Higher Learning with Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay - Matt James’s Instagram Statement and Andra Day on the Importance of Knowing Billie Holiday’s Story

Episode Date: February 24, 2021

Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay discuss Matt James’s Instagram statement on the Rachael Kirkconnell ‘Bachelor’ drama (0:45) and are then joined by the star of 'The United States vs. Billie Holiday,' Andra Day, to discuss her experience playing Billie Holiday and the importance of knowing her story to understand the civil rights movement and the period of time that we’re currently in (8:30). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bonus! Higher Learning Bonus episode, Wednesday, Black History Month. I think this is the last one, right? Is this the last one? Yeah, this is the last one? We hope you guys have been enjoying them. We've been loving you this extra content. We love this extra content. We love it.

And here's the thing. We are joined today by the star of the United States versus Billy Holiday. Ms. Andre Day, she plays Billy Holiday. She's fantastic in this role. Fantastic in this movie. Did you know about one and three people with plaques psoriasis may also develop psoriotic arthritis, which causes joint pain, stiffness, and swelling? Does this sound like you?

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And we have to talk about it. Matt James, a couple of days ago, went on his, it was it Instagram or Twitter, Rach. It was his Instagram. And he gave a message to Bachelor Nation about all the recent upheavals and the recent troubles. Rachel, what did he say? Listen, if you want to read it, you can go to Matt James 919 on Instagram. Instagram, check it out. But basically, he doesn't hold back.

And he addresses everyone from Rachel, Kirkconnell to Chris Harrison. Is it Kerkernel? I say it both ways. Okay. Here on extra, we say Kerkarnel. Here on Higher Learning, we say Kukkkernail. Kierkenau. Kierkanel.

It gives me a shout out in the statement as well. Just wanted to point that out. But basically, Matt James is. upset and he's telling us that this is not how he expected his season of the bachelor to go. He says it doesn't represent what he thought it was going to represent for himself, for the contestants of color, for the black contestants of seasons past, and also for the viewers at home. And he basically says that you will hear more from him in the end. So he's not done. He's got more to say. Basically, he's saying all that he can right now, basically within the

confines of his contract. So he called upon the black ancestors of the Bachelor, the contestants from years past. He called upon his ancestors, the Rachel Lindsay's of the world.

Tasia. He's like, this is easy. Riley, all the contests. Those are, you know, it goes much deeper than that. You need the people for the last six months. I don't know anybody else. Who else was there? Who else is there?

Who else is there? past my seasons because I didn't watch it before I was on it. I don't know. I don't know. But listen, everybody's been saying they wanted a statement for Matt James and they got it. And I think this is huge. It is an unpopular statement in Bachelor Nation because they don't want to hear you say these things. They want to protect the Chris Harrison's and not all a of Bastionation, but there's a sector and the Rachel Kirkkerkerknails. So let me ask you this about Bachelor Nation.

Bachelor Nation seems to be very pleasant and nice to me. What portion of Bachelor Nation are these virulent racists that are out there? It seems to be, I haven't met this part of Bachelor Nation just yet. Because they don't know you, right? The people of Bachelor Nation who listen to this podcast are a different group. Ah, we got the cool batches. The other people are like, what is higher learning? Oh, okay.

Don't even know I have another podcast. They typically live on Facebook. and most of them look the same. Like the fucking, like the Oakley glasses and the hats, the whole nine. Yeah, I know those guys. Look, what could Matt James do? I know I have a lot of fun with Matt James. What else was he supposed to say?

This is all he could. It wasn't getting any better than this. I think it was a great statement. I think it was a great statement. But you know what? He could have been silent. And I think the reason that people may be a little surprised is because when there was an issue before with Hannah Brown.

Matt, people look to Matt James. People actually at said to me, why can't. They looked to Matt James. Why? Because she was good friends with him and he was best friends with the most popular guy from her season. Was he on the show? No, but. So what the hell then?

Why would they look to him? He might as well have been because, this is giving you way too much Bachelor background, but Tyler Cameron. Tyler Cameron was on Hannah Brown's season. everybody felt like Hannah Brown should have picked Tyler Cameron. He's a very attractive man. You've seen him in the TikTok videos dancing with Matt James. I've sent them to you before.

Oh, wait a minute. Hold on. I know this. We covered this on TMZ. We did. That Tyler Cameron had the Charlie Neff. Shout out to Charlie Neff. Charlie Neff pitched a video of this guy dancing.

I've been roasting Matt James for years. And you didn't even know. I didn't even know. It was the Tyler Cameron. guy and he was dancing. They didn't have no shirts on, right? They didn't have shirts on. Boom!

And they were... They were doing the whole thing, and I lit them up on TMZ. I lit them up. I've been roasting Matt Jay's. I knew it was something familiar about this one. This weenie smelled. It smelled. It was a familiar weenie smell.

It was a familiar smell. Go ahead, though. You might forget a face. You never forget a smell, right? Never forget a weenie smell. Never forget the smell. Corned a smell. Well, Tyler Cameron and Matt James.

Okay, so you've known about them, even before he was the bachelor. So most people did. They spent about a month together, right when COVID hit, called themselves the quarantine crew. Maybe this is when these videos came out. I'm not quite sure. But anyways, everybody knows Matt James and Hannah Brown claimed to be best friends. When Hannah Brown said the N-word, people were saying to me, why can't you be like Matt James? Why are you talking so much?

Why do you have something to say? I told Matt this because Matt just put up a Bible verse and kept it moving. So a lot, there was a sector of bachelor nation that loved that. But he didn't, wasn't outspoken. He put up a Bible verse and he kept it moving. So this is a different side of Matt James that people haven't seen yet. So I think people weren't expecting maybe another scripture reference. And instead, he gave him this a good statement.

Good. Solid. You know why Matt James didn't come out against Hannah? Brown? No, I don't want to know. I'll tell you why. I didn't ask. He didn't want Hannah's reply.

Hannah's reply was going to be like, Matt, you don't want who told me I can say it. I know you were going to say that. I knew you were going to say that. Stop. He didn't come out. It had to go wrong for him. He couldn't. He'd come out.

He said something. She was like, yeah, whatever. Matt told me it was cool. So I don't know what he's talking about. You don't imagine. Oh, God. What I'm telling you. Anyways.

What I love the best about this is that he said you will hear more for me in the end Cannot wait for the finale Because I would like to hear What he has to say Matt James All right Are you gonna roast this

Apology? Are you gonna give this On the week? So he's fine It's fine It's fine It's fine, yeah it's fine He's coming out there He's you know

He's the face of a franchise now He's got to say something He's the face of a show he's got to come out there. It's fine. It's fine. I've been, we're all been under the gun.

We'll see what happens when he pitched Rachel Kirk in there and he gets kicked right to fuck out of Wakanda forever. He's like, never come back. It's like, never come back to Wakanda.

Kick him right out on the outside. You guys don't ever know in Infinity War, they got that big shield outside of Wakanda so nobody can get through that motherfucker. But that shield, did you know about that? Is if you're Wakanda,

you can walk through there, right? It only knows. Matt James will try to walk to it's sealed and it's just a witty alert and you just can't get through it. So anyway, all right, without further ado, let's talk to Andre Day.

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And let me tell you something. Riving performance. One of the best of the year. I watch all of these movies and this is a standout performance as being holiday, Ms. Andrea Day's joining to stay on higher learning. Thank you, y'all. Thank you.

My soror. Yes. Oh, eh. Oh, I got the wrong colors on, but that's okay. I know. I was like, don't have any. My flip pants is red. There you go.

So, Andrea, since you're a Delta, then let me ask you the first question is, here it goes. I ask Rachel this. How does it feel that the A.K.A. has beat you guys to the White House. How does that? Why are you... I mean like, listen, how's that feel? Listen, I think our sisterhood is about a sisterhood across the sororities and the unity and the uplifting of these beautiful black women in the community.

We are celebrating. We are celebrating our beautiful sister, VP Kamala Harris. I got to be honest with you. Before we get on, I got to be honest with you. I don't believe y'all. I'll wait down. I'll be real with you. I don't believe.

leave y'all. I went to Southern University. We talk about this all the time. I went to an HBCU. I know how this goes and I'm glad that everybody is unified. I'm glad. But just, okay, because wait to one of the deltas get in there.

Wait to one of the deltas getting there. And what? They're going to support us too. We were all the divine nine. This is what we do. That's what's supposed to be. That's why, no, that's why I had to bring it up because he doesn't want to give us our flowers anymore because of VP

Kamala Harris. I had to say, I had to let you know. Why you over here praising her performance? This is what Deltas do. I love a Deltas. This is exactly. I love Adelta. Don't even get me, that's my that was my jam. I love Adelta. I don't believe now. Andrea, I know that you've been, first of all, congratulations on the Golden Globe nomination. All right. Thank you very much. That must be crazy.

