The Breakfast Club - Replay* | Just Heal with Dr. Jay: Living and Healing In Peace with Taraji P. Henson

Episode Date: March 17, 2026

*Originally aired May 24th, 2025 On this episode of Just Heal with Dr. Jay, Dr. Jay Barnett sits down with actress and mental health advocate Taraji P. Henson for an honest conversation about healing, community, and emotional well-being. They reflect on the importance of vulnerability, the lasting impact of childhood experiences, and the power of reconnecting with nature. Taraji shares personal insights from her journey to Bali, her ongoing work through the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, and how friendship plays a vital role in maintaining peace. Together, they explore what it means to take responsibility for your healing and the value of showing up authentically for yourself and others. Tune in and join the conversation in the socials below. Rate, subscribe, comment and share. Follow Just Heal on IG: @kingjaybarnett @tarajiphensonYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakfastClubPower1051FMSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Good people. What's up? What's up? It's Questlove. So recently, I had the incredible opportunity to have a real conversation with an actress and producer, Jamie Lee Curtis, from routines to recovery, true lies, and a certain Jermaine Jackson music video. Jamie's surreal and raw. And it's something I really admire about her. I am so happy that I'm the head bitch in charge at 67, that I'm in.

I have the perspective that I have at my age to really be able to put all of this into context. Listen to the Questlove show on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton Eckerd. In 2022, I was the lead of ABC's The Bachelor. But here's the thing. Bachelor fans hated him. If I could press a button and rewind it all I would. That's when his life took a disturbing turn. A one-night stand would end in a courtroom. The media is here.

This case has gone viral. The dating contract. Agree to date me, but I'm also suing you. This is unlike anything I've ever seen before. I'm Stephanie Young. Listen to Love Trapped on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Amanda Knox, and in the new podcast, doubt the case of Lucy Lettby, we unpack the story of an unimaginable tragedy that gripped the UK in

23. But what if we didn't get the whole story? The moment you look at the whole picture, the case collapsed. What if the truth was disguised by a story we chose to believe? Oh my God, I think she might be innocent. Listen to Doubt, the case of Lucy Lettby, on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. When segregation was a law, one mysterious black club owner, Charlie Fitzgerald, had his own rules.

aggregation and the day integration that night. It was like stepping on another world. Was he a businessman? A criminal. A hero. Charlie was an example of power. They had to crush you. Charlie's Place from Atlas Obscura and visit Myrtle Beach.

Listen to Charlie's Place on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Come check this. IHeard and TikTok have come together to create something new. I love it. Where the world of TikTok meets your playlist. Three words that will change your life. IHeart TikTok Radio. The biggest hits across IHeart Radio?

What's trending for you on TikTok? Tell me a sound that's better than this. IHart TikTok Radio. Plus TikTok's most influential creators all in one place. Search for IHard TikTok Radio. Make it a preset and stay connected all day. Welcome to Jess Hill with Dr. J, a production of the Black Effect Podcast Network

and I Heart Radio. Welcome back to another episode of Just Hill with Dr. Jay, and I am your host, Dr. Jay Barnett, and I'm excited about today's guests. I have my great friend. You know her as Ms. Cookie, but I know her as T and all of the many characters that we have been blessed to see her play.

But today, we want to have a conversation about healing. And as you all know, when you come into the healing community, we're talking about things that are important. impactful for our journey that can impact our life. And I'm so happy to have my friend to Raji P. Henson joining me with the Healing Community Day. Welcome. Thank you. Listen, I am excited about this episode,

and this episode, I think, that's gonna be transformative because May is Mental Health Month. And we have been working together for a number of years under the Boris Henson Foundation providing free therapy to black men and black women. And I just think this conversation is not had enough, even though we're talking about it more. But before I start into the conversation,

I always ask every guess. I don't ask them how they're doing. I ask them, how are you feeling? I'm feeling blessed today. Really happy and I'm excited about today. Because, you know, of course, we're having our symposium and we're helping the kids. And I actually used to go to Oxon Hill High School.

Really? So I feel really good. about giving back to them in this way. To give back to... Before we start, can I just say I'm proud of you, Black man? Thank you. I'm just really, really proud of you. I am.

Thank you. And listen, I want to say this to everybody. Y'all only know me because of the rioting. Well. Like, for real. And so I have to say I'm humble because it was a black woman. It was you. I think came across one in my videos and then your team.

reached out to me this was what 2020 this was 2020 yeah yeah and and we did the Breakfast Club virtual at that time and I just want to say thank you for seeing me and for providing the opportunity for the world to know my voice and not just my story but the voice and the impact that I would have on black men it was you and and this is why we need black And we need y'all. We need each other. We need each other.

And I wish, you know, we could settle these, these wars that we have in online because we're so needed in just building each other. Yeah, for sure. For sure. So, you know, you feel blessed. You look amazing. I don't know what you're drinking, what you're doing, but you look amazing. Like, I know you take trips to Bali.

And Bali is your place to really get away and to check out. What has that been for your healing journey? It's a place. It's a great place to recenter because it's not a place about vanity. You know, a lot of times when you go overseas, it's about shopping and this and that. And that's not where you go for that. It's literally eat, pray love. The people are beautiful.

