January 27, 2025 • 44 mins
Discover the vibrant world of entertainment and empowerment with our special guest, actress Mignon from BET's acclaimed show, Tyler Perry's "Sistas." We explore the transformative power of representation as Mignon opens up about her journey in Hollywood and how her character, Danni, inspires viewers to stand in their truth. This episode offers a rich exploration of the challenges and triumphs faced by Black women, both on and off the screen, and how these narratives can inspire resilience and growth.
Listeners will gain insightful tools and resources to navigate their own career and personal development, with an emphasis on creating pipelines for marginalized communities. We unravel the bold and unapologetic nature of Danni, as portrayed by Mignon, and discuss the creative process of bringing such a character to life. Through personal stories and experiences, we highlight the importance of staying informed and connected, leveraging online resources, and supporting Black-owned businesses as catalysts for success.
Finally, we celebrate the powerful themes of sisterhood and loyalty that "Sistas" presents, breaking cultural stereotypes and showcasing authentic friendships. This episode not only highlights the strength and patience demanded of Black women but also emphasizes the importance of embracing one's unique journey. Whether you're a fan of Mignon or seeking inspiration for your own path, tune in to appreciate the complex layers of Black womanhood and the valuable lessons they impart.
Sanya On-Air...Unpacking Celebrity Pivotal Moments & Milestones While Providing Pipelines to Access
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
What is the purpose?
What am I trying to do?
People are giving you keys,giving you gems, creating
pipelines to access, talking toinfluential people, icons about
how they've done it and sharingthe tips so that you can enter
(00:30):
into that space.
One thing that I do know aboutmarginalized communities is that
the Pipeline to Access is oftenlimited.
Now, if you cleaned up onSaturday mornings and your
parents played old school music,then this show is for you.
Yes, darlings, I'm back.
(00:58):
I'm back with an all newepisode of Sonia on Air.
An all new episode of Sonia onAir.
I'm your host, sonia Hudson,and Sonia on Air interviews
celebrities to unpack theirpivotal moments and milestones,
while providing you withpipelines to access.
Now, I think that that's superimportant because, in this world
of salaciousness, I want tomake sure that you have the
tools, the resources, theinformation and knowledge to get
(01:20):
you from point A to point B, topoint Z, that's, if you want to
, if you're comfortable beingwhere you are child, I mind my
business and I'll keep it moving, but if you want to leverage
your career or your personallife, then this is the platform
for you.
Now, before I go any further,there's a few things that I need
you to do.
I need to make sure that yousubscribe, like, share and leave
(01:43):
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Not only subscribe, like, shareand leave a comment.
Make sure you hit thenotification bell.
That way, every time I uploadan all new Sonia On Air
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Okay, now let me give a supershout out to the Sonia On Air
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(02:05):
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(02:49):
when you go there, you're goingto see one thing that you like
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Just throw it all in the bag.
Just throw it all in the bag.
Trust me, you will not bedisappointed, especially with
the holidays coming around.
So if you are a business owner,like I mentioned, or if you
just want to customize somethingpersonally just for you, make
(03:11):
sure you head on the hit show,the number one hit show on BET
Tyler Perry's Sisters.
(03:32):
Now, who doesn't watch Sisters?
I know I do.
Fans since day one and I lovethe evolution of her character,
danny.
It's a love-hate relationshipfor me.
I don't know about you.
Some days I love her, I hateher.
I want to smack her, I want togive her a hug, I want to sit
her down and just say woo, woo,woo.
Let me just give you someinformation about how you can
navigate relationships a littlebit better.
That's how you know when acharacter is done well, because
(03:56):
you're invested, you feel likeyou're in that space too,
experiencing the same things.
I love the relationship thatthose women share on Sisters.
So we're going to be talkingabout it all.
We're going to be talking abouther character, dani.
We're going to be talking abouther experience as an actor and
the themes and messages that wesee throughout every single
(04:19):
episode, throughout every singleseason.
And then we're going to betalking about the pipeline to
access.
How does she get in the room,how does she benefit from being
in the room?
And also, did she help someoneelse get into the room?
So make sure that you staytuned.
We are just going to take aquick commercial break and I'll
be right back with Sonia On Airand Mignon Vaughn.
(04:42):
Stay tuned.
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Now back to Sonia on Air.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Hi, mignon, mignon, hi Pronounce it for me again,
mignon, mignon.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Thank you, because at first I was going to call you
Danny.
No, but this, this is how youknow that you are doing it
exceptionally well, because I'vebeen watching you on Tyler
Perry Sisters from day one upuntil last night and I am such a
huge fan.
I just want to tell you beforewe start this conversation no,
thank you for giving us great TV.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Oh, that is so kind Wow, thank you.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
No problem, so let's just jump right into it, because
I know that time is limited andI'm like fanning out, so I just
want to make sure that we getthrough it all.
Talk about your character,danny, on Tyler Perry's hit show
Sisters.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
How would you describe your character, dani
Evolving?
For sure, I think I don't needto really go make it super long
and drawn out.
As someone who's watched theshow, you know she's gone
through some serious ups anddowns and you know she's chosen
to.
You know and downs, and youknow she's chosen to.
You know get better and not bebigger.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
So she's definitely evolving.
Yes, she has definitely evolved, and I think that we've evolved
with her as well.
Once again, that's how you knowthat she is a great character
because, like I said, as shegrows, we're growing with her
too.
Now let's talk about the sistercircle or the village.
I love to see the camaraderieamongst the women on the show.
What is Danny's connection tothe women and how does she help
(06:54):
them be better?
Speaker 2 (06:56):
I think Danny is an anti people pleaser in the sense
that she knows that people aregoing to find something wrong
with what she has to say,because most truth tellers know
that people can't handle thetruth, but she does it anyway.
So she's made peace with thefact that you know this person
(07:18):
might not accept this.
This might not go over well, butI'm gonna say it anyway because
nothing I have to say it'sprobably going to land well,
because you know, most peoplearen't self-aware, and so I
think one thing I like aboutDanny is that she's self-aware
like she.
She knows she can have her ownBS and she just wants to keep
her friends accountable as well.
But what I like about her,she's gonna tell them the truth
(07:42):
but also be like hey, but I alsosupport women's rights and
women's wrongs.
Like if you want to do wrong,that's fine, we ride it on.
But just so you know, like thisis what it is.
So that's what I like about her.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
And that's why we love her too, because she is
such a mirror of so many Blackwomen who currently occupy the
space of I'm unapologeticallybold and standing in my truth.
And she also gives inspirationto other women of color who
haven't found their voice ortheir truth yet to say it's okay
.
So, once again, your characteris just so amazing and
(08:18):
phenomenal in this space, whereblack women are often encouraged
to just be seen and not heard.
So, once again, thank you forthat.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Yeah, of course.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
So how did you go about developing the character
of Dani?
What did you do?
Speaker 2 (08:35):
So when I couldn't afford acting classes, I was
watching YouTube videos.
And so I was in school and Iwas in acting classes, and then
I just got so broke where Icouldn't even work classes
anymore, and so I would watchinterviews and talk facts.
and Viola Davis, meryl Streep,ben Stiller they all had some
things that really stuck with me.
(08:57):
Ben Stiller talked aboutgrounding a big, you know,
larger than life character andjust making sure you find the
truth, no matter what, eventhough you know it's something
that's larger than life.
And Viola Davis and MerylStreep spoke to the notion of
you advocating for yourcharacter, and so that every
(09:18):
time I read a script, even ifshe's doing stuff that I don't
agree with and I don'tunderstand it, it's me
advocating for her, and so Ilend to her the parts of myself
that can relate to the essentialtruth of what she's trying to
(09:40):
do, like in season one, when shetold Sabrina to ask Karen to
try using, like you know,Sabrina and Calvin had an
intimate bedroom moment Iremember and I remember reading
that and I was like Tyler?
why is Danny saying I don'tunderstand this, but I, then I
(10:02):
and it didn't come to me untillike days before we shot it and
I realized, oh, danny's tryingto win, because her and zach had
just went through this, willthey once won't thing.
And so they were just kind ofin this weird space and so this
is her just trying to like youknow, one up that.
And so I was able to ground itin that because I was like
(10:25):
otherwise, like I don't know howto deliver this line so, and
then when I saw a couple ofpeople comment and say you know,
danny's trying to like get backat that, I was like great, so
like they get, what I was doing,it's just finding, you know,
the reality of it, no matter howbig it is, and advocating for
her, and not looking at theaction itself or the dialogue
(10:45):
itself and like okay, what's themeta message here?
