Halle Berry made history as the first African American woman to take home the Academy Award for best actress in a motion picture, and for that reason alone, the former pageant queen's words hold a lot of weight.
In the March edition of Essence magazine, the new mother of 9-month-old daughter Nahla opened up to CNN correspondent Lola Ogunnaike about her current relationship "status," her past romances and her disappointment with Hollywood peers.
Though the Cleveland-born beauty won the coveted award for her performance in the gritty Lee Daniels-produced drama 'Monster's Ball,' she couldn't shake criticism about taking the role, in which she and Billy Bob Thornton had an all-out balls-to-the-walls sex scene.
Angela Bassett, who had been nominated for best actress 10 years prior for the critically acclaimed Tina Tuner biopic 'What's Love Got to Do With It,' famously told Newsweek magazine that she had been offered the lead role of Leticia Musgrove first but turned it down because she "wasn't going to be a prostitute on film."
Other Hollywood notables and industry-goers shared similar reactions to the rawness of the scene.
Berry revealed that she was hurt by the backlash. "I would have rather had them call me up at home and say, 'Halle, what the f--- was that,' as opposed to them airing it publicly," she told Essence. "That was such an important moment for me and to have people attempt to dampen it not only for me, but for all the people who found hope and joy in that moment."
"You find out who your real friends are," she added. "Take mental notes and keep it moving."
And that's not all she had to say about Hollywood.
Regarding racism in Tinseltown, Berry said she believes there are many more opportunities for black actors today and that "things have absolutely gotten better" since her early days on the TV sitcom 'Living Dolls' and being denied a role as a park ranger. "Young black artists have no idea how hard it used to be," she added.
Professionally, she knows hardships -- and also personally.
A hot Halle Berry topic of late is her relationship with 33-year-old model and restaurateur Gabriel Aubry, who is the father of her baby.
The twice-divorced Revlon cosmetics spokeswoman declared that she would not marry again. "I feel more married now than I did in any of my actual marriages," she said about her relationship with Aubry. "We live the truth of that and that's more important than a piece of paper."
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment