Club Shay Shay - Meagan Good Part 2

Episode Date: July 10, 2024

Meagan Good continues her conversation on Club Shay Shay, picking up where she left off in the first half of her episode. She talks about her approach to getting into character and emphasizes the importance of research and understanding a character's experiences and mentality. She also shares a personal anecdote about how her decision to become celibate aligned perfectly with the role she was playing, making the portrayal more authentic. The discussion then shifts to the evolution of comedy and the increasing sensitivity of audiences. Meagan feels that this has impacted the art form. She and Shannon reflect on the importance of humor in addressing real-life events and situations. Meagan also expresses her love for horror and thriller genres and cites her admiration for the actress who played Jamie in the Michael Myers movies as an early inspiration. She explains the appeal of these genres and highlights the intensity and raw emotion involved in survival scenarios. Throughout the episode, Meagan's passion for her craft shines through as she discusses the wide range of roles she has tackled and her excitement for challenging and unconventional projects. She shares that Tyler Perry was the first person to pay a fair wage in the entertainment industry. She also reflects on pivotal moments from her youth that shaped her faith and journey in the entertainment industry. From her early days attending "God's Gang," a youth group led by her acting coach, to navigating personal tragedies and spiritual growth, Meagan shares how these experiences influenced her path. She opens up about her journey with Christianity, the challenges of maintaining faith through life's trials, and finding strength in her beliefs. #Volume See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news and the best analysis delivered by the time you get your coffee. The show hits every single game every single week, but I can't do it alone. So I'm bringing in all the big guns from NFL media like Colleen Wolf. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you for coming back. Part two is underway. Do you do anything in particular to help you get into character when you play a role?

Yeah, it depends on the character. It depends on where I need to go to find uh this person's experience um to understand their mentality to figure out their trauma or figure out their greatest passion um so whatever research that is and sometimes it's researching a person as a character study sometimes it's uh researching personality types or you know whatever it may be but yeah i just you know because you know your role you was like really tough you like guys you were like and so thank you i mean i read that you know to help you get into this character you abstained well i was abstaining already oh so it's really easy for you to play that part yes yes i

actually had just decided to become celibate and had been celibate for months at that time with my ex-husband. And I decided to become celibate before him. And then when we got together, I couldn't find out he was celibate. And then I got this movie. And I was like, well, I know exactly what she's doing right now because I'm literally living this. So, yeah. Wow. Yeah.

I know. It's crazy. It's it's crazy the Lord you know what he doing he be knowing yes he did now you do Anchorman with Will Film yeah yeah yeah could you do those jokes now which ones uh I mean the same jokes that you told like the black jokes yeah I mean the comedy you know like oh comedy shifted quite a bit yeah I mean, the comedy, you know, like. Oh, comedy has shifted quite a bit. Yeah, man. I think people have gotten very, very sensitive. Yeah. Yeah. And I think it's, you know, to me, most of it, I understand.

I understand some of it, but I also feel that it's taken away so much of the artistry and the things that we laugh about amongst ourselves at home anyways. It's kind of, it's just gotten very gotten very very sensitive for me which i think is unfortunate because it takes away a lot of the art and and comedy is art it is it's a very specific kind of gift and i think the best version of that is when you're talking about real things right you know and so you take real events and yes yeah exactly exactly so to me stuff in acre brand was funny as hell you know uh but i know to some people it was offensive um i am very inappropriate and you know me and my sister laughing stuff that's just wrong we should not be laughing at

right maybe i don't know um so i enjoy inappropriate comedy. You've kind of done a lot of different acting. Was there a particular genre that when you were growing up says, I kind of want to do this, I want to do drama. No, I kind of want to do comedy. No, I kind of want to do horror. Was there any particular genre where you just says, hey, I can do it all. I'm wide ranging.

So, hey, let me try. A little bit bit of both but i do love horror movies really i do love thrillers i've been in a lot of them yeah really i just you know i'll be looking at this i'm like well how am i dying this one it's gonna be fun the unborn one missed call yeah yeah yeah i just love them um i i think that growing up um one of the things that really made me want to be an actress was the little girl who played jamie in the michael myers movie okay and me and her about the same age i think she's about a year older than me and i just thought does nobody else realize this little girl is really acting like if you go back and watch it now her performance stands up and it's unfortunate there's that there's not an award for that because she acted her ass off but um it's interesting because survival is one of the highest things that we can feel and experience outside of love you know um and i think that figuring out you know how a

character is going to survive and all the different things that you go through um as you are in a space of just literally trying to make it um i think really interesting and i just kind of love that world and i like to be scared and i like the inappropriate things as i said and so um yeah i think i always was just like i just want to get a good scream in i just want to be stabbed in the chest and be climbing up stairs i just want to like you know that just something crazy it just makes me happy i don't know why you do know megan like when we do those horror movies we don't really make it to the end but see one one day we will but we shall overcome um but but for me i actually was excited about the diocese but not the first not the first one you well only one miss called it I died the first

scene and they shot that after the fact as a cameo for the beginning opening thing and I thought well this is really cool right yeah but you but horror all things being equal you love the drama you love the comedy but it's the horror and the horror and the thriller. I mean, I'm trying to figure out, how do you tap into that? How do you like, oh, let me go in here. Because, like I said, survival is one of the greatest human emotions. Yeah.

You know, we're all doing that every single day. Yeah. And then in a heightened circumstance, I think that it's interesting when you discover what you would and wouldn't do, or you discover what a character would and wouldn't do. But my characters, the ones I played, it ain't been no like, hello? No, not all that. I wouldn't even do that if it was in the script. I'd be like, y'all, come on.

the script I was like y'all come on you were three strike with uses three three strikes with Monique phase I love David I'm great yeah or the mic if Anthony Anderson what's it like worker with more I've had more on here and in a precious yeah you know TV show mo mo mo is unbelievable I don't know what your relationship with her but I thought she was unbelievable in all of her roles. Yeah. And I think she has a good heart. I do, too. I mean, I don't keep up with all the things, things, things. People are people.

And honestly, people be miserable. And I'm just like, please get your whole life. Just stop projecting your things. Go get help or just, you know, let somebody give you a hug and love on you. That's that. And I'm saying that about people who say stuff about her not about her um i think that she's wonderful i think she has a beautiful heart um she has always been kind to me and goes out of her way to love on me and has always been consistent with me no matter what i had going on that's it for me i don't care about nothing else

that's how you judge a person about how they treat you yes that's it and how they treat my mama if they meet my mama but uh i don't care about all the other stuff because that that's other people's stuff so you're an obama effect with cat yeah what's it like working with cattle said cat sweetheart he's a sweetheart i've seen his interview i'm gonna leave it at that i'm leaving that that I'm gonna leave it at that. I'm gonna leave it at that. Careful, careful baby. But that's what I am gonna say.

What? I'm sorry, but my man is sexy to me. Yeah. Okay, he's very sexy to me. Okay, okay. Oh, oh, I forgot. We just need to be all the way clear on that. You know what? Yeah.

I forgot all about that. I forgot all about that. My, hey. Oh, no, it's all good. Okay, okay. The TV shows that you've been in. The Game, Star, Moesha, Law & Order, Cold Case. Damn, Famous, Jet Jackson, Touched by an Angel. Oh, yeah.

Harlem, Raising Dad with Bob Saget. Yeah. Of all the shows, I mean, Law & Order is still going. Moesha was unbelievable. What was your favorite show that you was in? Oh, I have to say Harlem. Really? Yeah.

And it's because, well, first of all, it's the best experience I've had as an actress in my entire life, hands down. I love Tracy Oliver, the creator of the show. I love, you know, Mimi, Pharrell, Amy, Kim, Scott. I mean, just everybody who was a part. Scott I mean just everybody who was a part everyone who was a part of creating that show and I love the girls in that show

very very much I absolutely adore every single one of them genuinely they are my sisters and to have that relationship to come on to a set you know I remember me and Grace Byers talking about some kind of like horror stories and things that we've been through and we sat there on the couch and we barely knew each other.