They pray over everything. They pray over you. It's a lot of yoga. I mean, the food is from the earth. everything is clean eating um i just feel so nurtured we call it mother bolly because the land is so nurturing um but that's just that has become my my place to go when i need to recenter yeah and get away from it all because it's very far yeah now when you go how long are you gone the first time i stayed for a month the second time i went for like uh two and a half weeks yeah yeah you it's not a

quick trip because it takes about 24 hours to get there wow Wow. And when you go there and you re-center yourself, how does your spirit feel to step away from America? Let me just tell you this. The first time I went, I landed at some weird hour in the morning. They had an herbal bath waiting for me. I took it.

It was like 4 o'clock in the morning by the time I unpacked and got in a bed. I slept for 12 hours. Can I tell you the last time I slept through like 12 straight hours? I since probably in my 20s when I was going to the clubs and stuff. Wow. Yeah, 12 straight hours

and I never could sleep that peacefully in the States. Wow. Do you feel because of the chaos and the noise is why many of us can't rest? Absolutely.

I literally remember after my month's stay, it felt like it went so fast and I remember I was crying, packing, coming back. I did not want to come back. And as soon as I got back to America, it was a mass shooting in Chinatown and L.A.

I was like... And I remember texting you when you come back and you were just saying, I did not want to come back to this. Did not want to come back. Did not want to come back. I heard a doctor say, if you ever find yourself diagnosed with cancer and you want to survive,

the first thing you got to do is leave America. What? Yes. He said, that's the first thing you have to do. He didn't go into the medicines. He didn't go into holistic. He said, the first thing you must do is leave America. Wow.

You know, I'm writing this book and its title, I actually just got agreed to the term. This is my first major book deal. And I'm excited about this because the book is about pursuing pace. And the subtitle is in a world that's not slowing down. and as you were speaking about the doctor saying you got to leave here, we're in such a hurry and there's such stress that we have day to day. And I'm saying to myself, how do we ever find pace?

How did you create pace in your busy world? Where I live is very peaceful. My house sits on the hill away from the noise. I don't hear any street traffic. It's my sanctuary. And I had a friend who's very clairvoyant say that he saw like Native Americans around the property in spirit protecting it. So I would have friends fly in from out of town and they would come in all stress and they'd come to my house and they'd be like, oh my God, I just feel so peaceful. And when I was living in Chicago, I would, you know, working on that show could be kind of crazy when I was on Empire.

I would go to L.A. back to my house to re-gather myself. So that's literally my sanctuary is home. I have two dogs. I just got a new puppy, Lord. Why did I do that? I have Frenchies. Two Frenchies. And they're my joy, you know, simple things.

Nothing, you know, they ain't about going to a spa or any of that. I work out a lot, which for me is more about my mental than the aesthetics, you know, because it releases those good endorphins, you know. So simple, keeping everything really simple. You know, I have my playroom, which is my salon. When I was a little girl, we couldn't afford nothing. And so I always promised myself when I got older, I would make a room where I could play

and I would buy all the things that I couldn't afford when I was a kid. And it's my salon, and I have my little dollheads that I go in there, and I would... It's just where I got to want to tell you. all my business. But, um... I love that. Yes, my space.

I mean, I could be, the world could be burning up and I'd be in my salon having fun with my dog heads. Like, I like that because it's almost like you get to connect back to the little girl. Absolutely. I reached out to Tyler Perry one time. I said, while the world is burning up.

I'm in here watching my dear movies and I turned the camera around and show. He said, wow, Taraji, that's you protected, letting that, um, taking care of that little T.J. little girl and I was like absolutely. Oh God, this is this is so rich because I'm sitting here thinking about

you know childhood wounds and childhood traumas and all those different things and I don't think we realize as we're aging that we're either doing one or two things we're either running from the little boy or little girl or we're trying to replace or give the little boy a little girl what they didn't have at that particular time and as you were talking about sitting there and playing with the dollheads, does that bring a level of peace to the little girl that's out of you?

I forget. I don't, my office be trying to reach me and the phone will be buzzing and I get annoyed because I don't want to deal with that. And then I'll be like, hello. They're like, you've got to come out of that room. You have to answer these questions. You've got to sign these documents.

And they know when they can't find me, they know that's where I am, you know. It just brings me so much peace and joy. And that's where I was during the pandemic. Like, I literally stayed in my salon. Is that how you got through the pandemic? That's how I got through it. So what I'm hearing you saying is healing is a part of us also reconnecting to our childhood is some sort.

You said I look how youthful I look because I never let that little girl inside of me die. I go outside and run outside with the dogs. I still play. like a kid. I laugh, you know, I love jokes, I love funny, I love laughing, I laugh at myself, I don't take myself too seriously. That's the stuff that keeps you young and stops you from being so hard. Yeah, because I was reading, I was doing something about black men and aging and this new data said the average life expectancy for black men is 61.5, 10 years less of white, which is 72.

And we're not, you know, we always hear of black don't crack. Right. But internally, we're cracking it. And when you're talking about aging, what has been one of the ways that you realize that it's the secret to remaining youthful as we're aging and as we are evolving? What, what things are you doing? I know you're working out. I know you, you go to Bali to retreat. What other things have you discovered?