Speaker 1 (10:48):
and then also my mom and my aunt are a lot like Danny
, not just the weed smoking andall that, but like to tell it
like it is and being a lot offun and being funny and um yeah,
so I like that and I captured alot because you know you said
you were trying to find thevoice for Danny and I'm glad
(11:10):
that you found your voicesomewhere on YouTube, listening
to, like you said, viola Davisand Ben Stiller, because
oftentimes the internet can be aplace of salaciousness, but I'm
glad that you found somethingpositive.
So that's encouragement forpeople, because so many people
are just saying you know what?
I'm just going to turn offsocial media, but there's still
hope, and you just told us thatthere's still hope for us all
(11:34):
out there.
So thank you for that.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
It's out there if you look for it.
I think a lot of people we askfor.
It's like Jay-Z's question doyou want to have dinner with me
for a couple hours, or do?
You want five thousand dollars.
I mean, I think most people aresmart enough to know that the
right answer is to go to dinnerwith them, but in reality we
just want the 500k because and Ithink that's because most of us
(11:59):
don't have the wisdom to askfor wisdom.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
Yeah, so don't have the wisdom to ask for wisdom,
yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
So if you're looking for wisdom, it's out there.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
You just gotta ask for it, that's true.
So that makes me think if youcould choose any person, dead or
alive, to spend 30 minutes justto have a conversation with,
who would that person be?
Speaker 2 (12:19):
I mean, my first answer is always Jesus.
But outside of like thatobvious answer, I would say, ooh
, maybe, maybe Harriet Tubman oh, I call myself Harriet Tubman.
(12:40):
All the time, yeah yes, yes, Imean I mean just to have those
dizzy spells and to be able totransmute that to God's trying
to get messages, to me isincredible, because I think
that's the truth to weakness inany of our lives, if we just
(13:02):
believe that God is good andthat sometimes God uses weakness
because the enemy won't suspectit, and so by her having those
dizzy spells and receiving themessages, those downloads from
God, like that's incredibleBecause I mean I think we're all
fighting for some sort offreedom emotional, spiritual,
financial, relational somethingand so she was literally a
(13:26):
freedom fighter.
She was literally settingcaptives free.
And that's why, again, my firstanswer was Christ, because you
know where he is, there'sfreedom.
But I think someone wholiterally came and whose purpose
was to set people free and kindof be that depiction of
divinity in that way, I thinksomeone who literally came and
whose purpose was to set peoplefree and kind of be that
depiction of divinity in thatway, I think softened her and
then, also being a Black womanand then a slave.
(13:48):
You know, whenever I feel sorryfor myself, it's like I mean I
could have had it that far.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
It could be worse, yeah, so maybe here it is Got it
, got it, and I spent some timethinking about what I wanted to
ask you, but I love howconversations develop
organically, and you mentionedthat you would want to be in a
room having a conversation withHarriet Tubman and you mentioned
what she was fighting for.
(14:13):
What are you currently fightingfor?
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Oh so in.
So in all vulnerability, in allvulnerability, right now, I am
fighting to stay the courseright and to continue upon my
journey and clarity andunderstanding, because this
(14:44):
industry from the outside, itwas so exciting, it's like a
wizard of oz, like I love thatwicked just came out and it kind
of touches on again how thewizard is a phony in this
industry honestly is like oz andthe wizard.
So much of it is smoke andmirrors and it can be
disillusioning and so I amreally fighting hard to keep my
(15:10):
head above that fray and andstay connected to that divine
purpose in the way that I needto.
I need to find my like in theway that I need to.
I need to find my life alchemy,the way Harriet did like using
those spells for to receive.
Now knows, like, wherever thatweakness is, you know, you know,
like the scripture that says inhis weakness, in my weakness,
(15:31):
his strength is made perfect.
I need to kind of find that soI can stay the course and um
fulfill everything I was senthere to do.
So like, truthfully, it's justkeeping my head above water
right now Because I mean it'skind of dead in the industry
right now because of all thestrikes and it's just hard, man,
yeah yeah, it is.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
It is, I think, no matter what industry you're in,
just living in today's space.
It is very, very difficult.
You're in just living intoday's space.
It is very, very difficult,like I just had to take off the
entire day today just to refocus, refuel, so I can face tomorrow
with a knowing my purpose,because yesterday was hard, it
was hard.
So what do you do in order tostay the course?
(16:15):
Because, like I said, I take aday off.
What do you do?
Speaker 2 (16:18):
do so.
It's like a toolbox.
You gotta have a lot ofdifferent tools.
You can't use a hammer when youneed a screwdriver, right, um.
Sometimes it's as simple asself-care therapy, the neural
cycle taking the day offwatching old funny movies, um,
(16:39):
trying to find inspiration, uh,taking a trip, uh, fasting, like
fasting and prayer, um.
But what?
Right now I'm in a space whereI'm starting to understand that
sometimes you have to walkthrough the valley of the shadow
(16:59):
of death like you just gottawalk through it and you gotta be
okay with that, and then, onceyou get through, you'll see the
light at the end of the tunnel.
But you just gotta sometimes youjust gotta walk through it.
So right now I'm making peacewith not knowing.
I'm sitting in the difficulty.
It's, I think, and um in thedifficulty is, I think.
(17:23):
In um, I want to say maybe theyogic tradition.
I'm not a big yoga girl, I mean, but there's a term called on
the journey of the warrior.
Know it?
Yeah, I think it's called thejourney of the warrior and it's
basically just sitting throughthat hot loneliness and that
difficulty and so right now I'mtrying not to avoid it and
escape from it and numb it andjust like, okay, what do you?
(17:44):
What are you communicating tome right now, because you won't
go away?
So right now I'm just trying toaccept.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
I'm glad you mentioned that because you know
a lot of people pray forstrength and little do you know
that God is going to give youthose trials and tribulations in
order to make you stronger, toget that strength.
People don't understand thatthis is a part of the process.
So I wanted to really brieflytouch upon this because this is
the holidays and I know peopleare going through it and we're
(18:14):
at the tail end of you know, afew years after the pandemic,
but there's still so muchresidue and I just want to make
sure that we're giving positivewords and enlightenment to
people who are listening, whomay think that tomorrow may
never come.
This is a testimony that wewill.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
Yeah, oh gosh.
For the people who feel thatway, I'm begging you not to give
up, because I'm a firm believerthat the trials, the
tribulations, are evidence thatyou have something valuable.
Nobody robs an empty house, andeven if they rob an empty house
(18:55):
, they're going to have to bustthrough the walls to get the
copper pipes out Like they're.
They're going in becausethere's something valuable.
So everything you're facing inlife is not only evidence that
you're valuable, but also it isthe spiritual gem of the
universe that you're in like.
Anyone who lifts weights knowsthat weight and heaviness is how
(19:17):
you get stronger.
Your muscles literally tear andthen rebuild stronger like.
But you gotta go through thattearing so whatever you're
dealing with.
I mean, some stuff isgenerational, some stuff is
ancestral, like that's a veryreal thing that you know.
For instance, people who, um,have parents who are alcohol
(19:38):
alcoholics have like a wayhigher chance of becoming
alcohols themselves.
So some people never touch it.
Or you know what have you?
So everything you're goingthrough is not your fault.
Some things you know havenothing to do with you, but it's
like that mean that's beengoing around social media.
You might have been given thismountain so you can show people
that I can be moved.
So don't give up, like you'rehere for a reason there's.
(20:01):
There's some way that you'regoing to change the world.
It doesn't have to be.
You know, you're the first youknow person from kansas on the
moon.
Like it doesn't have to be thishuge thing.
It could be as simple as youknow.
You change the environment ofyour office and your school,
what happens, so we need you.
Basically, yes, imagine Oprahgave up.
(20:22):
Imagine my boss, right?
Speaker 1 (20:25):
Right.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Right.
All the people who've beenaffected by him.
Yeah, go ahead.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
So true, and you're always where you're supposed to
be and you were meant to playthe role of Danny.
Did you audition or read foranother character, or was your
heart and mind set on danny?
Speaker 2 (20:43):
so what's funny is I saw I, I got the role before I
um, I never had anyrepresentation right, and so I
see the breakdown when afterthat says I'm like this, gotta
be it you know because I hadjust gone through one of the
valleys of the shadow of death,because in life you're going to
(21:04):
go through many sorry wilderness, seasons and life.