And I was doing her, um, her, uh, show that she was doing. And she, and afterwards we sat and prayed together and we just said, you know, I hope to God that we get to do a show together because we will cover each other and love each other. It would be the best experience ever. Cut to a year and a half later, she's cast as Quinn. I'm getting ready to go in and test for Camille and As I'm going to test I meet Top sorry Jerry who plays Ty and me and Jerry instantly I'm like, oh I love this girl I absolutely adore her and then I go to the bathroom and I'm running my lines and Shaniqua walks in and Shaniqua goes You remember me and I said from where she said about four years ago, I was on FaceTime while you were working on the show. And it was that show that I had a bad

experience on. And she said, and I had a mutual friend and he called me and I told you I was a fan of yours and I loved you and I wanted to work with you one day. You said, let's place both our hands on the screen. Let's claim it in Jesus name that we're going to work together on something. And there we were both testing and we both got it. And so it's just everything about the writing. I love the character. I love how I've grown as an actress. I love working with them.

I love everybody involved in creation, down to the crew, everybody in the crew I absolutely adore. It's just been the best experience. I don't think I've heard you speak, but you seem you're a very spiritual person. When did this come about? Have you always been like this?

Yeah. Well, I didn't grow up in the church. When I was about 12, I started going to a youth group that my acting coach. Shout out to Cardinetta Jones was my acting coach from age 11 to 26. And she was a youth group leader. And it was called God's Gang, which is now the name of my production company. And I had some friends, there were two girls in school, especially who looked out for me when people would try to bully me. And those um, those two girls and one of their older sister and a five-year-old girl, they were babysitting and another friend of theirs, uh, left,

uh, youth group that night and got into a car accident. And, um, their friend passed away. The little girl who's about to turn six passed away. Um, one of the girl's older sister, uh, she passed away too. That's right. And then, um, and then the girl whose younger sister it was, it used to look out for me. She got severe brain damage. And the other girl who used to look out for me, um, had to get reconstructive surgery and all this stuff. But, um, we went to this, um, I forget what it's called when you kind of like go out into the woods and you camp and stuff and you, you know, pray and blah, blah. And, uh, and I remember that night, her like calling out to God and crying and saying, why? And then she got saved that night.

And so I was just like, well, how do you go to God instead of away from God when something like that happens? And it just made me curious. And because I had so much respect for her and because she looked out for me the way that she had. Shout out to Alicia, wherever you are in the world, love you. Um, she, it kind of put me on my path. Her example did. And so, um, after that I became a Christian and then I was like a Bible stomper and like super religious and very judgmental. I remember my sister lost her virginity.

I was 14. She was 16. I went to her. I was like, I just don't want you to go to hell. Like I was that kid. None of my friends told me when they lost their virginity. Everyone's like, don't tell me. Um, of course I was the last to lose my virginity at 19. And, uh, and I, and then at that time, um, you know, I kind of, you know, there's all these phases of getting to know God and maturing. My prayer used to be like, please let me look like one of the lead seekers from En Vogue. He actually answered that prayer. Shout out to En Vogue. Um, but then, you know, as you get older, your prayers mature, your relationship with God matures, um, you start to get perspective and learn. And, and so, um, mine has always been a journey, you know, and in these last two years has been especially a journey. But it's been such an incredible journey that the place that I'm in now where I just have such a freedom in God and just such a trust that God knows my heart and knows who I am even better than I do.

And so, yes, it's been a really, really beautiful place, a really beautiful journey. Is the last two years where your faith has been tested the most for sure not this past year this past year i'm like lord i know you're gonna do what you do and i trust you um and making sure that i was there to give that to jonathan that's what I felt that I was there to do. That's important. Yeah. My faith is never wavered in that instance. But going through the divorce, that shook me to my core. I was just like, but Lord, you asked me to be celibate and I was. You told me who to marry. I married that person. I tried to do everything to the best of my ability

and know I didn't do everything perfect but i don't know that i could have done anything different if i'm being honest and so um i was just like why is this happening my greatest fear was for my husband to leave me after 10 years of marriage the way that my dad and my mom separated and that's exactly what happened and it was just like i don't understand this and so um it was a lot of prayer a lot of evaluation a lot of um learning about myself even it was a lot of um uh realizing the place that we both were in. It was a lot of, um, a lot of just like rediscovering God and realizing, um, that sometimes the way that we see or understand things, it's not that it's not true. It's just, you do come into different seasons. And, and I had to accept that if this

