In the words of Steve Harvey, "Your career is what you're paid for. Your calling is what you're made for." And with that said, Mr. Terrence "J" Jenkins, is humbly on to the next!
Last month, while everyone was announcing their 2016 plans, former BET host, turned E! News correspondent, Terrence J, had a "new year, new moves" announcement too-- he was ditching his gig as a media personality to pursue acting and production full time!
The announcement came as somewhat of a shock to fans, who felt as though Terrence was already successfully balancing both roles; not only did he star in the Steve Harvey productions Think Like a Man and Think Like a Man Too, he was also on our TV screens as our favorite E! News host weekly. Needless to say, the man who once couch-surfed his way onto that "106 and Park" stage was collecting checks and setting the standard for other dream chasers.
However, back in December, Terrence J took his final walk across that E! News room to confirm his departure from the series, while going over his history as a host:
"I started hosting when I was 16 years old back in North Carolina, and I've been now on national television for over 10 years. "Seventeen years [in total], that's a long time, and I think in order for someone to grow it's important that you try new things and you create new challenges, create new dreams for yourself."
Terrence also went on to discuss his new movie, The Perfect Match, which, unlike his past projects, he not only starrs in, but also helped produce!
Terrence J and Draya on the Set of 'The Perfect Match'
"I took some time off this summer and I produced and I starred in my first feature film, and I'm really excited about it and it's coming out at the top of the year. It's called The Perfect Match. I knew I would have to leave to go on a promo run for that...I've had a lot of opportunities come in in the acting space, both behind the camera and in front of the camera. And so, with all of that said, I wanted to announce today that I'll be leaving E! News."
Ok young Harvey!
Now a month later, striking the iron while it's hot (can't stop, won't stop!), Terrence has kept true to his consistent hustler's ambition and released the official trailer for The Perfect Match. The Perfect Match is a romantic comedy centered around Terrence's character "Charlie," a ritz, raunchy Hollywood agent and bachelor who also narrates the film. Charlie makes a bet with his close friends that he will court a woman and find a date (not a fling) in time to bring to his best friend's wedding. According to the synopsis:
"Charlie (Terrence) who is doubtful of love and relationships, even after his sister (Paula Patton) tries to tell him otherwise. He then takes on a bet with his friends, testing his success on finding one woman and dating her for a month without falling in love. All seems smooth until he meets a woman named Eva (Cassie) who throws him off his game..."
It's safe to say, Charlie is the exact-polar opposite of "Michael," Terrence's marriage-ready, sweet mama's boy character from the Think Like a Man franchise.
The Queen Latifah Flavor Unit executive-produced film snagged an all-star cast which not only boasts the likes of Lauren London, Cassie, Dascha Polanco (OITNB) and Donald Faison, but also includes both Terrence J and Hit the Floor’s Rob Riley, who will serve as producers alongside director Billie Woodruff. Cameos will include Brandy, Robin Givens, French Montana and Draya. This should be interesting!
Sometimes it is difficult to let go of what you know to pursue what you don't. Hosting was once Terrence's "in" to Hollywood, and a solid guaranteed gig for years. Although he has had success with acting and managed to do both jobs as a media personality and entertainer for years, sometimes spreading yourself thin can have long-lasting effects on both the work you produce and your mental and physical health. Cheers to Terrence for taking a leap of faith and focusing his energy in one thing, in an effort to produce his absolute best work.
Onwards and upwards!
Check out the full trailer below. The Perfect Match hits theaters on March 11.
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While speaking to xoNecole, Eva shares that she’s a lot like the beloved 1994 character in many ways. “Lyric is so me. She's the odd flower. A flower nonetheless, but definitely not a peony,” she tells us.
“She's not the average flower you see presented, and so she reminds me of myself. I'm a sunflower, beautiful, but different. And what I loved about her character then, and even more so now, is that she was very sure of herself.
"Sure of what she wanted in life and okay to sacrifice her moments right now, to get what she knew she deserved later. And that is me. I'm not an instant gratification kind of a person. I am a long game. I'm not a sprinter, I'm a marathon.
America first fell in love with Eva when she graced our screens on cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model in 2004, which she emerged as the winner. Since then, she's ventured into different avenues, from acting on various TV series like House of Payne to starring on Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Je-Caryous Johnson Entertainment
Eva praises her castmates and the play’s producer, Je’Caryous for her positive experience. “You know what? Je’Caryous fuels my audacity car daily, ‘cause I consider myself an extremely audacious woman, and I believe in what I know, even if no one else knows it, because God gave it to me. So I know what I know. That is who Je’Caryous is.”
But the mom of three isn’t the only one in the family who enjoys acting. Eva reveals her daughter Marley has also caught the acting bug.
“It is the most adorable thing you can ever see. She’s got a part in her school play. She's in her chorus, and she loves it,” she says. “I don't know if she loves it, because it's like, mommy does it, so maybe I should do it, but there is something about her.”
Overall, Eva hopes that her contribution to the role and the play as a whole serves as motivation for others to reach for the stars.