But I had just gone through thatand that was the light at the
end of the tunnel.
I saw that but the breakdownwas for the oval actually, and
so I submitted for that and Ididn't hear anything.
And then the casting associatereached out and was like there's
(21:25):
actually a role we think youwould be perfect for that we
want your audition for withdanny and they I I didn't
audition for any other role likeebony obsidian shout out to
debbie obsidian, who just hadthe premiere for the 6888.
She auditioned for Sabrina andlike another character, Like a
lot of us were.
(21:45):
You know, they tried to see usin different ways, but me, I was
always.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
Danny, nice, yeah, nice.
Well, that's how you know thatit was meant for you.
So, now that you know that itwas meant for you, did your
character, danny, teach youabout yourself?
Speaker 2 (22:01):
a lot.
I think, honestly, the mostimportant thing that danny
taught me not just about myself,I honestly think for me the
most important thing she taughtme was like I understand my mom
so much more now.
In what way?
like because I think a lot of ushad that strong black mama and
(22:24):
it was just like oh girl, likeyou're not good with the
emotional stuff, like you knowwhat I mean like we could you
try a little tenderness, likeand but playing danny helped me
understand my mom because withdanny, even when she went
through things that weredifficult like for instance that
stuff with Jonah her friendskind of like gave, like try to
(22:49):
like assign blame to her in acertain way, like hey, well, you
know what you're doing anyway,like kind of you know, we did
this stuff in college.
Like why are you doing thisright now?
And not that that's not true.
But we tend to kind of victimblame in our society and I feel
like that is kind of connectedto how we see black women and
black women not being seen asvulnerable, not being seen as
(23:13):
needed to be protected, becauseeveryone sees us as strong and I
like to say we're the, we'retreated like the mules of
society yeah because mules can'tprocreate.
So a farmer saves the horse, thefarmer will save the donkeys
back, but you know, push themule to death and my mom she
literally can't sit still likeshe works so hard and she's the
(23:37):
most reliable, dependable personin my family in my life.
But sometimes she's just kind ofdifficult and I think playing
danny helped me understand wherethat difficulty came from
because, there's a study thatshows, as early as five years
old black girls are seen as lessinnocent yeah and I'm like, wow
, it's crazy to adultify a girllike a five-year-old like if you
(24:02):
, if you told me 10 fine, butfive yeah this kid can't even
read yet you know what I meanand so, and then my mom was born
in the 60s and she saw a pinkguy and you know her parents are
depression babies and she'sdark.
and then my mom was born in the60s and she saw a pink guy and
you know her parents aredepression babies and she's dark
skinned and she grew up in theSouth and so it has made me have
a lot more compassion for Blackwomen who are?
Not always the softest right,and I think there needs to be
(24:27):
more of that, yeah, especiallyon screen, so it can kind of be
reflected back in real life,like, for instance have you ever
seen superman save a blackwoman from the burning building?
no right so you never see, likewhenever superheroes are doing
all this saving, you never see ablack woman being saved yeah
people don't think about us inthat sense and um, not that we
(24:51):
need someone to smooth in, buteveryone needs help, everyone
needs tenderness and compassion,and I think black women are
often forgotten about when itcomes to that type of humanity.
We always look to to providefor others.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
Rather than the other way around.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Yeah, I know that I'm in that current space of my
life.
The other way around.
Yeah, I know that I'm in thatcurrent space of my life.
I'm 52 years old and now I'mlooking for spaces to be
vulnerable in because,unfortunately, society, the
workforce, all those thingscombined didn't really afford me
the opportunity oftentimes tobe soft and pink.
So I show up oftentimes asDanny and my friends are like,
(25:31):
listen, I need you to be morelike Sabrina.
But I don't know how, becausemy mom was tough as nails and I
wouldn't trade it for anythingin the world, because it really
prepared me for the world thatI'm in.
So you know, once again,another gem that you drop.
But Tyler Perry is magnificentof creating the theme of
(25:52):
friendship amongst women on theshow.
Talk about that like are youall friends in real life or is
this just for the camera?
Speaker 2 (26:01):
yeah, yeah, that's.
The funny thing is like we wetalk about all the time how we
know that we struck gold, likewe know that this is not a thing
yeah to be this close-knit andso, like I know, we're going to
stay in touch even when the showends, and so I mean, like we,
(26:22):
we have gone on trips togetherand weddings no babies yet.
Deval is the only baby.
Oh no, anthony, duh, anthonyand DeVile are on with.
None of the girls have hadbabies yet.
But you know, parents have lost, have been lost, family members
like it's.
(26:43):
We're really lucky, we'rereally lucky.
I mean we, you know, even whenwe have fights and arguments, we
make up and talk about it.
It's a real relationship.
It's not like everything isperfect, so sometimes we do
disagree, but we come backtogether.
It's real family.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
You can tell, you can tell, and I was going to talk
about how the show defiescultural stereotypes, which you
just mentioned it.
Even though sometimes thecharacters on the show may
disagree, there comes a momentwhere you all get together and
you resolve your issues.
You talk through it, and that'ssomething that we, as women of
(27:22):
color, we need to see, becauseonce again, we don't see
Superman rescuing us from aburning building, we don't see
Batman carrying us out of aburning car.
Sisters gives us the examplesthat we need to see to remember
that we are loving beings, weare vulnerable and there's
loyalty amongst the sisterhood.
So you all are doing an amazingjob.
(27:44):
So let's talk about what's onething about Danny's storyline
that you did not like at all.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
I didn't like the way the dichotomy of her moral
failing was posited next toPreston.
I didn't, I didn't like that.
I didn't like that she got beatand spat on because you know
(28:20):
like there are a lot of womenwho have a hot girl summer, go
through a hot girl phase withoutthat ever happening.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
You know what I mean.
You know what I mean, right.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
So I think that I wouldn't have written that.
However the amount of peoplethat were moved by that part of
her storyline that said, hey, metoo was like all right.
That's why two heads are betterthan one.
(28:53):
That's why multiple peoplecreate a story, because, no, I
wouldn't have written that.
Thank God that hasn't been myexperience.
It won't be amen, but I saw,but I think yeah just the I feel
like her and Preston's dynamic.
It was always kind of positionedto kind of look like it was her
(29:18):
fault, even when things weren'ther fault yeah and I just and I
get it like you gotta have oneguy on the show that's like the
good guy, um, which I think isfine, but I but I don't think in
order for someone to be thegood guy, someone else has to be
the bad guy Right.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
Okay, so that was a storyline that you did not like,
but what storyline or narrativedo you want audiences to take
away by watching the characterDani?
What do you want us to remember?
Speaker 2 (29:55):
My hope every time I read the script is like her
humanity, because she is funny,right?
That's the other thing.
People who are funny justbecause someone's funny doesn't
mean they're a clown, right, youknow.
And so again, she's a person,she's human, yes, she's a
character, but for me the mostimportant thing is her humanity,
especially her humanity as ablack woman, especially as a
(30:19):
strong black woman.
That's what I want people totake away.
It's to even women like thatgive the benefit of the doubt,
even women like that when you'reinteracting with them, I want
you to imagine maybe maybe shejust had a difficult phone call,
maybe something just happenedto her.
The same way, we can kind of dothat for people who are
(30:42):
obviously vulnerable.
I, I want people to do that forthe black woman, who seems to
have it together too.
Speaker 1 (30:47):
Yeah, for himself, yes yes, yeah, but danny is
really showing us evolution andpatience, because where she
started is not where shecurrently is and she's starting
to become more self-aware andseeking help, to say you know, I
want to be better.
And and once again it sends amessage to audiences be patient
(31:09):
with us, with black women.
We still have your back.
Just be patient with us withBlack women.
We still have your back.
Just be patient with us.
We're going to come out throughthe other side.
There's so many positivemessages and themes and sisters,
and I think that's whyaudiences stay tuned in every
single week.
But let's talk about pipelinesto access, because I think that
that's super, super important,because we want to know how you
(31:31):
got there, how you stay in theroom and also, has anyone else
benefited from your success?
So how has this opened up otheropportunities for you?
Speaker 2 (31:42):
Like I was able to start, you know, my podcast like
that.
That's one of the main thingsfor me.
That's one of the main thingsfor me.
Pipeline of assets.
Baby, you better talk to theone who made you because, like I
said, I had no agent, I had nomanager.
I don't have like an uncle oraunt or a best friend who you
(32:06):
know what I mean.
Like it was literally all bythe mercies and grace of God
that you know these doors wereopen for me.
Um, I'll, I'll let casting knowwhen one of my friends are
auditioning for something, butultimately it's just not my
decision we don't really havethat kind of pull on the show,
(32:27):
which I think is a good thing,right, because I mean, nepotism
can get tricky at some point.
On one hand it makes sense, likewhy wouldn't you hire the
people you trust?
Why wouldn't you hire yourfriends, family, so on and so
forth?
But you don't necessarily wantit to only be the people within
these circles, because like weneed that variety.
(32:47):
So yeah, like my podcast, Ithink is the most immediate
thing that has been able to comeabout from the show.
That's outside of the show.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
Got it.
You know, you're the firstperson who attributed your
pipeline to access to God.
Everyone has always attributedto some sort of worldly being,
so I'm glad that yourperspective was different and
this is why I was very, veryexcited about this conversation,
because when audiences see youon Sisters Playing Dani, I
(33:21):
follow you on social media andI'm just like she's so different
.
Yeah, your layers, the fabric,I mean it is so intentional, it
is so motivational and I wasjust like I gotta have her on my
platform because people need tosee the many layers of her and
not just Danny.
Um, I also with my daughter.
(33:43):
Most recently, I saw the latestfilm that you're in, the
Christmas film.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
Talk about that was like we uh, that was a little
film that could we shot it inShreveport post COVID, like we
shot it.
It came out last year, right.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
Well, I just saw it last week.
Speaker 2 (34:03):
I think it came out last oh, child, like I'm pretty
sure we shot it 2022?
.
Really like I'm pretty sure weshot it 2022 really, yeah, like
in shreveport, and so that'sstill kind of the stick of covis
and you know how louisiana hadthe tax credit but it left, so
(34:23):
shreveport had studios and then,uh, the tax credit left, and
then there was covid, so, um,our film was one of the first
films to come back to Shreveport.
Um, but like it was like weshot it all across like
different areas of Louisiana.
We went to uh, nacogdoches forsome of the uh, for like the um,
(34:47):
french Quarter stuff, and wewent to like we were in
Dixieland.
At one point this one coupledecided to call the police on us
.
Yeah, girl, yeah, yeah, yeah, oh, wow it was our last day of
(35:08):
filming too, and when theypulled out and they little CRV
To try to like get things shutdown, I ran to the because it
was cold.
I ran to the van.
I was like I'm not doing this.
Speaker 1 (35:19):
In the middle of it.
Speaker 2 (35:20):
We were about to film a scene and she started
questioning me and my co-star.
I'm like, ma'am, I don't, I'mover it.
Ma'am, I don't, I'm over it.
It was so crazy, I'm so over it.
Speaker 1 (35:37):
I'm so over it, because just to hear that those
things still happen in 2024.
It ain't all marshmallows.
Sometimes we want to put alittle hot chocolate in there
too.
It's ridiculous, but we didn'teven say the name of the film.
It's called never alone forchristmas yeah and talk about
your character, because I sawsome similarities between that
(35:59):
character, um and danny, theboldness um, the, the, how she
shows up in relationships.
But tell my audience what isnever alone for christmas, about
, even though the title kind ofgives it away, but it really
doesn't.
Speaker 2 (36:13):
It's just about these two young people who are
craving connection and family,who get together really quickly
and then have to kind of gothrough this trial by fire in
their relationship.
They have to be tested from theoutside and from within, and
then they come back stronger.
(36:34):
Uh, I think I might have spoiledit but, yeah, I mean it's just
like a really uh sweet christmasuh movie and like never going
to be alone for christmas is abanger.
It is Like that song is a like.
(36:55):
When I first heard it I waslike this is a banger.
I could not sing my verse,because the musicality was
actually very sophisticated.
Speaker 1 (37:05):
I was like ooh chav, wait, wait, you sing, you sing.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
I do sing, but like not professionally in a really
long time, I get you.
So like I can and that wassomething I was talking about
with my team a couple years agoI was like I need to get a vocal
coach so I can kind of you know, because that's one of my
dreams too is to at some pointdo like a musical, maybe even
(37:33):
cut Like you know how Queen ofthe Keeper did like one jazz
album Like do one.
You know what I mean.
Just use up all of my gifts sothat when I die, I know that
I'll pull it all out, got it?
Speaker 1 (37:44):
So I don't know if I'm correct, but Never Alone for
Christmas.
You wrote, directed andproduced, am I?
Speaker 2 (37:50):
wrong.
No, not just no.
Speaker 1 (37:53):
You just starred in it.
Yeah, no.
Speaker 2 (37:55):
Yeah, yeah, Kenny, our director wrote and directed
it.
Speaker 1 (37:59):
Nice, Nice.
Do you have any aspirations?
I know you said to sing but tobe behind the camera.
Do you want to do anything likethat?
Speaker 2 (38:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (38:23):
I actually went to film school.
Speaker 2 (38:25):
Yeah, I actually went to film school and I have a
short film that that was.
That was a great time in mylife, um.
So yeah, I actually have morethings coming down the pipeline.
Actually this year I was tryingto, um, get something in the
(38:48):
cans, but again the strikes andjust everything that's going on.
It now kind of has to bepostponed and we're we're
working through it and like kindof reconceptualizing it so yeah
, I write, I direct producing.
I don't particularly like to do,but I'm good at it.
Um yeah, Nice, nice.
Speaker 1 (39:04):
So we're about to end this conversation, but if there
was one role that you dream ofplaying, what is that role?
Speaker 2 (39:14):
It's honestly one of my films.
It's one of my films, but Iknow that there are some
characters that I would love toplay, like, for instance, like
I'd love to play Beatrice inmuch to do about nothing.
Shakespeare's much to do aboutnothing, uh, if you've seen the
film version with denzelwashington, yeah, so that's one
(39:36):
role, um yeah I, I wouldn't minddoing a good biopic a real good
one like a, if I could get me aray if I could get a ray under
my belt, that would be cool.
Or some type of historical basedon a true story, like Ida B
Wells would be great Someonelike her.
Yeah, or someone even moreunknown who we should know.
(39:59):
For instance, I love what Tylerhas done with the Six Triple
Eight.
When I tell you I had no clue,literally no clue, clues.
I'm so excited to see it.
Yeah, again, shout out to mycast mate Ebony and Tyler.
That looks beautiful.
Yeah, so something historical,like that Beatrice, but then, of
(40:20):
course, mostly my owncharacters.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
Got it, got it.
So one final question in thisclimate, in this space that we
are currently in with this newelection, what advice or words
of encouragement do you have forwomen of color?
Speaker 2 (40:38):
God does not play about women of color.
God don't play about women.
Let's be clear God don't playabout women.
Let's be clear.
He does not play about women.
So do not fret, do not worry,do not fear, don't be afraid.
You made it through the lasttime and your ancestors survived
(41:03):
If you're.
Japanese, your ancestorssurvived the internment camps of
World War two yeah world tolike if you're Latina, your
ancestors survived all of thefoolish, like fights that are
going on in the West.
Like if you're black, I meanslavery, do I have to say?
Or if you're African black,like the colonization, like we
(41:24):
have survived, that's what we do, right?
The strongest infant, theinfant with the highest survival
rate, is the black female baby.
It's literally written on ourdna.
So like you, like you are madeof the same stuff as the stars.
You're so strong, just bynature, literally so you got it.
Speaker 1 (41:47):
I needed to hear that .
I definitely need to hear that,and I'm sure someone else did.
Um, because life throws us somany curveballs and sometimes we
forget, and I always want,whenever I'm having any type of
conversation, I want to makesure that I'm leaving with
something and they're leavingwith something.
So thank you for leaving myaudience with a whole lot of
something.
I really appreciate your time.
(42:08):
I respect and value your energyand keep on doing what you're
doing in this space, because weare watching and we are
applauding you.
Job well done, thank you somuch.
Thank you so much.
You take care.
I'm going to log off of thisand finish with this
conversation.
Take care, bye-bye.
(42:39):
Oh my gosh, there you have it.
Amazing conversation.
I couldn't ask for a betterconversation on television and
film and listening to theirmusic, that they supersede our
wildest expectations.
And I told you, when I watchher on Sisters, I'm like there's
something more to her.