Going to bed at seven. I love it. Listen, when I tell you on Friday night, I am so excited to go to bed like 8 o'clock on Friday. That's every night. And so my mother clowned me one time because I coughed FaceTime. She was like, you were in bed already? It was 7 o'clock.

And I was like, yeah. I'm telling you, that's my favorite time of the day. I'd be dancing to the bed. Man, isn't that something? And I remember when we was kids, you hated it. Hated. It hate, some nights I'm in bed by 6.30 because I'm like, I'm done with my day. Like, I'm done answering questions.

I'm done, you know, with, you know, emails. I'm just, I'm ready to go to bed. And my dogs, they're so used to at 7. They eat at 7 and they go right to their crates because they know mama can to shut it down. Because I was, my mom, she goes to bed at like 630 or 7. and she said, baby, the day is over. It's over. It's a rap.

What else you want for me? What else? And I'm laughing because, you know, my mom heard her husband and, you know, she was like, he'll be in there. And going back to the childhood thing, so he likes doing puzzles. And he likes science projects. So he goes and buys these science projects. And she's like, baby, I'm in the bed. I said, what, Mr. Charlie doing?

Oh, baby, Charlie in there playing with this little. She said, I've gone to bed Because I don't think we realize that We are sleeping, but we don't rest We're not resting Yeah And you know what, I cut out the alcohol too You know, not that I was a heavy drinker

But I just can't recover I can't The recovery, even if I have wine The next day I'm like I just, and it's just like, what's the point? you know, so I enjoy my mocktails. But I noticed since I stopped drinking, I have lucid dreams. I can't remember the last time I used to dream like this.

And I wake up the next day and I remember my dreams. Like I'll get up and the middle of the night, go to the bathroom, go back to sleep, and continue the dream. The same dream. And I've often heard doctors talk about how alcohol, you know, we don't think about it, even just with wine, but just how it can be one of the most deadliest and not just one of my physical. physical perspective, but cognitively, the brain doesn't function the same. It just does not. It doesn't.

So for you, what is a good time now when you go out? You don't, you have a mocktail. Is that enough for you? That's enough for me. But see, now we live in a society where if you're not drinking, something's wrong. Girl, why are you not drinking? So to remedy that, I go straight to the bar and I get a salsa water, put a lime in it. Bam, so nobody's asking me questions.

But I found out that I can really. enjoy myself sober. Like I've, because you know why, I remember what I did the night before. When I was drinking and people were like, girl, remember when you said, I said that? I did that. Like, I don't, I want to know what I did.

Like, you know, then as you're aging, I'm like, does that mean I'm getting Alzheimer's? You know, that's not. It's for fear, you know? So, you know, once I prove to myself that I could really still go out and really enjoy, in fact, I think I had more fun because I remember it.

Yeah. And you're present. Very present. I have not clocked out. But the people that are inebriated be talking to me and I'm like, you think they really think they make a sense. And you feel like, especially in. But I don't judge. You know. Right, exactly. I don't judge.

I just, you know, I'm like that. That used to be mean. Now, let me ask you this. When you were drinking, do you feel like it was part of just kind of escape? Social. Yeah, absolutely. And it was the thing to do. It's like you, going out and drinking is hand in hand.

Like, even going to dinner and had a, first thing you do is out, the first thing they offer you, would you like for cocktails? Here's the drink menu, you know. And I found the entries, I'm going to tell you when I started thinking about the sobriety was when I went to the Paris Olympics, there was no alcohol at any of the games, at any of the gymnasia, no, no alcohol. Whoa. And I found that people were present.

there were no drunk drunken fights because you fighting you know you rooting for your country and this one rooting for you getting into these arguments i mean it was the most peaceful and pleasant experience i had at a sporting event wow and i didn't even yeah i wouldn't even think that how present you could be without the eye all very present hi this is joe winterstein host of the spirit daughter podcast where we talk about astrology natal charts and how to step into your emotional vibrant life. And I just sat down with a mini-driver. The Irish traveler said when I was 16, you're going to have a terrible time with men. Actor, storyteller, and unapologetic, Aquarian visionary. Aquarius is all about freedom-loving and different perspectives, and I find a lot of people with strong placements in Aquarius are misunderstood. A son and Venus and Aquarius in her seventh house spark her unconventional approach to partnership. He really has taught me to embrace people sleeping in different rooms on different houses and different places, but just an

embracing of the isness of it all. If you're navigating your own transformation or just want to chart side view into how a leading artist integrates astrology, creativity, and real life, this episode is a must listen. Listen to the Spirit Daughter podcast starting on February 24th on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcast. I'm Clayton Neckard, and in 2022, I was the lead of ABC's The Bachelor. Unfortunately, it didn't go according to plan. He became the first Bachelor to ever have his final Rose rejected. The internet turned on him.

If I could press a button and rewind it all I would. But what happened to Clayton after the show made even bigger headlines. It began as a one-night stand and ended in a courtroom, with Clayton at the center of a very strange paternity scandal. The media is here. case has gone viral. The dating contract. Agree to date me, but I'm also suing you. Please search for it. This is unlike anything I've ever seen before.

