Latest / The Steve Harvey Morning Show / Felicia D. Henderson Full Interview

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Felicia D. Henderson Full Interview · The Steve Harvey Morning Show

• 0:00
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• 1:08
  Speaker 1: Next is the award winning creator of the Landmark Showtime
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: Network hit Soul Food, the series UH Television's first long
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: running drama feature in African Americans. Two of the most
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: recent credits conclude co executive producer of one of my
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: favorite TV shows on Netflix, Marvels The Punisher. That's a
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: violent show. That's a violent show. She knows, you know,
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: you know, go creat an executive producer of The Quad
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: that was on BT. She came into town and we
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: we went out and hung out. Get to hear a
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: speech speak over to the Emery in regards to the Quad. Uh.
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: She's currently consulting producer on Empire that's on Fox and
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: as an overall development deal. What means I can know
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: she can take the outter, she can take please broking
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: to money making conversation, Felicia D. Henderson, you are truly
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: a fool, my brother. Well, Well, first of all, first
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: of all, you know it, you know, to be this
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: point place in my life to be interviewing a family
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: member that is U that has been so important to
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: my life personally, professionally. Um, you know, we cried together,
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: we laughed together, we shared our success stories, and we've
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: shared our frustrations in this business over the years. Yes,
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: Felicia D. Henderson, you're Georgia grad right, University of Georgia, right,
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: University U c l A undergrad u ci A, n
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: s A pH d. But University of Georgia bulldogs in
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: b A, my brother. See that's what I'm saying. So
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: you can forget all that you let talk you would Atlanta.
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: They don't true about U c l A. Look, get
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: to the point that's bull don't that's about I gotta
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: go friend on that. So I ever forget to a
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: Sigma Stata Sorority incorporated to see what I'm saying that
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: that's that's the people. That's the person who in the
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: industry with I was just your little background before we
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: get started interviewing this disgusted, incredible career that would not
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: be uh tooth breaks is not enough. But you know,
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: here's what Sean mcgonne. You know I'm gonna know it
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: at all and she knows that. Okay, I'm gonna know
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: it at all. And I come over and sister sister.
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: You know, she's supervising Producio Sister Sister. That's Tear the Star,
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: Tiar and Tomrramari and uh. And I'm a type person,
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: you know. I think I could write your boy come
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: right or I'm gonna come writing phenomenon until I got
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: the hub. Okay, see through so many scripts back into me,
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: said Rashan, check you to more. Day you can't write.
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: And she actually told me, I don't think you're gonna
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: make it in this business. I don't. I don't think
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: this is for you. I don't think this is because
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: because the thing about this is that what you have
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: to one thing you learned when you come up against
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: somebody who's talented. You know, it's like we just like anything.
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: You think you can play basketball, go play Michael Jordan's
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: you think you can go play beast, play Lebron James.
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: You think you can right sit in a room. Well
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: that's good company. But the thing is it's not. Sometimes
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: people really can't write. But then there's sometimes people just
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: need a little direction. And if they you know, and
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: especially once you care about them and get invested in them.
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: And you and I were ticket thieves from day one.
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: So it's like, this guy clearly is funnier than anyone
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: in the room. He clearly has the work ethic that's ridiculous.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: He clearly knows what commitment is because he flies home
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: every single weekend to see his family in freaking Houston.
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  Speaker 1: So this is a guy that I want in my
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: life and I know that I can learn from just
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: from trying to get deeper, get him to go deeper.
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: I will learn more from the process because he is talented.
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: We just have different talent faces, if you will. That's true.
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: And the thing about it was that, and I gotta
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: give her, I gotta give her a law because of
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: the fact that we were different, you know, because in
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: the in you look at our change lanes. You know
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: that I was just a guy who just saw things
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: from a different perspective. And I was always a natural producer,
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: manager of time. She was always a creator when she
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: was getting deals and writing, and she was only a
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: different show. I just love it going she doing that
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: she doing. But what you have to learn was that
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: wasn't my lane, that wasn't my life, you know, because
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: when she went to us l A and she was
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: getting all this Okay, you working girl, wh why are
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: you going with us? L A. You're getting jobs going
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: back to school? Yes, it was I got to go
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: back to school. Rishaw wouldn't even think about going to school.