Every woman just has so manydifferent layers, and I started
(42:59):
to stay connected to her on herInstagram page for the past
couple of years I thinkpre-pandemic as soon as Sisters
started airing on BET.
That's when I started followingher on social media and I
started to notice the differentlayers of her and it is once
again a reminder to the world atlarge.
The Black woman has so manylayers, so many complicated
(43:22):
layers, so many vulnerablelayers, so many strong layers,
so many layers of joy, and it isour responsibility to be
patient.
So please watch thisconversation, or listen to this
conversation a second time, athird time.
Make sure that you share itwith your family and friends,
because she's much more thanwhat you see is dancing on Tyler
(43:44):
Perry's record.
So thank you so much for tuningin.
This has been another amazingedition of Signing On Air.
Make sure that you like,subscribe, leave a comment, hit
the notification bell for allnew Signing On Air conversations
where I unpack celebritypivotal moments and milestones
and we talk about pipelines toaccess.
(44:06):
Take care.
What is the purpose?
What am I trying to do?
People are giving you keys,giving you gems, creating
pipelines to access, talking toinfluential people, icons about
how they've done it and sharingthe tips so that you can enter
(00:30):
into that space.
One thing that I do know aboutmarginalized communities is that
the Pipeline to Access is oftenlimited.
Now, if you cleaned up onSaturday mornings and your
parents played old school music,then this show is for you.
Yes, darlings, I'm back.
(00:58):
I'm back with an all newepisode of Sonia on Air.
An all new episode of Sonia onAir.
I'm your host, sonia Hudson,and Sonia on Air interviews
celebrities to unpack theirpivotal moments and milestones,
while providing you withpipelines to access.
Now, I think that that's superimportant because, in this world
of salaciousness, I want tomake sure that you have the
tools, the resources, theinformation and knowledge to get
(01:20):
you from point A to point B, topoint Z, that's, if you want to
, if you're comfortable beingwhere you are child, I mind my
business and I'll keep it moving, but if you want to leverage
your career or your personallife, then this is the platform
for you.
Now, before I go any further,there's a few things that I need
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(01:43):
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sure you head on the hit show,the number one hit show on BET
Tyler Perry's Sisters.
(03:32):
Now, who doesn't watch Sisters?
I know I do.
Fans since day one and I lovethe evolution of her character,
danny.
It's a love-hate relationshipfor me.
I don't know about you.
Some days I love her, I hateher.
I want to smack her, I want togive her a hug, I want to sit
her down and just say woo, woo,woo.
Let me just give you someinformation about how you can
navigate relationships a littlebit better.
That's how you know when acharacter is done well, because
(03:56):
you're invested, you feel likeyou're in that space too,
experiencing the same things.
I love the relationship thatthose women share on Sisters.
So we're going to be talkingabout it all.
We're going to be talking abouther character, dani.
We're going to be talking abouther experience as an actor and
the themes and messages that wesee throughout every single
(04:19):
episode, throughout every singleseason.
And then we're going to betalking about the pipeline to
access.
How does she get in the room,how does she benefit from being
in the room?
And also, did she help someoneelse get into the room?
So make sure that you staytuned.
We are just going to take aquick commercial break and I'll
be right back with Sonia On Airand Mignon Vaughn.
(04:42):
Stay tuned.
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Now back to Sonia on Air.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Hi, mignon, mignon, hi Pronounce it for me again,
mignon, mignon.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Thank you, because at first I was going to call you
Danny.
No, but this, this is how youknow that you are doing it
exceptionally well, because I'vebeen watching you on Tyler
Perry Sisters from day one upuntil last night and I am such a
huge fan.
I just want to tell you beforewe start this conversation no,
thank you for giving us great TV.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Oh, that is so kind Wow, thank you.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
No problem, so let's just jump right into it, because
I know that time is limited andI'm like fanning out, so I just
want to make sure that we getthrough it all.
Talk about your character,danny, on Tyler Perry's hit show
Sisters.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
How would you describe your character, dani
Evolving?
For sure, I think I don't needto really go make it super long
and drawn out.
As someone who's watched theshow, you know she's gone
through some serious ups anddowns and you know she's chosen
to.
You know and downs, and youknow she's chosen to.
You know get better and not bebigger.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
So she's definitely evolving.
Yes, she has definitely evolved, and I think that we've evolved
with her as well.
Once again, that's how you knowthat she is a great character
because, like I said, as shegrows, we're growing with her
too.
Now let's talk about the sistercircle or the village.
I love to see the camaraderieamongst the women on the show.
What is Danny's connection tothe women and how does she help
(06:54):
them be better?
Speaker 2 (06:56):
I think Danny is an anti people pleaser in the sense
that she knows that people aregoing to find something wrong
with what she has to say,because most truth tellers know
that people can't handle thetruth, but she does it anyway.
So she's made peace with thefact that you know this person
(07:18):
might not accept this.
This might not go over well, butI'm gonna say it anyway because
nothing I have to say it'sprobably going to land well,
because you know, most peoplearen't self-aware, and so I
think one thing I like aboutDanny is that she's self-aware
like she.
She knows she can have her ownBS and she just wants to keep
her friends accountable as well.
But what I like about her,she's gonna tell them the truth
(07:42):
but also be like hey, but I alsosupport women's rights and
women's wrongs.
Like if you want to do wrong,that's fine, we ride it on.
But just so you know, like thisis what it is.
So that's what I like about her.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
And that's why we love her too, because she is
such a mirror of so many Blackwomen who currently occupy the
space of I'm unapologeticallybold and standing in my truth.
And she also gives inspirationto other women of color who
haven't found their voice ortheir truth yet to say it's okay
.
So, once again, your characteris just so amazing and
(08:18):
phenomenal in this space, whereblack women are often encouraged
to just be seen and not heard.
So, once again, thank you forthat.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Yeah, of course.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
So how did you go about developing the character
of Dani?
What did you do?
Speaker 2 (08:35):
So when I couldn't afford acting classes, I was
watching YouTube videos.
And so I was in school and Iwas in acting classes, and then
I just got so broke where Icouldn't even work classes
anymore, and so I would watchinterviews and talk facts.
and Viola Davis, meryl Streep,ben Stiller they all had some
things that really stuck with me.
(08:57):
Ben Stiller talked aboutgrounding a big, you know,
larger than life character andjust making sure you find the
truth, no matter what, eventhough you know it's something
that's larger than life.
And Viola Davis and MerylStreep spoke to the notion of
you advocating for yourcharacter, and so that every
(09:18):
time I read a script, even ifshe's doing stuff that I don't
agree with and I don'tunderstand it, it's me
advocating for her, and so Ilend to her the parts of myself
that can relate to the essentialtruth of what she's trying to
(09:40):
do, like in season one, when shetold Sabrina to ask Karen to
try using, like you know,Sabrina and Calvin had an
intimate bedroom moment Iremember and I remember reading
that and I was like Tyler?
why is Danny saying I don'tunderstand this, but I, then I
(10:02):
and it didn't come to me untillike days before we shot it and
I realized, oh, danny's tryingto win, because her and zach had
just went through this, willthey once won't thing.
And so they were just kind ofin this weird space and so this
is her just trying to like youknow, one up that.
And so I was able to ground itin that because I was like
(10:25):
otherwise, like I don't know howto deliver this line so, and
then when I saw a couple ofpeople comment and say you know,
danny's trying to like get backat that, I was like great, so
like they get, what I was doing,it's just finding, you know,
the reality of it, no matter howbig it is, and advocating for
her, and not looking at theaction itself or the dialogue
(10:45):
itself and like okay, what's themeta message here?
Speaker 1 (10:48):
and then also my mom and my aunt are a lot like Danny
, not just the weed smoking andall that, but like to tell it
like it is and being a lot offun and being funny and um yeah,
so I like that and I captured alot because you know you said
you were trying to find thevoice for Danny and I'm glad
(11:10):
that you found your voicesomewhere on YouTube, listening
to, like you said, viola Davisand Ben Stiller, because
oftentimes the internet can be aplace of salaciousness, but I'm
glad that you found somethingpositive.
So that's encouragement forpeople, because so many people
are just saying you know what?
I'm just going to turn offsocial media, but there's still
hope, and you just told us thatthere's still hope for us all
(11:34):
out there.
So thank you for that.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
It's out there if you look for it.
I think a lot of people we askfor.
It's like Jay-Z's question doyou want to have dinner with me
for a couple hours, or do?