isn't something I've chosen, but it's something that God has allowed, then God has allowed it for a good reason. And I think that we both have grown from it tremendously. I think that now, I think that at the time I was so mad at Devon, but now I think what he did was very brave. And, um, I think that it was a very scary thing to know that the church and all the people, everyone was going to be like, well, this is not what a man of God or a woman of God does, you know? And, and, and of course there were a lot of people who were like, well, Megan must've done something. And I'm like, what? You know? Um, but, uh, I think that, I think that in order to grow to the place that we've grown,

I think we absolutely were supposed to be married for that amount of time. And I think we got the best and the benefit out of it. And I think he taught me a lot and I taught him a lot. And we took a lot, we gave a lot. But we're still friends. And as he said, the love has transitioned into something else, but it's still love. And I don't regret it. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast,

NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps, and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed by the time you get your coffee. No dumb hot takes here, just smart hot takes. We'll talk every single game every single week, but I can't do it alone. So I'm bringing in the big guns from NFL media. That's Patrick Claiborne, Steve Weiss, Nick Shook, Jordan Rodrigue from The Athletic, and of course, Colleen Wolfe. This is their window right now. This is their Super Bowl window. Why would they

trade him away? Because he would be a pivotal part of them winning that Super Bowl. I don't know why, Colleen. Catch the podcast, the NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal every day. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. And who doesn't want that? Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Anything. And I'm super thankful for the time that we were married, and I'm super thankful for what I learned. And I think that I love now in a different capacity, because when

your absolute worst fear happens, now there's nothing to be afraid of anymore. In that situation, you're like like i prayed for this i was everything everything god everything you asked me to do i did yeah did you feel at that moment that as the marriage is starting to dissolve did you feel like a failure no i don't think so because i i feel like we had almost 10 successful years of marriage. I feel like, I feel like I got so much from it that has made me better and has helped me grow. And I feel that he feels the same way. Right. so I don't feel like it was a failure by any means I just didn't understand it because I was like but this you say forever it means forever right you know and um and that wasn't the case you know but um I think that part is the part that I struggle with the most because I would have never got

gotten a divorce under any circumstances and I don't know I don't know if that's always the right thing right you know and it's not that anything bad was going on nobody was cheating nothing great like you know and and i won't get into why we divorced but um i don't know if if being married for the sake of just societal because society said you will because religion you know i think i think you really have to have a relationship with god and see how god is moving you and sometimes it's not going to make sense to anybody else and that's okay it's not for it to make sense to anybody else you just have to be in tune proud of you being married yeah to someone a minister yeah you being in the being a woman of faith yeah belief yeah would you have felt this way had you not grown through that

about not necessarily being married oh no i think i still would have been like no you get married it's in the word y'all better work it out you gotta figure out you gotta do something okay um and i think if you can you should right um but again i think that sometimes god moves us in ways that it may seem contradictory to other people's perception or how they see or read the word or literally what it says um but i think that's why we have to be very clear on having a relationship with God, not just a religion with God. We have to be very clear on hearing from God. And that's got to be the compass, period,

the relationship with God. And not the relationship where you're not really hearing that and you just want to do what you want to do and you want a reason to do it or an excuse to do it, but really knowing if that's what you're hearing god to tell you to do no matter what anybody thinks or anyone says you got to move the way god's telling you to and um that's just that outside of your closest friends your support do do people or did people know that you had such a close relationship with God? I think people see what they want to see. If you go back to every men's magazine that I was

on the cover of and you realize that I never wore a bathing suit, I never wore lingerie, and then you look in those interviews from 1999, 2001, 2004, 2000, you will always see that I always said, I am a Christian. I believe in God. I'm not going to do anything that would disappoint God. God is my compass. I've always talked about God. And I think that sometimes when people go, oh, well, it's the cover of a men's magazine. Well, for me, that's not a conviction of mine. I don't feel that God is concerned with what I'm wearing. And so if that is not my conviction, it says in the Bible, he who has faith have it to himself before God, happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he proves. Meaning, and then it goes on to talk about if you don't really

believe that that's what God approves, then you are sinning. But if you really believe that between you and God, then that's that, period. That's what that is for you. And so that's the tattoo I have on my head, which even that is like, Oh, you shouldn't pierce your butt. Well, for me, it's a reminder to not go too far down the religion, religious rabbit hole and stay in the relationship with God. God, what do you say? And so, um, for me, I never had a conviction about that kind of thing. My feeling was like, I want to get this, these words that I'm saying about God and how much I love God and how God is the head of my life. I want to get this to the people who are going to pick up this magazine because I'm not going to get to them any other way.