You're hearing all the superlatives about your performance have you watched the movie back? It is a very, very raw thing to watch. And what are your emotions as you watch yourself as Billy Holiday? I don't know because I haven't watched it back. I was wondering about that. Yeah. Here's the thing.

I got to tell you, I mean, the idea of watching it when we came off, I got to tell you, this shifted me. me and rocked me and changed me in a way that I wasn't prepared for. You know what I mean? I'm blessed by it, you know, but it did change me. And it was a little scary because, you know, coming out the other end of it, people would be like, okay, you got to let Billy Holiday go now and, you know, you can be Andrea again. And I realized I had been her for so long. I had no idea who Andrew was. I spent three years in my life being Billy Holiday and I don't know. And I'm still,

but God is great and I'm still trying to figure it out. And I do feel like I'm, I'm starting to come to a place of realizing who I'm supposed to be in this season. But I think the other thing is I, my experience, I loved the experience on set so much so that I never wanted it to end. I didn't want to leave and I didn't expect that. And so I hadn't watched it yet because I felt like once I see the movie, it's going to be the final, you know, turning of the page, the final closing of the chapter. And I haven't been ready for that to happen yet. Now I do feel like I'm out of place now where I want to actually see the movie. So I'll probably like in the next couple days watching before it drops on Friday, you know.

I want to take it back because you just said how you didn't want it to end. But you didn't want it to start either. No. You were running away from this. Neither you or Lee Daniels. Can you talk a little bit about that? Because my gosh, what we would have missed out on by not having you in this role. Thank you.

I appreciate that. And what I feel like I would have missed out on this experience with Lee and allowing Billy, you know, Billy to take hold of my spirit, you know, was really powerful. But I didn't want to do it because, you know, clearly before this movie, I had never acted before. I'm not, I'm not an actor, you know, and so, so that was, that was a big part of it. I was, I didn't want to embarrass myself. I didn't want to be terrible. And then I happened to be a huge Billy Holiday fan prior to the movie. And so I had this idea in my mind, and I was a big fan of Diana Ross and Lady Seams the Blues. So as a fan of Diana's, I did not want to make ladies scenes the blues because why would you try to approach this, you know, this iconic project. And then as a fan of Billy's, I didn't want to remake it because I knew it wasn't the accurate picture of the government going after Billy Holiday as a fan. And so I had this idea in my mind that like I would do this role and that people would be like, Billy Holiday's so amazing. Oh my God, wow. Oh, my God, Diana was so beautiful.

Oh, wow. Audrey McDonald on Broadway's, oh, you remember that time Andrew Day tried? to be Billy Howard. Like, that's what I kept, like, replaying in my head. So, you know, I, and Lee didn't want me to either because I'm not an actress, but we met. And I think we actually bonded over that mutual fear and that need to overcome. And I think we saw in each other just a desire to honor her and to do her justice and to tell her story truthfully. So it made us sort of link arms and, you know, me trusting in God, him, trusting in God and us,

trusting each other and diving into this project. You know, it's so interesting you say you're not an actress because I'm not an actor. because I'm not an actor because when I was watching a movie, the first thing I did was jump on Google to see what you had been in before. Because, seriously, there's no way

in hell that anyone who saw this film wouldn't think that you hadn't gone to all the Juilliards and the Yales and all of that because you, that's just how powerful the performance is. So I guess a question I want to know is you say that you got to know that yourself as Billy Holiday, right? And you were there for three years.

Why don't you think American culture knows Billy Holiday better? Because even though there was Lady Sing's the Blues and there's been a lot about our life, I don't feel like there's been the cultural recognition and the cultural importance she's been given that that she deserves. Yeah. I mean, the truth of the matter is there's no way to sort of go around at a part. words you were never supposed to know, right? That was, this is the success of, of, though they were not able to successfully fully kill strange fruit, they were able to change the narrative of her legacy. That was the orchestration of the government, right, of the FBI, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics,

Harry J. Anslinger, Jay Edgar Hoover, the FBI, the president, even at the time, you know, Billy Holliday was a great, she was the great godmother of the civil rights movement. And that's not how we know her. And that's the biggest tragedy about her life. And then even thinking about Diana Ross, right? Everyone's really idea of Billy Holiday was Diana Ross and Lady Seins the Blues. We have to remember that, like, it was a powerful movie. It was a beautiful movie and a black love story and that's something we needed at the time. But Louis McKay, who was actually the technical director on that film and was Billy's husband under her death and took her estate, he set her up to be put in prison.

He set her up to be murdered. You know, he was working with the feds, working with the government. It's why his character in the movie is painted as this smooth, light-skinned superhero brother. You know what I mean? And so, and so, and then with, we have to remember, though, also, it was a great feat that Diana was able to do what she did, that Barry Gordy were able to do what they did with the pressure of Lewis McKay and with the fact that Harry J. Anslinger and J. Edgar Hoover were still alive and in power. You know what I mean? And so we were not supposed to know. They did not want us to know that Billy Holiday was singing string.

for indifiance of the government, that they orchestrated a war on drugs to target her to target black leadership, black influence, and that she was integrating audiences, and that she reinvigorated the civil rights movement with her singing of the song along with the death of Emmett Till, and that we have the great civil rights leaders that we have today because they were inspired by her. So that's truth. That's too much truth. And we have a system of oppression that's built on lies. And so truth threatens to dismantle that. And so they had to get rid of her in any possible way that they could. Are you nervous at all about how this film is going to be received? And then I'm also curious as like how your family and friends have reacted to you in this role.

You know, to be honest with you, I'm not really nervous about how it'll be received. I mean, my goal is that it's received well, that the work that Lee put in has received well, the work we put is received well. The great script by Susan Lorry Parks. I have a great love for Lee Daniels, for Susan Lorry Parks, for the production for my entire co-stars, you know. And so I desire that,

and more than anything, that Billy's Holiday story is received, you know what I mean? And if the best thing that happens is that it causes people to start Googling Billy Holiday and say, why didn't I know this about her? What do I need to know? That's a blessing and that's the goal, you know?

And so I'm not really nervous about how it'll be received. I just pray about it, you know. And I'm sorry, what was the latter part of your question? How have your family and friends reacted to you in this role? My family and my friends are, they're so proud. Like, everyone is super proud. They're all supporting. They're all excited.

They feel the momentum, the energy. My family's reaction is hilarious because they're super proud, but it's like, you know, it's crazy. I'm not really a nudie person or whatever before all of this. And so there's a lot of crazy scenes in there. my mom's is the funniest though. My mom just like almost, she was so excited and supportive of the role.

But as I started to drop into Billy and started smoking cigarettes and just cussing and just being more sexual and being kind of more wild in my baby, she would be like, why are you acting like that? I'm like, Ma, you know, and she's like, mm-mm. I'm like, Ma, you know I'm doing a movie, right? You just, it's just that you acting different.

I'm like, what are you talking about, lady? I know. She just would not let it go. So they've been hilarious, actually, in their reaction to the movie. Now, you didn't smoke cigarettes before this. I did not. No. I didn't drink.

Did you get addicted to cigarettes during this time? A little bit. A little bit. You know what I mean? I was able to quit, though. You know, and I will say what I thought was something I was going to do was going to be like five months at the most. You know what I mean?

Three and a half months for filming and then pre-leading up to it. I thought it would be five months and just. doing this and then I'd be out and I'd be good. But then we had all these pickup shots and we had all of this ADR work in all of 2020. So I actually wasn't able to quit smoking until the end of 2020 because I wanted to just stay in that headspace. And they do help me drop because I don't have a frame of reference for my state of mind as a smoker, only as Billy. You know what I mean? So they make me feel like her. So I thought it would be five months turned into like a year and a half. You know what I mean? So I, but I did quit at the end of 2020. I did, it's crazy that you ask

me this because I just smoked, but it was for this video where cigarettes was a part of what we were doing, you know? But I did quit at the end of 2020, and so far I've been good. I've been cool, you know what I mean? I'll have random moments, but I've been chilling. So I'm trusting God on that. But yeah, I don't recommend it, but I had a piece about it for me. You really committed to the role, though, not just smoking and drinking, but you lost almost 40 pounds for the role. You cut your hair off after growing it for 12 years. I would have just put a wig on like I got a wig on right now. I definitely would have.