You want five thousand dollars.
I mean, I think most people aresmart enough to know that the
right answer is to go to dinnerwith them, but in reality we
just want the 500k because and Ithink that's because most of us
(11:59):
don't have the wisdom to askfor wisdom.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
Yeah, so don't have the wisdom to ask for wisdom,
yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
So if you're looking for wisdom, it's out there.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
You just gotta ask for it, that's true.
So that makes me think if youcould choose any person, dead or
alive, to spend 30 minutes justto have a conversation with,
who would that person be?
Speaker 2 (12:19):
I mean, my first answer is always Jesus.
But outside of like thatobvious answer, I would say, ooh
, maybe, maybe Harriet Tubman oh, I call myself Harriet Tubman.
(12:40):
All the time, yeah yes, yes, Imean I mean just to have those
dizzy spells and to be able totransmute that to God's trying
to get messages, to me isincredible, because I think
that's the truth to weakness inany of our lives, if we just
(13:02):
believe that God is good andthat sometimes God uses weakness
because the enemy won't suspectit, and so by her having those
dizzy spells and receiving themessages, those downloads from
God, like that's incredibleBecause I mean I think we're all
fighting for some sort offreedom emotional, spiritual,
financial, relational somethingand so she was literally a
(13:26):
freedom fighter.
She was literally settingcaptives free.
And that's why, again, my firstanswer was Christ, because you
know where he is, there'sfreedom.
But I think someone wholiterally came and whose purpose
was to set people free and kindof be that depiction of
divinity in that way, I thinksomeone who literally came and
whose purpose was to set peoplefree and kind of be that
depiction of divinity in thatway, I think softened her and
then, also being a Black womanand then a slave.
(13:48):
You know, whenever I feel sorryfor myself, it's like I mean I
could have had it that far.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
It could be worse, yeah, so maybe here it is Got it
, got it, and I spent some timethinking about what I wanted to
ask you, but I love howconversations develop
organically, and you mentionedthat you would want to be in a
room having a conversation withHarriet Tubman and you mentioned
what she was fighting for.
(14:13):
What are you currently fightingfor?
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Oh so in.
So in all vulnerability, in allvulnerability, right now, I am
fighting to stay the courseright and to continue upon my
journey and clarity andunderstanding, because this
(14:44):
industry from the outside, itwas so exciting, it's like a
wizard of oz, like I love thatwicked just came out and it kind
of touches on again how thewizard is a phony in this
industry honestly is like oz andthe wizard.
So much of it is smoke andmirrors and it can be
disillusioning and so I amreally fighting hard to keep my
(15:10):
head above that fray and andstay connected to that divine
purpose in the way that I needto.
I need to find my like in theway that I need to.
I need to find my life alchemy,the way Harriet did like using
those spells for to receive.
Now knows, like, wherever thatweakness is, you know, you know,
like the scripture that says inhis weakness, in my weakness,
(15:31):
his strength is made perfect.
I need to kind of find that soI can stay the course and um
fulfill everything I was senthere to do.
So like, truthfully, it's justkeeping my head above water
right now Because I mean it'skind of dead in the industry
right now because of all thestrikes and it's just hard, man,
yeah yeah, it is.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
It is, I think, no matter what industry you're in,
just living in today's space.
It is very, very difficult.
You're in just living intoday's space.
It is very, very difficult,like I just had to take off the
entire day today just to refocus, refuel, so I can face tomorrow
with a knowing my purpose,because yesterday was hard, it
was hard.
So what do you do in order tostay the course?
(16:15):
Because, like I said, I take aday off.
What do you do?
Speaker 2 (16:18):
do so.
It's like a toolbox.
You gotta have a lot ofdifferent tools.
You can't use a hammer when youneed a screwdriver, right, um.
Sometimes it's as simple asself-care therapy, the neural
cycle taking the day offwatching old funny movies, um,
(16:39):
trying to find inspiration, uh,taking a trip, uh, fasting, like
fasting and prayer, um.
But what?
Right now I'm in a space whereI'm starting to understand that
sometimes you have to walkthrough the valley of the shadow
(16:59):
of death like you just gottawalk through it and you gotta be
okay with that, and then, onceyou get through, you'll see the
light at the end of the tunnel.
But you just gotta sometimes youjust gotta walk through it.
So right now I'm making peacewith not knowing.
I'm sitting in the difficulty.
It's, I think, and um in thedifficulty is, I think.
(17:23):
In um, I want to say maybe theyogic tradition.
I'm not a big yoga girl, I mean, but there's a term called on
the journey of the warrior.
Know it?
Yeah, I think it's called thejourney of the warrior and it's
basically just sitting throughthat hot loneliness and that
difficulty and so right now I'mtrying not to avoid it and
escape from it and numb it andjust like, okay, what do you?
(17:44):
What are you communicating tome right now, because you won't
go away?
So right now I'm just trying toaccept.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
I'm glad you mentioned that because you know
a lot of people pray forstrength and little do you know
that God is going to give youthose trials and tribulations in
order to make you stronger, toget that strength.
People don't understand thatthis is a part of the process.
So I wanted to really brieflytouch upon this because this is
the holidays and I know peopleare going through it and we're
(18:14):
at the tail end of you know, afew years after the pandemic,
but there's still so muchresidue and I just want to make
sure that we're giving positivewords and enlightenment to
people who are listening, whomay think that tomorrow may
never come.
This is a testimony that wewill.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
Yeah, oh gosh.
For the people who feel thatway, I'm begging you not to give
up, because I'm a firm believerthat the trials, the
tribulations, are evidence thatyou have something valuable.
Nobody robs an empty house, andeven if they rob an empty house
(18:55):
, they're going to have to bustthrough the walls to get the
copper pipes out Like they're.
They're going in becausethere's something valuable.
So everything you're facing inlife is not only evidence that
you're valuable, but also it isthe spiritual gem of the
universe that you're in like.
Anyone who lifts weights knowsthat weight and heaviness is how
(19:17):
you get stronger.
Your muscles literally tear andthen rebuild stronger like.
But you gotta go through thattearing so whatever you're
dealing with.
I mean, some stuff isgenerational, some stuff is
ancestral, like that's a veryreal thing that you know.
For instance, people who, um,have parents who are alcohol
(19:38):
alcoholics have like a wayhigher chance of becoming
alcohols themselves.
So some people never touch it.
Or you know what have you?
So everything you're goingthrough is not your fault.
Some things you know havenothing to do with you, but it's
like that mean that's beengoing around social media.
You might have been given thismountain so you can show people
that I can be moved.
So don't give up, like you'rehere for a reason there's.
(20:01):
There's some way that you'regoing to change the world.
It doesn't have to be.
You know, you're the first youknow person from kansas on the
moon.
Like it doesn't have to be thishuge thing.
It could be as simple as youknow.
You change the environment ofyour office and your school,
what happens, so we need you.
Basically, yes, imagine Oprahgave up.
(20:22):
Imagine my boss, right?
Speaker 1 (20:25):
Right.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Right.
All the people who've beenaffected by him.
Yeah, go ahead.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
So true, and you're always where you're supposed to
be and you were meant to playthe role of Danny.
Did you audition or read foranother character, or was your
heart and mind set on danny?
Speaker 2 (20:43):
so what's funny is I saw I, I got the role before I
um, I never had anyrepresentation right, and so I
see the breakdown when afterthat says I'm like this, gotta
be it you know because I hadjust gone through one of the
valleys of the shadow of death,because in life you're going to
(21:04):
go through many sorry wilderness, seasons and life.
But I had just gone through thatand that was the light at the
end of the tunnel.
I saw that but the breakdownwas for the oval actually, and
so I submitted for that and Ididn't hear anything.
And then the casting associatereached out and was like there's
(21:25):
actually a role we think youwould be perfect for that we
want your audition for withdanny and they I I didn't
audition for any other role likeebony obsidian shout out to
debbie obsidian, who just hadthe premiere for the 6888.
She auditioned for Sabrina andlike another character, Like a
lot of us were.
(21:45):
You know, they tried to see usin different ways, but me, I was
always.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
Danny, nice, yeah, nice.
Well, that's how you know thatit was meant for you.
So, now that you know that itwas meant for you, did your
character, danny, teach youabout yourself?
Speaker 2 (22:01):
a lot.
I think, honestly, the mostimportant thing that danny
taught me not just about myself,I honestly think for me the
most important thing she taughtme was like I understand my mom
so much more now.