I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trapped. This season, an epic battle of He Said She Said, and the search for accountability in a sea of lies. Listen to Love Trapped on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Good people. What's up? What's up? It's Questlove. So recently, I had the incredible opportunity to have a real conversation with actors and producer, Jamie Lee Curtis, ahead of the release of her new thriller series, Scarpetta. I can honestly say I've never done an interview like that before. You know, at one point, I shut my laptop down. And we just started chatting as old friends, recent Oscar recipient.

So we have some commonality there. I predicted that, by the way. And you said these words to me. dust off your mantle. Yes. And I looked at you and I said, what? And you said, dust off your mantle. And then I left and that was it.

And then when all of that happened, I remember the next morning, I think I wanted to like write you and go, how did you know? Listen to the Questlove show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In 2023, a story gripped the UK. evoking horror and disbelief. The nurse who should have been in charge of caring for tiny babies is now the most prolific child killer in modern British history. Everyone thought they knew how it ended.

A verdict, a villain, a nurse named Lucy Leppie. Lucy Letby has been found guilty. But what if we didn't get the whole story? The moment you look at the whole picture, the case collapses. I'm Amanda Knox, and in the new podcast, doubt the case of Lucy Leppie. Lettby, we follow the evidence and hear from the people that lived in to ask what really happened when the world decided who Lucy Lettby was. No voicing of any skepticism or doubt. It'll cause so much harm at every single level of the British establishment of this is wrong.

Listen to Doubt, the case of Lucy Lettby on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's the new me and it's the old them. Everybody's on their journey And your journey is different to theirs. This Woman's History Month, The podcast, If You Knew Better with Amber Grimes, spotlights women who turn missteps into momentum and lessons into power.

I think coming out of where I came from, I'm from the Bronx, I think I grew up really poor. I didn't know that then because I very much used my creativity to romanticize life. And I'm like, my mom did a really good job of like, you step back and you're like,

whoa, we, I don't know how we made it. So a lot of my life was like built out. of like survival to get to the next place. Like my drive, my like tunnel vision of like, I got to be better. I got to achieve this was off the strengths of like, I want to make a better life for us. If You Knew Better brings real talk from women who've lived it. Unpacking career pivots, relationship lessons, and the mindset shifts that changed everything. Listen to If You knew better with Amber Grimes on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

You know, speak about being present. I've known you and Tracy for a number of years. You guys love each other out loud. Most people don't have what you guys have, the years of friendship that you guys have. Like, I'm usually talking to people that they're changing friends every two to three years. And then best friends,

how important has the friendship for you on your healing journey? because I often tell clients or just even in my circle that you can't heal without a community, how important is the friendship and having people who can be present? Yeah. Well, she's been very important for me throughout our friendship, throughout life, because I was the hot head. You know, I'm like, push that bitch in the throat.

And she, like, bring it to zero, come back, find your zero. You know what I mean? She's a Libre, so she actually balanced me. and I'm a Virgo and I get heady and I'm very analytical. And so she helped me work through that as a kid. And we can be very judgmental. She worked with me on that. So I'm a very conscious Virgo.

You know what I mean? I know how to check myself when that part of my astrological science shows up. You know what I mean? Because of her, you know, she, you know, and going through what I go through in the industry, it's good to have someone to check in on me. because I'm good at pretending. I have to.

You know, I have to show up to work and put on that smile even though I'm dying inside. You know what I mean? And so because I have someone who understands that, just by the sound of my hello, she would pull up, you know.

Pam, you met Pan. Yeah. She will pull up. Like, you don't sound right. I don't care what's going on out there. I need to come look at them eyes, you know. And it's important to have people like that because it's easy to isolate.

It's so easy, and I can isolate well. I told you where I live on the hilltop away from everything. But, you know what I'm saying? So you have to have people to check on you because sometimes I don't even know that I'm not right. Because I'm so used to being on, you know. She was like, you're good? And I'm like, yeah, I'm good. She's like, no, you're not.

And then it forces me to check. You know what? I do feel a little off, you know. So it's very important. I said that to the kids out at Copeland University yesterday. I was like, y'all check on each other. Don't let your friends or your, you know, people in your circle suffer. If they don't sound right, don't look right.

Check on them. Pull up. Yeah. You could be saving a life. You know, that's what I miss most about the elders. Yeah. It's my grandmother used to say, baby, come by and let me lay eyes on you. And here's how they knew that something was going on because you would stay away.

Yep. because the moment they saw you, you know that they will see you. And we need people that will call us and say, let me lay eyes on you. And to feel your energy and to feel where your spirit is. And, you know, there's, the Surgeon General of Vivek talks a lot about this epidemic of loneliness that we have. There's so many lonely people.

That's such a loneliness. And we would think that we are more connected because we have phones. But as I like to say, I think we are overly connected, but underly communes. because we don't have real connections. You know, we don't have real people that really have this level of sagaciousness, this discernment to say, you know what, something is off with you. Yep.