And most of the other people in the church, they're not going to get to them at all. So if I feel comfortable and I don't feel like I'm doing something wrong, then I'm just going to be authentically me. And I'm going to reach other people that other people don't just by being who I'm called to be and being authentically that. Before you take a role, do you always pray on it? Majority of the time. Sometimes I just feel my spirit. I'm like, okay, good. I feel good about this. If I'm not sure, then I pray about it. If I've ever felt that God's like, no, that's not what I want you to do, then I just won't do it, period.

Wow. Even if I want to do it, period, I won't do it. Wow. Yeah. So it's easy when you have that kind of faith and you say you've been walking, what, since you were about 19? I've been saved since I was 12. 12? Yeah.

Lost your virginity at 19. been you've been on this road you've been on this road for the better part of two decades yeah so the highs and the lows you never questioned like you it's god's will and you whatever he decides whatever his will yeah i think that i think i i think that i've i have to accept that because you can't accept one thing and not accept the yes and so um I trust God and and and even like you know when when the divorce happened I was mad at God I was like what kind of what the hell I was so mad but I was just like, but you never questioned it. I did. I didn't question if I was going to be okay.

I questioned, well, why, why do it? What was the point? And over time, yeah. And then also I was like, you knew this was my worst fear. Like why, you know? And then, um, you know, over the years and it's, you know, almost, almost been like three years now. So, um, over the years, I'm always revealed a lot more. And every time I'm revealed a lot more, I'm just really in gratitude and thankful that I married someone that was so wonderful and that is so wonderful and that we had that time and that we grew together and just

all the things. And so and so um i don't believe that anything's in vain that's probably the only moment where i was just like okay lord you know right but now i'm like okay lord thank you the days are warmer the walks are longer and one easy way to help your dog shine this season is with fresh healthy food from farmer's dog farmer's dogs makes fresh real food and delivers it right to your door recipes are developed by vet nutritionists made from real meat and veggies and proportioned just for your dog making it easy to say goodbye to burnt brown balls feed your dog real food with real benefits my pomeranian teddy love the stuff and his coat has never looked better it's's smart, healthy pet food. You can feel good about feeding your pup.

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just go to farmers dog comm slash Shay Shay to get 50% off that's farmers dog comm slash Shay Shay have any actor actresses giving you tips I remember had Terry Crews on here and he said that he was struggling remembering his lines and going through his life he said to Sheena arnold said won't you sing him say terry you like to sing yeah won't you just sing them memorize them like that yeah have anybody given you pointers to help you um relax so it just the best advice i ever got was from lorenz tate on waist deep and i was nervous about this scene. I was trying to get into it.

We'd already taken like two takes. And he just grabbed me. He was like, sis. I was like, yeah, yeah. He was like, fuck it. Fuck it. And I was like, what do you mean? He was like, just fuck it.

And I realized that he was like, just don't overthink it. Just it's in you. It'll come out. Don't try to get there don't try to figure it out just live and breathe it and it's just going to come right out of you right and it did and uh and so now i tell that you know when i'm around younger actresses or actors i'm like fuck it it'll come it's in you you wouldn't be here if it wasn't in you. I read that you said that I think you were about 14, 10 or 14 that you've been your family's provider from the time that you were like 14? To some degree. I mean, my mom managed my sister and I, so, you know, we went out and we did our

thing. My sister was in a big singing group, Isis at the time in the nineties and two big hits. And so me and her both, you you know but at a certain point in time you know as things fluctuate and and things are happening um you know and and for clarity my father has always paid child support he didn't go back and hit him up no you got to be clear my dad has always paid child support but um but yeah for a long time a lot of the income that was coming in the house was was you know, primarily yet Just working. How did I make you feel? I mean because like I remember growing up and working I was making twenty five thirty dollars a week working six

