Category Archives: Culture

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‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Star Angela Bassett Admits She Was ‘Gobsmacked’ After Losing Oscar Last Year Ahead of 2024 Oscars TONIGHT!

Hello World,

As a Christian, we are promised that all things (good and bad) work out for our good in the end, but I’m still salty that actress extraordinaire Angela Bassett didn’t win the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award last year for her role as the queen in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”  However, I do feel somewhat pacified that the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences opted to give an Honorary Academy Award to Angela in January. She’s more than worthy as Angela’s career has established her as one of the most esteemed actors of our time.  Her breakthrough role as Tina Turner in “What’s Love Got to Do with It” earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.  Her film credits include “Boyz N the Hood,” “Malcolm X,” “Waiting to Exhale,” “How Stella Got Her Groove Back,” “Music of the Heart,” “Sunshine State,” “Black Panther,” “Mission: Impossible – Fallout,” “Avengers: Endgame,” “Soul” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” in which her supporting performance earned her a second Oscar nomination.  Her television credits include “The Jacksons: An American Dream,” “The Rosa Parks Story,” “American Horror Story” and “9-1-1.” The Honorary Award, an Oscar statuette, is given “to honor extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding service to the Academy.”

OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network recently premiered an all-new OWN Spotlight one-hour special featuring Oprah Winfrey in conversation with 2024 Honorary Academy Award Recipient, Angela Bassett, for a retrospective look at her incomparable career spanning four decades. In this OWN Spotlight, Oprah met with the legendary actress at The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures to discuss her recent, well-deserved honorary Academy Award  and how losing the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award last year felt as well.

On how she felt in the moment: It was, of course, a supreme disappointment. A supreme disappointment is human. So I thought, yes, I was disappointed. And I was. And I handled it like a human being.

On her viral facial face expression: I know a pastor who says technology’s different, people are the same.

On being gracious in the midst of a visible loss: For myself and for my children who were there with me.

Below is the entire clip in which Angela recounts what it was like last year when her name wasn’t announced as the winner…

Oprah and Angela also looked back on her illustrious career, from how she knew acting was her destiny to her blockbuster roles in both TV and film. Oprah reflected on the many highlights from her viral, uplifting acceptance speech and the impact of her legacy on future generations. They discussed the iconic women she’s portrayed through the years and what those characters have given to her. A devoted mother and wife, Angela shared moments from her journey of parenting with her husband, actor Courtney B. Vance and the dreams she has for her children.

Below is a clip of the full episode…

In looking for the good in this situation, what Oprah said to Angela following Angela revealing how she felt in the moment of “supreme disappointment” is something good… “And you know what’s interesting, that actually teaches your children more than anything you can ever say about what you’re supposed to do is how you behaved in that moment.” As Angela’s twins Bronwyn and Slater are headed to college next fall (I remember when it was announced that they were born), they will experience moments of triumph and disappointment, and it’s important to know how to respond to both.

Additionally, Angela and her family were recently featured on the cover of PEOPLE magazine in the article “How I Fought For My Dreams” and that feature may have not happened had it not been for her Oscar loss the year prior. We journalists live by the mantra “if it bleeds, it leads” so there’s that…

It was also a full circle moment as Angela, her husband Courtney Vance and their newborn twins were featured in the magazine back in 2006.

As a twin mom just two years into the journey, this full-circle moment gives me all of the feels…

I hope to be able to watch the Oscars later today (with toddlers,  TV time is not always guaranteed), but the top winner already took home the trophy in more ways than one…

Any thoughts?

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Lifetime’s Original Movie ‘Single Black Female 2: Simone’s Revenge’ Premieres This Saturday, March 2!

Hello World,

Before I get into today’s blog post, I did want to note that as promised I did watch Where is Wendy Williams?,  the Lifetime two-part documentary last weekend as I said in my blog post earlier in the month. However, I couldn’t finish it because knowing what I’ve come to know about Wendy in the several years that I watched The Wendy Williams Show, I don’t think she would want to be seen in that state no matter what has been said. What I noted at the end of my blog post is still how I feel:

 I don’t know where Wendy is, and truthfully, none of us need to know. Wherever she is, God knows and can always get to her. My prayer for her is that she will allow Him to heal her in every way that she needs to be healed…

Speaking of Lifetime, while this is not a Christian offering as far as I know, since I started this blog as a single black female, I will always have a special place in my heart for single black females…

Lifetime is airing the highly anticipated sequel to Single Black Female, which garnered over 8.0 million total viewers across linear and on digital platforms and was the #1 original non-holiday movie of 2022! My husband and I watched it, and he actually enjoyed the movie although he is not a Lifetime fan. Amber Riley, Raven Goodwin and K. Michelle reprise their roles for Single Black Female 2: Simone’s Revenge, premiering this Saturday, March 2 at 8p/7c set three years after the crazy events from the first film.