And when we don't have that, this is why we have a lot of people who just feel nobody cares. And I think they're not giving the space for people. How important, and I want this to really be loud for, for, for social. is here that it's okay to allow yourself to be truly seen and men to be seen to say, hey, I need somebody to sit with me. I think we have, especially black people, we have been trained and conditioned through our trauma to be strong and put on this front like, I'm good, I'm good, but I always say the strength is in vulnerability. You know, when you're able to be vulnerable,

and speak your truth. That's what draws more people in because people are afraid to do that. You know, a lot of people are afraid to do that. But you have to because being strong all the time will break you. We're not buildings. We're not built like a structure like this. We're not supposed to be strong all the time. It is sometimes when you have to pull it together.

But you can't do that all the time. It's humanly impossible. It is. It is. I want to ask you this. You started the Boris Henson Foundation because of your dad. And... Who was a man who was very strong, but was not afraid to be vulnerable.

He would cry. He would talk about when he didn't feel right. I mean, he wore his heart on his sleeve. He was incredible. I miss him so much. I'm sorry I didn't mean, Coach. Oh, no, no, you're good. And I'm glad that you shared that.

Knowing with what you've done and you have pioneered a space in the mental health realm and you have created opportunities for these conversations, I often say it was you and Charlemagne who really championed the space for blacks because no one had never seen any one of you guys' caliber be open about your challenges. What would your dad say today if he could, to see the work that you're done. Can I be honest? Is anybody going to be offended with the N-word?

He called everybody, nigger. He'd be like, little nigger, I'm proud of you. That's exactly. I can hear him in my dream. Sometimes he comes to me so vividly in my, that's another thing. I hadn't dreamt about my father and so long and I stopped drinking. And I've been having a very lucid dream where I see him.

I hear him. The last dream I had about him, he had come to visit. This is the only house he had never seen, passed away before I got this house. And he was, hey, he'll come to visit, and he was building hedges around all my windows. He was like, nah, because they're building the mall down the way. You know, them little niggins going to be trying to come up here and rob you. So I had to pretend, but that was him letting me know in spirit.

He's still protecting me. Yeah, but that's what he would say. Wow. I love it. I love it. Hey, that ain't a little biggie. He's doing it. That sounds like my grumb mama.

Man, that is so beautiful. Hi, this is Joe Winterstein, host of the Spirit Daughter podcast, where we talk about astrology, natal charts, and how to step into your most vibrant life. And I just sat down with a mini driver. The Irish traveler said when I was 16, you're going to have a terrible time with men. Actor, storyteller, and unapologetic Aquarian visionary. Aquarius is all about freedom-loving and different perspectives. and I find a lot of people with strong placements in Aquarius are misunderstood.

A son and Venus and Aquarius in her seventh house spark her unconventional approach to partnership. He really has taught me to embrace people sleeping in different rooms, on different houses and different places, but just an embracing of the isness of it all. If you're navigating your own transformation or just want a chartside view into how a leading artist integrates astrology, creativity, and real life, This episode is a must listen. Listen to the Spirit Daughter podcast, starting on February 24th, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcast. I'm Clayton Eckerd, and in 2022, I was the lead of ABC's The Bachelor. Unfortunately, it didn't go according to plan.

He became the first Bachelor to ever have his final Rose rejected. The internet turned on him. If I could press a button and rewind it all I would. But what happened to Clayton after the show? made even bigger headlines. It began as a one-night stand and ended in a courtroom with Clayton at the center

of a very strange paternity scandal. The media is here. This case has gone viral. The dating contract. Agree to date me, but I'm also suing you. Please search for it. This is unlike anything

I've ever seen before. I'm Stephanie Young. This is love-trapped. This season, an epic battle of He Said She Said. and the search for accountability in a sea of lies. Listen to Love Trapped on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Good people.

What's up? What's up? It's Questlove. So recently, I had the incredible opportunity to have a real conversation with actors and producer, Jamie Lee Curtis, ahead of the release of her new thriller series, Scarpetta. I can honestly say I've never done an interview like that before. Or, you know, at one point I shut my laptop down. And we just started chatting as old friends, recent Oscar recipient. So we have some commonality there.

I predicted that, by the way. And you said these words to me, dust off your mantle. Yes. And I looked at you and I said, what? And you said, dust off your mantle. And then I left and that was it. And then when all of that happened, I remember. I don't remember the next morning.

I think I wanted to, like, write you and go, how did you know? Listen to the Questlove show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In 2023, a story gripped the UK, evoking horror and disbelief. A nurse who should have been in charge of caring for tiny babies is now the most prolific child killer in modern British history. Everyone thought they knew how it ended. A verdict, a villain, a nurse named Lucy Letby. Lucy Lettby has been found guilty.

But what if we didn't get the whole story? The moment you look at the whole picture, the case collapses. I'm Amanda Knox, and in the new podcast, doubt the case of Lucy Lettby, we follow the evidence and hear from the people that lived in, to ask what really happened when the world decided who Lucy Lettby was. No voicing of any skepticism or doubt. It'll cause so much harm at every single level of the British establishment of this is wrong. Listen to Doubt, The Case of Lucy Letby, on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

It's the new me, and it's the old them. Everybody's on their journey. And your journey is different to this. This Woman's History Month, the podcast, if you knew better with Amber Grimes, spotlights women who turn missteps into momentum and lessons into power. I think coming out of where I came from, I'm from the Bronx. I think I grew up really poor. I didn't know that then because I very much used my creativity to romanticize life.