You know five and a half six days a week and I remember coming home and giving my grandmother ten dollars fifteen dollars It's not much but it was and I looked at my man. I'm Nineteen years old old I'm a provider and it gave me a sense of accomplishment yeah and that to this day that's what I am I'm a provider for my family did that give you a sense of accomplishment because you're a child at the end of the day you're still a child yeah yeah and a lot of them was coming into the home uh-huh it's courtesy of you well i looked at it like my mother before that time um had did everything on her own with an older brother who had special needs and then me and my sister and then ultimately

when she remarried you know my stepbrother and then and then she adopted my younger sister um when i was 14 i was four years from being out of the house. And so my mother has been such a provider for everybody on every level, that it was nothing for me to want to do it for her. And then also, you know, again, she was doing the work, she was managing us. And when me and my sister said, you know, can you quit your job, we want to pursue this full time, she had to have enough faith to be like, okay, I believe that my children can do it and we can keep this household afloat. So, you know, even when I was working, there was times when I wasn't working and Lamia was overseas touring with her group and she would come home and she'd bring her money home. And so our household was just one of whoever's got it is

all of ours. We take care of each other. We are, you know, a tribe and, and we always protect and take care of each other, you know? And tribe and and we always protect and take care of each other you know and so uh there was definitely a sense of accomplishment but it also was a sense of like uh safety and just knowing that we always look after each other and we always will look after each other you um are there any actors in hollywood no before i get to that you said like the pay because like you hear a lot of you know like the pay, because you hear a lot of, you know, you hear Taraji, you hear Monique, you hear a lot of black, Viola Davis. Yeah. Who has the ego.

Yeah. We hear a lot of black actors, actresses talking about the discrepancy of pay. Yep. Yeah. Have you experienced that? For sure. For sure. experienced that for sure for sure it's interesting because um you know i remember talking to jonathan about a project and and he asked me what my quote was and i told him and he

was like no he was like absolutely not no and i kind of knew but i also was like i know what i how much i've worked my life to even get to that point right um but the discrepancy is a discrepancy and and it actually disappoints me that people have you know made fun of taraji or whoever like crying and saying because because it's not right and people don't realize that they're like oh well you're an actress you know you're rich and famous you're wearing nice dresses and rings and stuff and And I'm like, no, baby doll, let me explain something to you. We go to work sometimes 15, 18 hours a day and the energy, the work that we do, the giving that we give of ourselves, everything around it is a lot of work. And then not just that

you walk out of the house and you work a lot more just walking down the street or doing press for a project. Um, and you see people and, uh, athletes, whatever it is getting paid, what they get paid for their talent and, and for, and their work ethic and everything they bring to the table. Why do black actresses not deserve that? And we are working very, very, very hard. I've worked hard my entire life i have never not worked hard right so um especially in the realm of what is being compared to what other people are getting i remember this same show i'm telling you about uh you know i was the lead on that show but i was number two on the call sheet and and the guy who was number one who was a white gentleman such a sweetheart and incredible human being he was like this isn't right he was like you should be number one, who is a white gentleman, such a sweetheart and incredible human being. He was like, this isn't right.

He was like, you should be number one on the call sheet. And I was like, yeah, I know. You know, but it's just there's so much of that that people have to speak up. And, you know, and it's unfortunate that they have to be somewhat of a martyr for people to start paying attention. And then it's like, OK, don't just pay attention. Y'all do something about it. You know what I'm saying? And and so, yeah, it is it is a big thing. And it's really not right. And it's like, okay, don't just pay attention. Y'all do something about it. You know what I'm saying? And so, yeah, it is a big thing.