Could you talk a little bit about that? Because I know you've been open about the emotional journey of having to cut your hair off after growing it for so long and just kind of what black women go through in Hollywood with that and our attachment to hair and all of it. Yeah. I think so. Actually, that's a great question. It's the only time I've actually been asked that question on this sort of all of this,

you know, run and everything. But yeah, there was when I did it, when I cut it, off my hair. I knew Lee had asked me if it was something I was willing to do, and I was, because I will tell you when I endeavored to do it, when I finally got over not wanting to do it and trying to run away from it, I mean, it was prayer that got me into it, you know? And so I had such a peace about these things. And for me, it's like, I'm like my father. You know what I mean? I'm either in it or I'm not, you know? And so if I'm all in it, then I'm all in it. So I had a real piece about cutting my hair off. But it was afterwards, what would really get me

is when I would see pictures of my hair. There's one picture I have it when I had. I had just taking these twists that I had and out, and my hair was down to my butt. And then I felt it in my chest. I was like, oh, hold on, you know what I mean? But it made me realize I loved having short hair. I loved having short hair. And I'm like, why do we feel this need in order to be beautiful, to have long hair or to feel value? I understand that it comes from a history of our hair not being valued, our natural texture not being valued, us being told we couldn't grow our hair.

That's not the type of hair we had and not knowing how to take care of it. But I also realized I was a little. bit sort of a prisoner to it. I did not feel attractive without having even though I never combed the shit in the first place, but it was just the option of having it there, you know what I mean? And I realized I didn't feel

and so I'm like, no, my value has nothing to do with that. My value as a black woman has nothing to do with that. And so it was actually quite liberating. And I really actually love the short hair now. So there's a scene in the movie where Travante Rose is laying down, he's listening to the records.

And he doesn't have a shirt on. You know? And, you know, he's just laying there, I was just saying. And, you know, here it is, you know, it's the pandemic. And, you know, we put on a little weight. You know, we're like, we're looking. I'm a little fluffy.

I want you know this topic has come on, come up numerous times. I mean, the dude was swall. This nigga, swole as hell. And it's like, and so I guess my thing is, I want to know, like, throughout the course of this, did you ever see him eat any bread or did you like did you like was there ever like did you like did you like because I want to know

at this point because we've seen it right we like we like we've seen it for years you know what let me tell you something I'm in it with you then you're right I didn't see that nigga eating I'm telling you I know it I can look at it I was like I was like I was like I was actually even limit heads when I was watching the scene I was eating lemon heads I was like whatever I'm eating living hands. I'm looking at it. I'm like, yeah, nigger, but you ain't got these. I only started eating a couple of times.

You right, I'm real suspicious right now. No, I mean, he ate like a couple things, you know, on set. But, you know, it's interestingly enough. Everybody's like, oh, he's in great shape. I'm like, that's a small tray. Like, that's a tray small. He lost like 25 pounds, I think, or something for the bowl. Well, I don't know.

I spent most of my time on time. Yeah, of course. Like, he's an athlete. So the reality is none of us are going to work as hard on our as he does, period. You know what I mean? So I accepted it and I was jealous of him at first and then I moved on. So I was like, it's fine.

To the point of his character, do you see parallels to, I'm sure you've been asking about this to another movie that's out right now, Judas and the Black Messiah? Talk a little bit about how important his role is in this movie as kind of being the guy as being twisted up. and manipulated by the government to go in, to go big game hunting against somebody that's as important as Billy Holiday. Talk a little bit about his performance.

Yeah, and it's a great tie, actually, that you just put together with that because the reality is what we saw in Judas and the Black Messiah, Jimmy Fletcher was actually the genesis of that. So that was sort of that, I mean, essentially not really, right? Practice really goes back to that plantation, but since the abolition of slavery

and segregation and Jim Crow and, you know, all of this in racial terror in America. He was actually the Genesis. So he was really one of the first black FBI agents, if not the first. And not even really. I hate even to use the term black FBI agents because they really just use them as a pawn, you know. So it's super important for people to know. You know, he was, once they constructed this war on drugs, right?

You know, that was one of the first things. They knew they couldn't go into the community. So the idea was to manipulate, as they did, sort of the divide and conquer mentality on plantations. You know, the overseer mentality was sort of, you know, house slave mentality, you know,

so it was sort of manipulate them into feeling like they're making the future and they've got an opportunity and they've got a shot and they can make a life for themselves. And really, Jimmy Fletcher's character, even though people go, oh, well, he betrayed her and he put,

he was actually a good person and was trying to do what he thought was right. You know what I mean? And so he saw drugs ravaging his community with unreal, not realizing that the government, had really pumped them in. And so he thought, okay, let me do something to get in and to help and to further my career and my life and build a life.

