me." 

    Much has been made of the under-current of attraction between Xena
and her friend Gabrielle on the show. Some devotees believe the writers
will capitalise on the lesbian following and explore such a possibility
in the storyline.  "We try to keep all of our audience interested and
guessing. But I don't know what the writers have in store for us. I get
the scripts only four days before we film, so I just accept what they've
planned and go with it."