And it's really not right. And it's really not cool. And, you know, and what I will say, you know, thinking about Tyler Perry, Tyler Perry is the first person to pay me what I should get paid. Wow. First person. And did not blink an eye. know he said how much you want i said let me let me talk to my team you know really quick and he said just tell me how much

you want i was like tyler he said let me just because i wasn't quite sure what to ask for and then um you know i was talking to jonathan and he was like you should ask for this and i was like no i can't ask for that and i was like i don't like you know it's like it's almost a mentality and then going back to the child actor syndrome too it's like i don't want to lose the job right you know but it's like you forget what an asset you were but sometimes they make you forget wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast nfl daily with greg rosenthal five days week, you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps, and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed by the time you get your coffee.

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offering right as opposed to say as well you know she's talented there's a reason why we're offering her the job and let's pay her yeah a fair wage yeah and so i asked tyler and he said i was gonna give you that anyways but i was like oh and then i started crying and then i couldn't stop were you crying crying? Let me see. I'm going to let you, I'm going to let you tell me why you started crying. And then I'm going to tell you why I thought you, why I think you started crying. Why did you start crying? Um, because I felt valued. I felt like someone wasn't just sitting there and telling me I'm valuable. They were actually showing me because actions obviously are much bigger than words. And because he was excited to do it for me. And then he said, he said, I want to make sure you and he named a few other people who's like, you guys have been doing this all your lives and you should get what you deserve.

And I'm going to make sure that you get it. And that's the kind of person that Tyler is. all your lives and you should get what you deserve and I'm going to make sure that you get it. And that's the kind of person that Tyler is. And so, um, just that feeling of feeling valued and someone, um, not just saying it, but proving it. That's exactly what I was going to say. You started crying for the very first time. Somebody saw the value in making good and they paid you accordingly. Yeah. Yeah. you get emotional thinking about it don't you i do because i do feel i do feel that a lot of people see the value in me and some don't but a lot of people do see the value in me but it doesn't mean that they're going to treat me as compensate you accordingly yeah yeah you have this persona

people look at you as like the cute girl the cute lady right you try to live that down what you mean you cut your hair i mean people saw you oh yeah you cut your hair yeah because did you feel that you in order for you to be taken serious? Yeah. You had this was a step. Well, I had this long kind of hair that I wore often. And I just think that people were like, oh, she's, you know, the cute girl, the pretty girl, the sexy girl, the girl next door, the love interest. And I just realized in order for me to get out of that space, I had to show up differently. Right. And, you know, and so that space, I had to show up differently. And, um, you know, and, and so

that's what I did, you know, and even then it still was a hard box to break out of, you know, but I look at stuff like Harlem and, you know, it's, it ain't about the way I look at all. It's about who this woman is and all of her quirks and all of her truth and all of her searching and figuring out and the roles that now I'm getting right i'm getting to play in my 40s that has been incredible i think that that i think that's the best part too is like i truly am in the second act of my life even though i've lived many lifetimes already right um and i'm excited for what's going to come out of me in this next year uh what's going to come out of me in every performance because of the things i've experienced what's going to come out of me when i have kids what you know all year, what's going to come out of me in every performance because of the things I've experienced, what's going to come out of me when I have kids, all those

things. What's going to come out of me when I'm an older woman, when I'm in my 60s, 70s? All of that's really exciting to me. You mentioned Tyler Perry. In this new movie, Divorce in the New Black. Divorce in the Black. Excuse me. Divorce in the Black black a divorce in the black divorce excuse me divorce in the black yeah

hmm let me see what because divorce in the black so obviously if i'm having to guess you were divorced yes you're divorcee oh yes how much having gone through that were you able to fall back on and says okay okay and boom here we go all of it all of it um because even though she's in a very different situation than than i was in um it's still that reality of expecting that your life is going to go one way and then suddenly realizing it's going to go a totally different way. And then you are trying to figure out what you're supposed to do and, um, having to re kind of learn yourself, but realizing that you've also changed and you've grown and, um, and then you having to re kind of calibrate your mind to not be sad and not, you know, like you have to go through the sadness.

You definitely have to go through the pain, the crying and the process, which is a process. I think to some degree, you never don't like not have it in some way, shape or form. As long as you don't let it make you bitter, you let it make you better. But the process that she had to go through to go okay now i'm in this next phase of life and i'm gonna embrace this and i'm gonna get excited about this and i'm gonna figure out what i want and what makes me happy and um having complete freedom after that to be like okay it's my world what i want to do with it you know and so i think um many of the moments that ava had there's there's a scene where I'm running and, you know, it was just like I was just so there.