And I'm like, my mom did a really good job of like, you step back and you're like, whoa, we, I don't know how we made it. So a lot of my life was like built out of like survival to get to the next place. Like my drive, my like tunnel vision of like I got to be better. I got to achieve this was off the strengths of like I want to make a better life for us. If You Knew Better brings real talk from women who've lived it, unpacking career pivots, relationship lessons, and the mindset shifts that changed everything. Listen to If You Knew Better with Amber Grimes on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This question, though, asks all the guests, and I asked this question, this podcast, it's just healed with Dr. Jay. You've been open about your healing journey. I've been open about my healing journey. And I asked myself this question. And it was one that I had to take a deep breath and deep sigh.

When you think about healing, what does healing means to you to Taraji? See? Well, I tell you this, it ain't all pretty, you know, because you're going to have to open up some scars that hurt. And you're going to have to go to some ugly places. but the only way to get through it is to get through it. You can't go under it. You can't go over. You can't avoid it because eventually it's going to implode.

Eventually it's going to overtake you. So you have to go through the muck to get through to the other side. You know, they always say, I know it's cliche. After every storm, the sun comes out, you got to go through the storm first. You know, but that's how you have to undo. And undoing sometimes can be very uncomfortable. You have to have very uncomfortable conversations with yourself, with people, you know, who helped with the trauma. But, you know, it can be tough.

But you can do it. You know, if I can do it and Jay can do it, you can do it. Yeah. Because it's in you to do it. And it's your responsibility. Yes. You know, you can't keep blaming everybody, especially at a big grown age. At some point, you have to take responsibility for your healing.

You must. Yes. You know. Do you feel a lot of people are afraid to take it with someone? Oh, absolutely, because they're scared to go through the storm. You know, they think somehow sweeping things under the carpet is going to make it good. Yeah. But, you know.

And as I said, just because you hide it, doesn't mean it's not there. It's always there. It comes out in ways. You know, it manifests itself in how you deal with people. That point. Mm-hmm. If you're drinking too heavy, you're smoking a little too much. Like, all of that is escapism.

If you're going out, eating too much sex, I mean, it manifests itself in all kinds of ways. So you got to deal with it. Yes, you got to deal with it. Because if you don't deal with it. Going to deal with you. It's going to deal with you. It's going to affect your health. You have a nervous system.

Come on. Talk about it. I mean, I'm not a scientist. I'm not a doctor. Come on. Talk about it. But I am a doctor. But, you know, because I.

What is it with honorary? Yes. Yes. You are. Right. But I'm not that kind of. But I do know you have a nervous system and your body listens to your brain, you know.

And so if you're not feeding yourself good information, it's going to show up in your body. You said what I want. You look good. What fountain you drinking from? I said, the fountain of peace. The founder of peace. You hear that?

I protect my peace at all caught. If you're not on a healing journey, I can't talk to you. Bye-bye. I can't. I can't do it. Can't do it. Because it costs too much. It costs me my peace.

And I'm not willing to give that up. I finally got here. You understand what I'm saying? Yes, you better exhale. I finally got here. You know how hard and how long and how much stuff I had to go do to get here? Like, I finally got here. And I'm just not going to let anybody disturb me from my peace.

Man. See, when I tell you, I love that for you and to see your journey. And that's really what I was telling C.J. I said, man, I really want us all to get to a place where we're just not stuck on survival. Yeah. And we're not stuck on, you know, just trying to figure it out each time and just like allowing ourselves to have this level of peace where we know what it's like to just breathe. Yeah. Yeah.

And it's going to take us to heal us. You know what I mean? Nobody's going to come and save us. Yeah. You know, and I think what we're doing, the work that we're doing is so important because we're allowing people to the freedom, to feel the fields, and to talk about it in the open. Because once upon a time, this wasn't talked about like this.

No, it wasn't. You know, everybody was pretending to be strong. I'm like they have it together, especially celebrities or people in the limelight because people on the outside look in and think, oh they have everything. Yeah. Let me tell you some, like the great guru, Biggie Small said,

more money, more problems because money does not, the rich people, the filthy rich, they're the most unheeled, unhealthy folk walking the universe because money can't fix it. It can't. Bishop Jacobs told me this is recently. He said, I was telling him about the podcast

and he was excited and everything I'm doing. And he looked at me, and he said, you don't realize how much we need it. He said, I don't know that he said, you know what type of people I'm connected to, Jay. He said, I don't know anybody that's at peace right now. Listen. And, I mean, he was in his fashion.

I don't know anybody that's at peace. You got to do this. And I'm like, this is because he said, think about celebrities and the entertainers and all these high love, black people who are under this umbrella of a black excellence that I think oftentimes is really blanketing black anxiety. Ooh, a chill one up my smile when I say that.

Because there's this pressure to keep performing. Yeah. And he said, I don't know anybody that's at peace right now. So to hear you come in and say, I'm drinking from the fountain of peace. Baby, listen, I'm not even dating right now. somebody was like, you're not dating. No, I'm not dealing with nobody's unheeled son. Can I get an amen?