And so, you know, he was really the genesis of that, the way he stopped her and the way he followed her. But I love that he ultimately ended up falling in love with her and realizing, realizing that he was being used as a pawn. You know, I can't imagine how painful that was. And so, and I love that Billy's reaction to him, though she's angry at him for going to prison, she's very, very forgiving. She's very willing to let him in again because she sees past just his action.

She sees the sort of puppeteers behind him and that his desire is actually just to do good. So I think it's important to know about these characters because this is a practice that the Federal Bureau of Narcotics that the FBI, that the government has used to infiltrate so many of our black leaders. And the other thing I want to just touch on with that is that, you know, they're the first agents to be the first soldiers in the war on. drugs. But if you, the one thing I've been explaining to certain people, especially like white people who've been interviewing me is like, I'll explain it to you like this. We've had multiple wars on drugs. We still have drugs. We do not have most of our black leaders anymore. You know what I mean. And that's what you need to really, really understand, to understand the full picture, you know? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I want to talk about the music in the movie. Was it hard for you to change your voice,

you know, to do some of this music? And then, yeah, no, yeah, just on that. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I mean, it was a combination of things. You know, I had to, I worked with a great dialect coach Lee connected me with. And that was a conversation Lee and I had early on. I knew I did not want to do the role if it was going to be my regular speaking voice. And fortunately, Lee was like, we have to have Billy's voice. We have to have her voice. And it has to be, he would always say this. It cannot be an impersonation. It has to be an interpretation. And so he connected me with Tasha Smith, my acting coach. He was amazing. My dialect coach, Tom Jones, who helped me to understand what that. meant, you know. And so I had to, you know, there was the muscle memory, right? I had to train the muscles. And as a singer, we know kind of how to work with these. So I had to, Billy Holiday, I speaks deeper in my chest. And Billy Holiday speaks actually from sort of way up here behind her, her head and behind her ears. And then there's all this gravel that it has to travel through. And, you know, the range of her voice goes, you know, so much. And so I had to sort of train the muscles and hold them in a certain place. And then once the muscle memory came, I was able to sort of sit in that. And then I had to stop taking care of my voice. Honestly, I had to not just find the places she spoke from, how she breath, why she breathed. But I just stopped drinking hot tea. I would just drink, you know, ice cold drinks.

I would not cover my throat and I would not cover up when it was cold out. And I would just be loud and not sleeping. And I drank a lot of gin, which I don't, I actually don't drink. So that was definitely another piece for me. that was a big one. And then the smoking cigarettes, you know, I had to earn the gravel that she had earned over the entire period of her life in a very short period of time because her voice is a beautiful character within itself.

So it was a lot of work, but it was worth it. I think it was worth it. I'll know when I see the film. Well, Andre, it was worth it. It sounds like this is a very healthy experience for you. It was great. I recommend it for everybody. It seems like, would you say that playing Billy Holiday was the most unhealthy experience of your life?

Yes, yes, I would. Between starvation and cigarettes and alcohol and not sleeping for days and days on end. You know, yes, being cold, sick, whatever. Yes, it was. It was the most physically unhealthy. It was the most spiritually healthy. And that's why I, you know, feel great about it today, you know. Okay, last question for me.

Do you have the acting bug now? Will we see you in other things? She just has no choice. What are you talking about? Let her. Let her speak. No, I'll answer right now. You know, when you just said that a bunch of agents and guys just looked up from their iPhones,

they're like, yeah, we already got a book in Jurassic World Part 4. Like, yeah, we got, yeah, yeah, like a bunch of people going like, hell yeah. Hey, yeah, yeah, it's Not a bunch of agent, guys. A bunch of Asian guys are like, yeah, we got her in all the things. She's Black Panther 5, all of that stuff. She's about to do all of this. Yeah.

Mainly my, it's not Black Panther 5, not the Rocky series of Black Panther. Yes, she's like, it's probably mainly my age is looking up like, you better answer this question right. You know, I did. I will tell you, it's funny because I feel like if Lee and Tyler and Trey were here right now, they'd be laughing their ass off of me. But because on set, it was funny, they were like, oh, man, you're going to be so amazing. And people, I was like, that's cool, nigga.

