Kerry Washington On Channeling A Black Mom's Fear In 'American Son': "I Know Her And I've Been Her"
I watched American Son tonight, and let's keep it 100. Kerry Washington be acting her ass off. Excuse my vernacular, but this hour and a half Broadway play-turned-Netflix film is sure to get you all the way in your feelings and recently, Kerry sat down with Variety to discuss exactly how she tapped into the character that had us crying like our son went missing, too. In her first on-screen project since Scandal, Kerry plays a concerned mother named Kendra who is desperate to learn the whereabouts of her 18-year-old son who never returned home after a night out with friends.
Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com
As black women, we have every damned reason to be mad, especially in a police station full of people who don't seem to give a damn about black lives and Kerry explained that this cycle of misunderstanding is one that she knows well. She explained:
"I understood her so clearly. I've been that black woman who's having big feelings in an appropriate moment and being stereotyped to be something other. And I wanted to bring her to our canon. I wanted to embody her [because] — even though I know her and I've been her — I hadn't seen her."
According to Kerry, her passion for bringing the play to the streaming platform came out of both necessity and a sense of obligation. Anyone who's ever been on Broadway knows that tickets don't come cheap, and the 42-year-old actress says that American Son is a story that should be available to every country in the world.
"So I felt that responsibility — a helpless responsibility, because there was nothing I could do to make people turn on their televisions. I could make sure that we were doing the work and work that I was proud of, but the numbers of eyeballs that watched it, I didn't have any control over that."
Her latest role is only one of the many iconic characters that Kerry has portrayed on the big screen, and with great power comes great responsibility. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, in the interview, the mother-of-three said that during her time as Olivia Pope, that weight sometimes became too much to bear:
"There are various moments in my career and in my life where I've felt like 'the face of the race.' The whole beginning of Scandal, every headline was 'This hasn't happened in 40 years.' And so there was a deep understanding that if Scandal didn't work, it might be another 40 years before we had a [network drama] with a black woman as the lead."
While her legendary track record has proven to be a burden at times, it has also been a well-deserved blessing for Black women in the film industry.
"But in the success of 'Scandal,' you then have Viola [Davis] and you have Taraji [P. Henson]. And now we have an understanding that one person cannot hold the responsibility of being 'the face of the race' because we are not a monolith. We are diverse and inclusive within our own. And so you have less pressure on each of us to be the face of anything, because together we are beginning to reflect and be the embodiment of the multitudes of beauty that black womanhood is."
To read the full interview, click here!
Featured image by Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com
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Taylor "Pretty" Honore is a spiritually centered and equally provocative rapper from Baton Rouge, Louisiana with a love for people and storytelling. You can probably find me planting herbs in your local community garden, blasting "Back That Thang Up" from my mini speaker. Let's get to know each other: @prettyhonore.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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ItGirl In Motion: Paige Shari Addison Shows Us Why She's The Hostess With The Mostess
Paige Shari Addison is the epitome of an ItGirl, which is why she is one of 100 ladies on xoNecole's inaugural ItGirl 100 list in partnership with Hyundai. Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, Paige started her journey as a host in high school by hosting parties. Since then, she has made a career in hosting, from parties to big-name events, and she launched Strictly RNB, a platform for new artists and R&B lovers. Paige reflects on her creative path in the limited video series "ItGirl in Motion."
“My first curated event at Criminal Records was incredible. It was all for up-and-coming artists,” she says. “I needed a platform for us as a collective to be able to give ourselves the platform instead of asking for it, instead of looking for it. I was like, I want to make sure I let people get this experience that I would give as a performer but enjoy the experience with them. It was a dream come true.”
The Atlanta native also has her own line of acai bowls called Soulfull Bowls. She started it during the pandemic after events and parties shut down. But it was her love for eating acai bowls and the reactions others had to them that made her want to make it her next business move. Being open to creating new ventures in the midst of uncertainty is a bold move and one of the reasons why Paige has the “it” factor.
“Being an ItGirl means you’re just authentic. There’s an air to us. We have confidence that exudes from the way we speak, the way we put our lip gloss on, the way we walk, the way we talk. I show up as myself everytime I walk into a room. I’m hospitable, I make sure everybody’s good,” she says.
Get to know more about the hostess with the mostess in the video above.
See our ItGirl 100 list in full here. Click through the gallery below for some BTS moments of Paige and our partnership with Hyundai.
Director: Mikkoh @mikkoh
Production company: @polly___studio
Producer/AD: Samuel Cho @choboi90
Producer/Tech: Paul Nguyen @paul__winn
DP: Cristian Bernal @cristianbernal
Editor: @30inthemorning
2nd Cam: Paul Nguyen
1st AC: AJ Paug @ajpaug Gaffer: Dennis Albert @dennisalbert_
Audio Mixer: Victor Chavez @vic_the__
PA: Rick Carreno @ispeakrick
PA: Tiffany Do @tivani.doee
BTS Photo: Prime @theartofprime
Car Detail: @sud_studs @slugglobal
Creative Director @hellobosco
Team Lead @kevgumbo3000
Project Manager @zakk_jullot
Creative Producer @iamkingsheyla
Designers @miacolemxn @noelspiva
@xoNecole
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Feature image by Prime/ @theartof prime