In what way?
like because I think a lot of ushad that strong black mama and
(22:24):
it was just like oh girl, likeyou're not good with the
emotional stuff, like you knowwhat I mean like we could you
try a little tenderness, likeand but playing danny helped me
understand my mom because withdanny, even when she went
through things that weredifficult like for instance that
stuff with Jonah her friendskind of like gave, like try to
(22:49):
like assign blame to her in acertain way, like hey, well, you
know what you're doing anyway,like kind of you know, we did
this stuff in college.
Like why are you doing thisright now?
And not that that's not true.
But we tend to kind of victimblame in our society and I feel
like that is kind of connectedto how we see black women and
black women not being seen asvulnerable, not being seen as
(23:13):
needed to be protected, becauseeveryone sees us as strong and I
like to say we're the, we'retreated like the mules of
society yeah because mules can'tprocreate.
So a farmer saves the horse, thefarmer will save the donkeys
back, but you know, push themule to death and my mom she
literally can't sit still likeshe works so hard and she's the
(23:37):
most reliable, dependable personin my family in my life.
But sometimes she's just kind ofdifficult and I think playing
danny helped me understand wherethat difficulty came from
because, there's a study thatshows, as early as five years
old black girls are seen as lessinnocent yeah and I'm like, wow
, it's crazy to adultify a girllike a five-year-old like if you
(24:02):
, if you told me 10 fine, butfive yeah this kid can't even
read yet you know what I meanand so, and then my mom was born
in the 60s and she saw a pinkguy and you know her parents are
depression babies and she'sdark.
and then my mom was born in the60s and she saw a pink guy and
you know her parents aredepression babies and she's dark
skinned and she grew up in theSouth and so it has made me have
a lot more compassion for Blackwomen who are?
Not always the softest right,and I think there needs to be
(24:27):
more of that, yeah, especiallyon screen, so it can kind of be
reflected back in real life,like, for instance have you ever
seen superman save a blackwoman from the burning building?
no right so you never see, likewhenever superheroes are doing
all this saving, you never see ablack woman being saved yeah
people don't think about us inthat sense and um, not that we
(24:51):
need someone to smooth in, buteveryone needs help, everyone
needs tenderness and compassion,and I think black women are
often forgotten about when itcomes to that type of humanity.
We always look to to providefor others.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
Rather than the other way around.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Yeah, I know that I'm in that current space of my
life.
The other way around.
Yeah, I know that I'm in thatcurrent space of my life.
I'm 52 years old and now I'mlooking for spaces to be
vulnerable in because,unfortunately, society, the
workforce, all those thingscombined didn't really afford me
the opportunity oftentimes tobe soft and pink.
So I show up oftentimes asDanny and my friends are like,
(25:31):
listen, I need you to be morelike Sabrina.
But I don't know how, becausemy mom was tough as nails and I
wouldn't trade it for anythingin the world, because it really
prepared me for the world thatI'm in.
So you know, once again,another gem that you drop.
But Tyler Perry is magnificentof creating the theme of
(25:52):
friendship amongst women on theshow.
Talk about that like are youall friends in real life or is
this just for the camera?
Speaker 2 (26:01):
yeah, yeah, that's.
The funny thing is like we wetalk about all the time how we
know that we struck gold, likewe know that this is not a thing
yeah to be this close-knit andso, like I know, we're going to
stay in touch even when the showends, and so I mean, like we,
(26:22):
we have gone on trips togetherand weddings no babies yet.
Deval is the only baby.
Oh no, anthony, duh, anthonyand DeVile are on with.
None of the girls have hadbabies yet.
But you know, parents have lost, have been lost, family members
like it's.
(26:43):
We're really lucky, we'rereally lucky.
I mean we, you know, even whenwe have fights and arguments, we
make up and talk about it.
It's a real relationship.
It's not like everything isperfect, so sometimes we do
disagree, but we come backtogether.
It's real family.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
You can tell, you can tell, and I was going to talk
about how the show defiescultural stereotypes, which you
just mentioned it.
Even though sometimes thecharacters on the show may
disagree, there comes a momentwhere you all get together and
you resolve your issues.
You talk through it, and that'ssomething that we, as women of
(27:22):
color, we need to see, becauseonce again, we don't see
Superman rescuing us from aburning building, we don't see
Batman carrying us out of aburning car.
Sisters gives us the examplesthat we need to see to remember
that we are loving beings, weare vulnerable and there's
loyalty amongst the sisterhood.
So you all are doing an amazingjob.
(27:44):
So let's talk about what's onething about Danny's storyline
that you did not like at all.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
I didn't like the way the dichotomy of her moral
failing was posited next toPreston.
I didn't, I didn't like that.
I didn't like that she got beatand spat on because you know
(28:20):
like there are a lot of womenwho have a hot girl summer, go
through a hot girl phase withoutthat ever happening.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
You know what I mean.
You know what I mean, right.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
So I think that I wouldn't have written that.
However the amount of peoplethat were moved by that part of
her storyline that said, hey, metoo was like all right.
That's why two heads are betterthan one.
(28:53):
That's why multiple peoplecreate a story, because, no, I
wouldn't have written that.
Thank God that hasn't been myexperience.
It won't be amen, but I saw,but I think yeah just the I feel
like her and Preston's dynamic.
It was always kind of positionedto kind of look like it was her
(29:18):
fault, even when things weren'ther fault yeah and I just and I
get it like you gotta have oneguy on the show that's like the
good guy, um, which I think isfine, but I but I don't think in
order for someone to be thegood guy, someone else has to be
the bad guy Right.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
Okay, so that was a storyline that you did not like,
but what storyline or narrativedo you want audiences to take
away by watching the characterDani?
What do you want us to remember?
Speaker 2 (29:55):
My hope every time I read the script is like her
humanity, because she is funny,right?
That's the other thing.
People who are funny justbecause someone's funny doesn't
mean they're a clown, right, youknow.
And so again, she's a person,she's human, yes, she's a
character, but for me the mostimportant thing is her humanity,
especially her humanity as ablack woman, especially as a
(30:19):
strong black woman.
That's what I want people totake away.
It's to even women like thatgive the benefit of the doubt,
even women like that when you'reinteracting with them, I want
you to imagine maybe maybe shejust had a difficult phone call,
maybe something just happenedto her.
The same way, we can kind of dothat for people who are
(30:42):
obviously vulnerable.
I, I want people to do that forthe black woman, who seems to
have it together too.
Speaker 1 (30:47):
Yeah, for himself, yes yes, yeah, but danny is
really showing us evolution andpatience, because where she
started is not where shecurrently is and she's starting
to become more self-aware andseeking help, to say you know, I
want to be better.
And and once again it sends amessage to audiences be patient
(31:09):
with us, with black women.
We still have your back.
Just be patient with us withBlack women.
We still have your back.
Just be patient with us.
We're going to come out throughthe other side.
There's so many positivemessages and themes and sisters,
and I think that's whyaudiences stay tuned in every
single week.
But let's talk about pipelinesto access, because I think that
that's super, super important,because we want to know how you
(31:31):
got there, how you stay in theroom and also, has anyone else
benefited from your success?
So how has this opened up otheropportunities for you?
Speaker 2 (31:42):
Like I was able to start, you know, my podcast like
that.
That's one of the main thingsfor me.
That's one of the main thingsfor me.
Pipeline of assets.
Baby, you better talk to theone who made you because, like I
said, I had no agent, I had nomanager.
I don't have like an uncle oraunt or a best friend who you
(32:06):
know what I mean.
Like it was literally all bythe mercies and grace of God
that you know these doors wereopen for me.
Um, I'll, I'll let casting knowwhen one of my friends are
auditioning for something, butultimately it's just not my
decision we don't really havethat kind of pull on the show,
(32:27):
which I think is a good thing,right, because I mean, nepotism
can get tricky at some point.
On one hand it makes sense, likewhy wouldn't you hire the
people you trust?
Why wouldn't you hire yourfriends, family, so on and so
forth?
But you don't necessarily wantit to only be the people within
these circles, because like weneed that variety.
(32:47):
So yeah, like my podcast, Ithink is the most immediate
thing that has been able to comeabout from the show.
That's outside of the show.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
Got it.
You know, you're the firstperson who attributed your
pipeline to access to God.