Three years after narrowly escaping the murderous clutches of her half-sister Simone (Amber Riley), Monica (Raven Goodwin) is ready for a fresh start in Seattle as the host of the city’s #1 primetime investigative television program. With her best friend Bebe (K. Michelle) by her side and a new love interest, things are looking up for Monica. Secretly nursed back to health and suffering from amnesia, Simone is building a new life when she comes across Monica on TV and her memories come rushing back, leading to a fateful reunion between the sisters. Can the two put the past behind them? Or will Simone’s need to get revenge win the day?

The film also stars Morgan Alexandria (Line Sisters), Christine Horn (Snowfall) and Kendrick Cross (Ambitions).

Below is the trailer:

Single Black Female 2: Simone’s Revenge, #SingleBlackFemale2,  is produced by Swirl Films for Lifetime. Gold Morgan, Ron Robinson, Abbey Sibucao and Eric Tomosunas serve as executive producers. Shari Carpenter directs from a script written by Sa’Rah Jones and Tessa Scott.

Any thoughts?

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Why Mo’Nique Is Wrong To STILL Be Seeking an Apology From Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey AND For How She Has Treated Her Son Publicly…

A Black History Month Post...

Hello World,

In the past, I had been a fan of  Mo’Nique for quite some time. I think she is a talented comedian AND actress. One of my favorite Mo’Nique movies is Phat Girlz, and  I wrote one of my favorite blog posts ever Why I Have A Dead Spiritual Mentor Like Mo’Nique Does In Hattie McDaniel… based on something she said. And she rightfully won an the Best Supporting Actress Award Oscar for the role of Mary in Precious in 2010! She was simply magnificent in that role. She didn’t play Mary. She embodied her…

And speaking of Precious, which came out in 2009, and since this is still Black History Month, I hope that somehow Mo’Nique sees this post and decides to relegate her feud with Tyler Perry and Oprah regarding Precious to black history where it belongs a whole 15 years after the fact! If you’re not familiar with the feud, the Daily Mail did a good job summarizing it in an article written by Carly Johnson …Here is the summary below…

Her feud with Winfrey and Perry dates back to 2009. She previously claimed that her refusal to promote their film Precious for ‘free’ as well as omitting Perry, Winfrey and director Lee Daniels from her 2010 Oscars speech resulted in her being ‘blacklisted.’

Mo’Nique is now claiming that she has audio of Perry confessing to her over the phone that he was the one who started the rumor that she’s ‘difficult to work with.’

She also alleged that Perry admitted he was ‘wrong’ and told her that he planned to vindicate her publicly after his 2016 film Boo hit theaters.

The reason why I’m referencing this feud is because earlier in the month, Mo’Nique sat down with Shannon Sharpe on his popular podcast Club Shay Shay and rehashed the entire feud as if she hasn’t been talking about it any time she can in any interview/conversation she can since 2009.  If you want to see the podcast conversation, it is below. (NOTE: If you’re offended by explicit language, please don’t partake in the conversation…)

And now she is not only mad at Tyler Perry and Oprah, she has added others including to her lengthy grievance list including fellow comedian D.L. Hughley and filmmaker Will Packer. The thing about Mo’Nique is that she is a compelling speaker (which is probably one of the reasons why she is a gifted comedian and actress), and if you’re not careful, you can find yourself siding with her against all of these people until you sit back and say to yourself: If she is the common denominator in all of these situations, how is it always not her fault particularly when other people aren’t saying similar things about these specific people?  Still, that being noted, some of these people may have wronged her but to collect this list of injustices like beads in a necklace she wears around her neck is only choking her at this point. Have you heard the statement, “Resentment is like drinking poison expecting the other person to die?” The vitriol with which she speaks about all of these people has clearly poisoned her and her perspective. Meanwhile, these people are living their lives like Mo’Nique doesn’t matter.

I also found it interesting that in all of these scenarios, she is not at fault for anything, according to her. In fact, the only accountability she had was when she mentioned her relationship with her eldest son. She told Unc aka Shannon Sharpe that when he was a child she was more interested in being famous than being his mother. Shortly after the podcast interview aired, her eldest son, whom I never heard speak about his relationship with his mother in public before, made a TikTok video about this mother and shared how the fractured relationship came to be. As you could expect, Mo’Nique and her husband whom she refers to as “Daddy” went on the defensive and called her son mentally ill AND now she is skewering him in her comedy routines!!! What mother does that to a son especially since she shared in the podcast interview that she hoped her relationship with her son could be repaired?

Sadly, unless Monique observes spiritual laws such as:

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” Luke 6:37

or

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12

she will be in the exact same place 15 years from now…At the very least, if she wants forgiveness from her son, she needs to forgive others whom she thinks wronged her…

If God can forgive us for our sins and even allowed His son to die on the cross for them, how in the world can we justify not forgiving others no matter what has been done?

Mo’Nique, please let this mess be official black history after this month…If God is on your side, nobody can truly “blacklist” you…

Any thoughts?