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Because I'm telling you, I told, I've had my house renovated, right? And I found this incredible black couple out of the south to come in and to design the interior. And they are incredible. But I told them in the beginning, I said, I wanted to look like a straight girl house. When you come in here, if I start dating, I don't want no dude to feel like, oh, yeah, I can No, you can't move up in here.

In fact, guess what? I don't even have a drawer for your stuff. I don't have a drawer because my stuff is in all the drawers. So pack your bag when you come and pack it up when you go. Yeah. And, you know, I'm even thinking about, like, the marriage thing. Like, I don't even know if I need the stresses of that in my life. A lifetime partner, for sure.

But at this big old age, I'm not having kids. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah. I want a partner. I don't know if I want the papers to go. I don't know if I want that. No, I'm not saying I don't want a man. I need to be very clear with you.

But that's real, though, T. That's real because at this season and at this juncture, the work you've done, and I often tell people, the work that you've done, you would have to undo this to deal with somebody who hasn't done work, who's afraid to do work, and then who's not really committed to the work. And I'm not willing to do that.

They'll start going to therapy just because you talked about it, but you're not really committed because, you know, you really want to therapy because I brought it up, but you're not really interested in growing and evolving. And if you're not with somebody that is committed to their own journey. Yeah, then I can't help you because I'm not willing to give up my peace. I fought too hard to get in here. I'm just not willing.

I even do this like, you know, there's certain things that I will go to in the industry and certain things that I won't. The first question I ask is, is this going to cost me any parts of my piece? Because if it is, I don't have to go. I don't have to go. I don't care. It's funny you say that because I started telling my manager that I said, to leave my house now, you got to pay me to leave my peace. because my home I've created such

serene just it's I'm living my place overlooked the water it's just if I leave man and it's not even

about the bag anymore I was about to say that because it could be a bag and I'd be like that sounds like chaos give it to somebody else I've turned down jobs as these directors

I just energy is transferable and so what I do as an artist like I have to open up chakras. I let these characters come inside my body and use my body as a vessel to tell their story. That's a very vulnerable place to be.

So if I don't feel like I'm protected, if I don't feel like I'm going to be protected in an environment that is nurturing to the process, I will turn it down. No, that's right. Because I can't sacrifice myself like that.

For your especially for these up-and-coming artists who feel like they have to listen. If I haven't learned anything else on my journey from you, from Tracy, from all of the people that mentor me, they always say, man, be very particular about what you say yes to.

And everything in about a dollar. Like, be careful what you ask for. You be very specific, be very clear on what you're asking for. Like, these kids, they see the limelight, they see, they don't realize we're still real people going through real stuff. Like, it's not just you become an actor and all of a sudden life is pristine.

And it's, no, you go, you put on the show and then you still go back home to the mess you left. That's, you know, I think it's harder for what we do because we have to show up and pretend like everything. There have been times when I was going through hell in scenes that you've seen me in movies. My life was in shambles.

But I had to pretend like everything was okay. That is the hardest thing to do. And it is, it strips your soul. I can't, I can't explain it. You, you just, there were times where I just felt so empty and lost, you know, because, because there was no safe landing for me, it was always show up. You got to be on. You got to show the people, everything's okay.

And it's like, but I'm not. I'm not okay. You know, as you're talking, one of the characters that stand out to me when you were talking about just being at a place where it's like your life is in shamble. The other day, I was watching Hustling Flow. Oh. And that character, I mean, was just, I mean, you can see this push and this pool, but you can see this love. You can see this care. But you can also see the vulnerability because she was at.

you know what I mean you know his you know at the mercy of him of DJ was that like like and just a little bit about that how was that

because I'm sure there's this war between the character and the reality you know what I mean well for me when I first got the script I remember John Sikaze

and May rest of peace I miss you so much he was like I need your eyes he always told me about my eyes he was like you don't have to do much, you just have to think it, and the camera's going to do the rest. Because I came from theater, so I was very big. But I'm glad he said it like that, and he was like, you pick the character you want to play.

And of course, Lexus, the loud mouth with the blonde hair, that character, of course, she jumped off the page because she was loud about it. But when he said, I need your eyes, it's very specific. And that's when I leaned into Shoev because she was the quiet mouse. and then I started thinking about the women who choose because I don't think people, some women are forced into sex working and some choose to do that, you know?

But I started thinking about her and I was thinking about this one in particular and I was thinking about, oh, who didn't love her? Because she just seemed like someone who did not feel seen. Yes, yes. Right? Yeah.

And that's how I put. I played it. I played the Y. And so for her to turn tricks, it was her way of giving love because no one loved her. And so that's what you saw in her. And I was like, I want people to want to reach through this screen and hug her. I said, I want people to see this diamond in the rub. Because that's what all people who aren't seen, they are diamonds. We're all diamonds. You know, it takes pressure to make a diamond, right? But if you're not seen and no one takes care, find the diamond and dust it off. And, you know, then it'll just be a dirty rock, right? And so that's how I played her. I played the why. And that's how you gain the empathy of an artist. Even with the worst character in the world, a villain, if you play the why, then the audience will feel for even the villain.