I just I knew exactly where Ava was and I was just so there with her. And I was pleased to be able to gift her with the realest, truest, rawest emotion of what that reality was. Is it easier to play a role when you're familiar um not just a character but you like i've been there i've done that i i actually know what a divorcee is going through in this very moment i can see i can tell you yeah what it's like yeah i think i think it is easier although there is Your experience in their experience Yeah Because you you might not have gone through the reason why she got divorced might not be the reason why you got the divorce

So it has to be different. I mean, I'm reading that divorce Marriage going wrong. Maybe it's domestic violence Maybe finances or whatever the case may be but at the end of the day is that big D? Yes. Yeah, and and the only difference is um how does this person download and process it yes like for instance you know with my character in harlem it's first time where i go okay she's a gemini so i'm going to pursue all gemini traits so if me, if you came to her like this, maybe it might get indignant and be like, but a Gemini is actually going to go,

wait a second and get introspective and, and, and a totally different gear is going to hit for them. And so, um, that's the only difference is even though I can understand where the characters at, um,

uh, distinguishing the difference between, um, not just Ava and Megan's journeys, but Ava and Megan's mentalities and their bandwidth for pain and their, how much did they, you know, hide from their family? How much did they share? What's the dynamic between her mother versus her, you know, all those things that would probably be the only thing, but do I think it's easier in general? Yes, because you already have a leg up because you already have such a rich well to to pull from should we

should we view divorce as bad i don't know anymore i don't know uh i'm proud of you going through divorce how did you view divorce but prior to it happening to you how would you view it i felt like for any other reason besides domestic violence i'm'm like, yeah, I better figure that out. But now I just I don't know. I think that. What I experienced made me less judgmental about an experience that somebody else is having that I don't know what it is. And I can't say that that is bad or good for anybody. All I can say is that it hurt a lot for me. But I think that I think that it also was a blessing to both of us in a way. And not because it happened, but because if it had to happen, and that was a part of our story, we both got so much from it.

Did you feel you let people down? Yes and no, because I think that I felt that I let people down a bit with the weight, because I never said to someone, well, this is what I think you should do. And I never pursued making the book like, look how I did it, guys. This is what you know, it was never that. It was always people asking and inquiring me, saying, oh, this is the spaces that I'm in. This is what God's telling me to do right now. And people being curious.

And from that coming a book talking about our experience not necessarily um telling people to go do it but saying this is why it worked for us and this is why you know we believe in it and i still believe in the weight and i still believe that it worked for us i think that what didn't work for us were the reasons why we ultimately um you know divorced but i think that um i think the weight allowed us to get the full benefit and i think it's the reason that we're still friends to this day i think it's the reason that we walked into the room with both of our divorce attorneys and but you look great look at you you've been working out yeah you look great too how you doing you know and they looking like y'all getting divorced and we're like yeah they're like but you're okay y'all just okay you know and they looking like y'all getting divorced and we're like yeah and they're like

but you're okay y'all just okay you know and when people when they see us you know we see each other in the street you know people tense up around us and i'm like you know and it's just like and it's genuine love and i think a lot of that really is because of the way and the way that we got to know each other and the quality of the human being and the trust that was there um even if there you know was disappointment at the end i can look at devon and say that's a fucking good person wow and i'm thankful for that time divorce in the black will launch globally on prime video july 11th thanks for stopping by making good ladies and gentlemen thank you so much thank you awesome ladies and gentlemen. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Awesome. Appreciate it, David. Thank you so much. Shall we? Thank you. All my life. Been grinding all my life.

Sacrifice. Hustle paid the price. Want a slice. Got the roll of dice. That's why. All my life. I've been grinding all my life. Look.

All my life. Been grinding all my life. Sacrifice. grinding all my life Sacrifice, hustle pay the price Wanna slice, got the roll of dice That's why all my life I've been grinding all my life you you you We'll be right back. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news and the best analysis delivered by the time you get your coffee. The show hits every single game every single week, but I can't do it alone, so I'm bringing in all the big guns from NFL media like Colleen Wolfe.

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