If this one role next me, you know, being amazing, great, because I'm retired, definitely. That is really how I felt. But coming off the heels of that, feeling like I'm in a healthier place and seeing kind of the other side. Yeah, I probably do maybe just a couple more. You know what I mean? Maybe, maybe. But really more than anything, I have a desire to tell stories. You know, I just feel like I've started writing actually, and I want to co-write and, you know, direct and produce with, you know, sort of co-do these things with great talent in the business and work closely still with my castmates and with, you know, they send me scripts and things they're working on and I share shit with them all the time.

And so just to create a community. But I feel like we should be seeing in the next, you know, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years an incredible saturation of black stories of marginalized people. stories of LGBTQ plus stories of women's stories of, you know, of different culture stories, because these are, why wouldn't we? You know, we, these are the stories that have been intentionally kept from us. And so in order for us to move on and be healthy as a society, we got to pop the top. We need to, the world, the internet went crazy when it found out Beethoven was African, right? Or hidden figures that three women were responsible for getting us to space, you know, a program in the first computer or that a slave, Lafayette was, it was his

brave act and infiltrating the enemy camp that actually netted us our independence as a nation, right? We don't know about shit like this, you know? And so I think it's really important to tell beautifully artistic but like factual based, you know, stories. I call it sort of the

genre of conscious, you know, historical revelation. You know what I mean? And that's I feel like, so I have a desire to tell our story. So that bug has definitely bit me for sure. And this is my last question. We really appreciate you making the time. Once again, the performance is absolutely spellbinding.

Like, I'm glad you're getting all your flowers, sister. So there's something that we talked about on the earlier podcast, because there's a through line to all of these stories of the destabilization of movements. And that

through line, I'm coming at you from left field here, is Jay Edgar Hoover. Whether or not we're talking about Jesus and a Black Messiah, whether or not we're talking about the United States versus Billy Holiday, we're talking about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, all of this stuff. I said on an earlier podcast that I thought that

Jay Aguhrouver's name should be taken off of the federal building in Washington because he, to me, is a cultural war criminal. I was wondering, after playing this part and getting into how this was, what you think about a movement to take Jay Huckoover's name off of the federal building? I 100% support that. And that's one of the huge things in like my creating of content.

So it's funny that you bring that by creating of content. That's a huge sort of like a point of it is to really, you know, to me, when you say we want to build a monument or we have a statue or we have his name on the on the capital building where we have this. It's the same as saying, oh, well, should we put Hitler's name up there? Why would we do that? Because it was it was just the brilliance of. subtlety. And I don't want to say brilliance, but really how diabolically genius it was, at being so subtle. And as you said, sort of dismantling our community and everything that he hated. And so, yes, I think to me, he is the Hitler for black people and for people of

color and for marginalized communities in America. He's responsible for so many deaths. And I don't think people really understand the scope of that man's power when he was alive. And his power, his grip over the world now. You know, this is not just America. This is world leaders, you know, that he had in his pocket. So, I mean, and he did it brilliantly. You know, it's like, to be honest with you, I understand where people go. I compare him to the devil, right?

The devil wasn't cast down because he was a boogabuga monster. The devil was cast down because he thought he could be God and be better than God. And he has been able to successfully cement himself in this nation as a hero and a pillar of righteousness and civic duty. And, you know, and the man was a demon. You know what I mean? And so I 100% agree with that. That's one of my, actually one of my biggest passions is to see that happen

and to see the undoing of not to not tell the truth about him, but to tell the truth about his legacy, you know. Mm. Mm. Andre Day. So coming up, Black Panther Six, we're also, because remember, she was already in five. And now we're all just six.

That's right. She's already a five. She was already in. It's elevated to playing King to Chala. Yeah, you know. Yeah. Put it out there. Put it out there.

You're right. I am excited for all the twists and turns that your career is going to take. And once again, you know, I know the Golden Globe nomination is out there, and there are more accolades to come from this role. I personally expect you to be nominated for something else. as well, that other award. I think you're going to... Put it out there.

We just told her to do it. Put it out there. I think she is going to get an Academy Award nomination for Best Actors. Thank you. I received it. I sincerely do.

I've seen all the movies and there's some great performances. But this performance, the fact... Let me just talk to it real quick. The fact that this is your first movie. Like, yo, like, for real. Like, you were...

You stepped into her. It's really, really amazing. Yeah. Yeah. It was a delight to have talked to you, and we're glad to have had you on the show today. Thank you so much, Andre. Thank you so much. Thank you.

My blessings. Let's do this again. For sure. For sure. Yeah. Yeah. Mine is, we'll keep COVID at home. Bless y'all.

Take care. Bye.