Everyone has always attributedto some sort of worldly being,
so I'm glad that yourperspective was different and
this is why I was very, veryexcited about this conversation,
because when audiences see youon Sisters Playing Dani, I
(33:21):
follow you on social media andI'm just like she's so different
.
Yeah, your layers, the fabric,I mean it is so intentional, it
is so motivational and I wasjust like I gotta have her on my
platform because people need tosee the many layers of her and
not just Danny.
Um, I also with my daughter.
(33:43):
Most recently, I saw the latestfilm that you're in, the
Christmas film.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
Talk about that was like we uh, that was a little
film that could we shot it inShreveport post COVID, like we
shot it.
It came out last year, right.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
Well, I just saw it last week.
Speaker 2 (34:03):
I think it came out last oh, child, like I'm pretty
sure we shot it 2022?
.
Really like I'm pretty sure weshot it 2022 really, yeah, like
in shreveport, and so that'sstill kind of the stick of covis
and you know how louisiana hadthe tax credit but it left, so
(34:23):
shreveport had studios and then,uh, the tax credit left, and
then there was covid, so, um,our film was one of the first
films to come back to Shreveport.
Um, but like it was like weshot it all across like
different areas of Louisiana.
We went to uh, nacogdoches forsome of the uh, for like the um,
(34:47):
french Quarter stuff, and wewent to like we were in
Dixieland.
At one point this one coupledecided to call the police on us
.
Yeah, girl, yeah, yeah, yeah, oh, wow it was our last day of
(35:08):
filming too, and when theypulled out and they little CRV
To try to like get things shutdown, I ran to the because it
was cold.
I ran to the van.
I was like I'm not doing this.
Speaker 1 (35:19):
In the middle of it.
Speaker 2 (35:20):
We were about to film a scene and she started
questioning me and my co-star.
I'm like, ma'am, I don't, I'mover it.
Ma'am, I don't, I'm over it.
It was so crazy, I'm so over it.
Speaker 1 (35:37):
I'm so over it, because just to hear that those
things still happen in 2024.
It ain't all marshmallows.
Sometimes we want to put alittle hot chocolate in there
too.
It's ridiculous, but we didn'teven say the name of the film.
It's called never alone forchristmas yeah and talk about
your character, because I sawsome similarities between that
(35:59):
character, um and danny, theboldness um, the, the, how she
shows up in relationships.
But tell my audience what isnever alone for christmas, about
, even though the title kind ofgives it away, but it really
doesn't.
Speaker 2 (36:13):
It's just about these two young people who are
craving connection and family,who get together really quickly
and then have to kind of gothrough this trial by fire in
their relationship.
They have to be tested from theoutside and from within, and
then they come back stronger.
(36:34):
Uh, I think I might have spoiledit but, yeah, I mean it's just
like a really uh sweet christmasuh movie and like never going
to be alone for christmas is abanger.
It is Like that song is a like.
(36:55):
When I first heard it I waslike this is a banger.
I could not sing my verse,because the musicality was
actually very sophisticated.
Speaker 1 (37:05):
I was like ooh chav, wait, wait, you sing, you sing.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
I do sing, but like not professionally in a really
long time, I get you.
So like I can and that wassomething I was talking about
with my team a couple years agoI was like I need to get a vocal
coach so I can kind of you know, because that's one of my
dreams too is to at some pointdo like a musical, maybe even
(37:33):
cut Like you know how Queen ofthe Keeper did like one jazz
album Like do one.
You know what I mean.
Just use up all of my gifts sothat when I die, I know that
I'll pull it all out, got it?
Speaker 1 (37:44):
So I don't know if I'm correct, but Never Alone for
Christmas.
You wrote, directed andproduced, am I?
Speaker 2 (37:50):
wrong.
No, not just no.
Speaker 1 (37:53):
You just starred in it.
Yeah, no.
Speaker 2 (37:55):
Yeah, yeah, Kenny, our director wrote and directed
it.
Speaker 1 (37:59):
Nice, Nice.
Do you have any aspirations?
I know you said to sing but tobe behind the camera.
Do you want to do anything likethat?
Speaker 2 (38:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (38:23):
I actually went to film school.
Speaker 2 (38:25):
Yeah, I actually went to film school and I have a
short film that that was.
That was a great time in mylife, um.
So yeah, I actually have morethings coming down the pipeline.
Actually this year I was tryingto, um, get something in the
(38:48):
cans, but again the strikes andjust everything that's going on.
It now kind of has to bepostponed and we're we're
working through it and like kindof reconceptualizing it so yeah
, I write, I direct producing.
I don't particularly like to do,but I'm good at it.
Um yeah, Nice, nice.
Speaker 1 (39:04):
So we're about to end this conversation, but if there
was one role that you dream ofplaying, what is that role?
Speaker 2 (39:14):
It's honestly one of my films.
It's one of my films, but Iknow that there are some
characters that I would love toplay, like, for instance, like
I'd love to play Beatrice inmuch to do about nothing.
Shakespeare's much to do aboutnothing, uh, if you've seen the
film version with denzelwashington, yeah, so that's one
(39:36):
role, um yeah I, I wouldn't minddoing a good biopic a real good
one like a, if I could get me aray if I could get a ray under
my belt, that would be cool.
Or some type of historical basedon a true story, like Ida B
Wells would be great Someonelike her.
Yeah, or someone even moreunknown who we should know.
(39:59):
For instance, I love what Tylerhas done with the Six Triple
Eight.
When I tell you I had no clue,literally no clue, clues.
I'm so excited to see it.
Yeah, again, shout out to mycast mate Ebony and Tyler.
That looks beautiful.
Yeah, so something historical,like that Beatrice, but then, of
(40:20):
course, mostly my owncharacters.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
Got it, got it.
So one final question in thisclimate, in this space that we
are currently in with this newelection, what advice or words
of encouragement do you have forwomen of color?
Speaker 2 (40:38):
God does not play about women of color.
God don't play about women.
Let's be clear God don't playabout women.
Let's be clear.
He does not play about women.
So do not fret, do not worry,do not fear, don't be afraid.
You made it through the lasttime and your ancestors survived
(41:03):
If you're.
Japanese, your ancestorssurvived the internment camps of
World War two yeah world tolike if you're Latina, your
ancestors survived all of thefoolish, like fights that are
going on in the West.
Like if you're black, I meanslavery, do I have to say?
Or if you're African black,like the colonization, like we
(41:24):
have survived, that's what we do, right?
The strongest infant, theinfant with the highest survival
rate, is the black female baby.
It's literally written on ourdna.
So like you, like you are madeof the same stuff as the stars.
You're so strong, just bynature, literally so you got it.
Speaker 1 (41:47):
I needed to hear that .
I definitely need to hear that,and I'm sure someone else did.
Um, because life throws us somany curveballs and sometimes we
forget, and I always want,whenever I'm having any type of
conversation, I want to makesure that I'm leaving with
something and they're leavingwith something.
So thank you for leaving myaudience with a whole lot of
something.
I really appreciate your time.
(42:08):
I respect and value your energyand keep on doing what you're
doing in this space, because weare watching and we are
applauding you.
Job well done, thank you somuch.
Thank you so much.
You take care.
I'm going to log off of thisand finish with this
conversation.
Take care, bye-bye.
(42:39):
Oh my gosh, there you have it.
Amazing conversation.
I couldn't ask for a betterconversation on television and
film and listening to theirmusic, that they supersede our
wildest expectations.
And I told you, when I watchher on Sisters, I'm like there's
something more to her.
Every woman just has so manydifferent layers, and I started
(42:59):
to stay connected to her on herInstagram page for the past
couple of years I thinkpre-pandemic as soon as Sisters
started airing on BET.
That's when I started followingher on social media and I
started to notice the differentlayers of her and it is once
again a reminder to the world atlarge.
The Black woman has so manylayers, so many complicated
(43:22):
layers, so many vulnerablelayers, so many strong layers,
so many layers of joy, and it isour responsibility to be
patient.
So please watch thisconversation, or listen to this
conversation a second time, athird time.
Make sure that you share itwith your family and friends,
because she's much more thanwhat you see is dancing on Tyler
(43:44):
Perry's record.
So thank you so much for tuningin.
This has been another amazingedition of Signing On Air.
Make sure that you like,subscribe, leave a comment, hit
the notification bell for allnew Signing On Air conversations
where I unpack celebritypivotal moments and milestones
and we talk about pipelines toaccess.
(44:06):
Take care.
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Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.