“I want them to walk out with hope. I want them to re-vision their dreams. Whatever they were. Whatever they are. To re-see them and then have that thing inside of them say, ‘You know what? I'm going to do that. Whatever dream you put on the back burner, go pick it up.
"Whatever dream you've accomplished, make a new dream, but continue to reach for the stars. Continue to reach for what is beyond what people say we can do, especially as [a] Black collective but especially as Black women. When it comes to us and who we are and what we accept and what we're worth, it's not about having seen it before. It's about knowing that I deserve it.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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Fortunately, five simple words have simplified my dating process and ushered in clarity faster: “Would my husband do this?”
A couple of years ago, I met an entertainment lawyer who was tonguing down a twenty-something-year-old woman for breakfast while I slurped my green smoothie and chomped on a flatbread sandwich. Okay, Black love, I grinned and thought as I sauntered out of the Joe & The Juice. As soon as I stepped down from the front door, a torrential downpour of Miami summer rain cascaded and throttled me back inside to wait out the storm.
I grabbed a hot green tea and vacillated between peering out the wet door and anxiously checking my watch. My lengthy agenda started with attending the Tabitha Brown and Chance Brown’s “Black Love” panel, and I was already late. That’s when the lawyer introduced himself to me, after he made a joke about neither one of us wanting to get soaked by the rain. His female companion had braved the storm, leaving us to find our commonalities.
We both lived in L.A. and had traveled to the American Black Film Festival to expand our network. He represented various artists, including entertainment writers, while I was working as a writer/creative producer in Hollywood.
While there is no shortage of internet advice on how to strategically meet a prominent man at conferences, if I spend my hard-earned funds on career growth, I have tunnel vision, and that doesn’t include finding Mr. Right. So, I stowed his contact details away as strictly professional.
Keep It Cute Love And Hip Hop GIFGiphyAs the humidity and mosquitoes were rising around L.A., two months later, another suitor-turned-terrible match cooled off after three unimpressive dates and a bevy of red flags. I posted what some of my friends called a thirst trap, but it was really me wearing a black freakum jumpsuit with a plunging neckline to my friend’s 35th birthday soiree despite feeling oh, so unsexy and bloated on my cycle.
I’d been waiting to post a sassy caption and finally had the perfect picture to match: “You not asking for too much, you just asking the wrong MF.”
That’s when the entertainment lawyer swooped into my DMs and asked me to dinner. I was quite confused. Is he asking me on a date? Or is this professional? Common sense would’ve picked the former. Once it clicked that this would in fact be a date, I told my mentor, who’s been happily married for over twenty years and has often been a guiding light and has steered me away from the wrong men.
Upon telling him about how we met, he emphatically stated, “He ain’t it.” He followed up with a simple question, "You have to ask yourself: Would my husband do this? Would you tell others that you met your husband, tonguing down another woman, and later married him?"
Aint It No Way GIF by UFCGiphyOuch. The thought-provoking question cleared any haze. Prior to going out with the lawyer, the first thing I inquired about was the woman.
“You saw that?” He said, taken aback that I’d witnessed his steamy PDA. Surely, anyone with two open eyes peeped him caressing her backside as he kissed her in the middle of the coffee shop.
He brushed her off as a casual someone he’d gone on a couple of dates with but had since stopped talking to. He said he hadn’t been in a serious relationship in over three years. Though I was still doubtful, dating in L.A. is treacherous and ephemeral. Making it past three months is considered a rarity.
With my antennae alert, I dined with him at a cozy beachside steakhouse restaurant where we were serenaded by a live jazz band. I’d emphasized forming a platonic friendship first.
Break Up Friendship GIF by TLCGiphy“I’ll come to you,” he obliged. I liked that he had made me a priority by driving over 50 miles to see me. I also liked the effort he made to check in with me daily. But I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that he initiated on a professional pretense and then alley hooped through the back door on a romantic venture, which bombarded me with confusion.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my dating life, God is not the author of confusion; any man who brings confusion, rather than clarity, is simply not The One. It doesn’t matter how many boxes he checks–eventually, that confusion will manifest itself into bigger problems, in time.
After diving into deeper conversations on the phone, post our first dinner date, I quickly realized this man was indeed not The One for me. But I’m grateful for the valuable lesson I learned.
I don’t expect some unattainable fairytale of a husband; we all have our own flaws and conflict is inevitable, but after dating for two decades, through failure and success, I’ve realized that the person I ultimately marry must mirror the values I exert into the world. He must reciprocate kindness, patience, and respect. He must be quick to listen and slow to respond. He needs to be forgiving and trustworthy, practice healthy communication, and be a man of his word at the bare minimum.
If I’d had “Would my husband do this?” in my toolbox when I was dating and floundering in stagnant relationships, in my twenties, it would’ve saved me a lot of precious time. But now that I’m equipped with the reminder, it’s allowed me to ground myself in my non-negotiables and set/maintain the standard for the special person, I’ll one day say, “I do,” to.
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