Yes. You know, but there's always a why a person is the way they are. You know, but I just knew that she had been through a lot of mistreatment and abuse, probably, and just thrown away and tossed aside and treated like, property, you know, that's why that moment in the studio when she hears her voice for the first time is like, look, oh man, that when I tell you, that part broke me because I'm thinking from a healing perspective is that most people just want to know that their voice matters. Right. Because the director was very smart. Craig Brewer, I love you. But the director was very smart because I remember I did this and he ran in and whispered in my, he said,

your hand on your mouth. And I did that. And it was almost like, that came out of my mouth. So he was tracking what I was thinking. Yeah. You know, that was a very special project for me. And I got paid nothing for it. But those independent films, you do it for other reasons.

You know, it was the story for me. But all of that, and as you talk, all of that just really stood out for me because it was the first time that I ever watched the film from a, a clinical or from a psychoanalytical perspective and I was looking at the character because sometimes I'll do that because it really helps me to really connect with people even in speaking

because most people if you have not been seen and you have not been heard you don't feel valuable and in that moment Shugg felt like hey I'm somebody I could be somebody I could do something I could do more than what I'm doing like you saw her

come alive. That's what you have done for so many people in the mental health space. Thank you. I hope so. No, there's no hope. You, you have done that. You have helped. So many people healed and especially during the time of the pandemic where people needed somebody to talk to. I believe people wasn't just looking for therapy. People just was looking for space where they can share unapologetically and just to really have, I have an environment where it's like, man, I don't have to be whatever roles or titles that I did. And I just want to say thank you for taking out the time to come on this podcast. You know I was coming.

Listen, listen, I know I love you. I love, I mean, love you and Tracey. Y'all, y'all has just been so amazing. And it was y'all because when Will reached out about the podcast and I'm telling you. you, I was just like, man, I don't know if I want to do it. I didn't know if it would be a space because I was like, Oh, I was going to make you do it because he came to my trailer where we were on fight night.

He was like, do you know any men who are in the mental health process? I sure do right now. And I sent him your page. I said, this is the guy you want. I say he already has an audience. The men already trust him. You know, it's not new, new. I said, that's who you want.

Tap him right away. I didn't even pause when he asked. Yeah. And I appreciate it. I just want to say thank you and keep being a light that you are to the world because in this climate, we need it. And I like to acknowledge not what you do, but just who you are because acting is just that's a gift, but who you are as a person because you have to have a real heart to care about more than just yourself and what you've done with the foundation and even what you continue to do, you care about more than just yourself. and I know your father is proud to do this in the honor of him. And then just for us as a people who needs so much healing,

but you have blazed a trail for us to do it and to continue to doing it. Because again, it was a black woman and it would be you go down in history. So Raji started this movement. So I just want to say, thank you for starting the movement and allow me to be a part of it. So yeah, absolutely. So again, to all of my healers, listen, please subscribe. You can watch Just Hill, Dr. Jay, on my YouTube channel, Just

Heel, Dr. Jay, or you can listen audibly on the Black Effect and I Heart, Just Healed with Dr. Jay. And until next time, remember, healing is a journey and wholeness is the destination. Just Healed with Dr. Jay, a production of the Black Effect Podcast Network. For more podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. And you can follow me at King J. Barnett on Instagram and X and follow us on YouTube, Jess Hill, Dr. Jay. Good people. What's up? What's up? It's Questlove. So recently, I had the incredible opportunity to have a real conversation with an actress and producer, Jamie Lee Curtis, from routines to

recovery, true lies, and a certain Jermaine Jackson music video. Jamie's surreal and raw. And it's something I really admire about her. happy that I'm the head bitch in charge at 67, that I have the perspective that I have at my age to really be able to put all of this into context. Listen to the Questlove show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton Eckerd in 2022. I was the lead of ABC's The Bachelor. But here's the thing. Bachelor fans hated him.

If I could press a button and rewind it all I would. That's when his life took a disturbing turn. A one-night stand would end in a courtroom. The media is here. This case has gone viral. The dating contract. Agree to date me, but I'm also suing you. This is unlike anything I've ever seen before.

I'm Stephanie Young. Listen to Love Trapped on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Amanda Knox, and in the new podcast, Doubt. the case of Lucy Letby, we unpack the story of an unimaginable tragedy that gripped the UK in 2023. But what if we didn't get the whole story? I would have this been made to fit. The moment you look at the whole picture, the case collapsed.

What if the truth was disguised by a story we chose to believe? Oh my God, I think she might be innocent. Listen to doubt the case of Lucy Letby on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. When segregation was a law, one means. mysterious black club owner, Charlie Fitzgerald, had his own rules. Segregation and the day integration at night. It was like stepping on another world.

Was he a businessman? A criminal. A hero. Charlie was an example of power. They had to crush you. Charlie's Place from Atlas Obscura and visit Myrtle Beach. Listen to Charlie's Place on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Come check this. IHeart and TikTok have come to

to create something new. I love it. Where the world of TikTok meets your playlist. Three words that will change your life. IHeart TikTok Radio. The biggest hits across IHeart Radio. What's trending for you on TikTok? Tell me a sound that's better than this.

IHart TikTok Radio. Plus TikTok's most influential creators all in one place. Search for IHard TikTok Radio. Make it a preset and stay connected all day. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human