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: You know, You're not the only one who was like, wait,
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: so you're already a successful sitcom writer and now you're
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: going back to school. You're going to go do what
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: those people? What those people are gonna be in class with?
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: I want to do what you're already doing. But I've
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  Speaker 1: always been a person who needs knowledge, you know what
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: I mean, Like I knew what I did naturally. I
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: never had a writing class. It was just a gift
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  Speaker 1: God decided I should have. But it was uncomfortable because
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: I'm like, but why, why? Why does this work? How
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: come I don't know? I want to? And so I
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: needed to go back and get that m s A
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: and and screenwriting. And then sure enough, as I sat
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: in those classes, I'm like, oh, I already do that.
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: Oh that's called this works because and then also you
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: know why it doesn't work. When it doesn't work, it's
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: all knowledge that just I feel made me a better writer.
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: And because you got into business. You was an executive
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: right with NBC. Yeah, that was my first job when
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: I came out of UH Georgia and got a job
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: and basically the NBC management training program, I was called
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: a broadcast associate and it just meant that I rotated
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: through all the different departments and really learned how a
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: network worked, everything from the creative departments to the business
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: departments and really understood and it hasn't changed so to
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: this day. You know, I know stuff who are part
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: of the business works and um, that's where I started.
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: And believe it or not, as the first place I
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: ever read a script was when I was an executive
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: at at NBC. So that wasn't so being a writer
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: wasn't even your aspirations. It was just well, at that time,
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  Speaker 1: I thought I was going to be the president of NBC.
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  Speaker 1: That's what I thought, And that was actually closer to
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: your lane. We know, I, look, you're probably going to
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: be the president of a network one day. We used
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: to talk about it all the time, but that's what
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  Speaker 1: I thought. But my supervisor at the time, who was
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  Speaker 1: head of all like current programs at NBC just and
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: just said, you know, you give such thoughtful notes on
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  Speaker 1: these scripts, and you don't mind saying when something doesn't
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  Speaker 1: make sense to you, and you don't mind praising the
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  Speaker 1: ones that are good. And you also have a kind
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  Speaker 1: of confidence in the rooms that you don't feel the
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  Speaker 1: need to say something just so that people know you're there.
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  Speaker 1: Because I often would sit quietly because I felt like, well,
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  Speaker 1: that showrunner has to know this doesn't work, like they're
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: paid to notice. But surely if I see it, they
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  Speaker 1: see it. I don't need to speak just because my
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: mouth works, you know what I mean. So I would
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: sometimes and the show runners really appreciated that. So I
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: would give them the chance to make their own corrections.
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: And then as we went through the week and you
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  Speaker 1: see revised scripts, you know, and if if you kept
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: seeing the saying mistakes, then you could say, you know, hey,
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: could you take a look at this as opposed to
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: this doesn't work? You know. Just I just knew how
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: to talk to them. And he was the one who's
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: told me that. My supervisor at the time, Ted Frank, said,
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: you know, there's this program called the Warner Brothers Writer's
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: Workshop and into TV's like boot camp, TV writing boot camp,
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: and I really think you could write. And I was
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: like really, and he said, yeah, you should apply of course,
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  Speaker 1: I get the application. You need a script to apply
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  Speaker 1: something I've never I was like, oh god, well, how
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: does that work? I've heard, and that's what I did.
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  Speaker 1: The first script I ever wrote was a Roseanne script
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  Speaker 1: Believe it or not. Back in the day. That was
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: my favorite show on television. And that's what I wrote.
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: And I wrote respect Rosanne script, and I got into
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: the Warner Brothers program, and I've been writing ever since.
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: It's like twenty three years ago. Here's a funny parter.
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  Speaker 1: But she hates taking notes from networks. Cover with a note, Really,
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  Speaker 1: you got something, tell me because I remember what kind
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: of executi if I was, I was like, you think,
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: I'm not gonna see that doesn't work? Like you know,
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: once you hear it at the table reading, you hear
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: all you're wonderful actors read it, you'll know if that's
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: gonna work or not. But sometimes again they just have
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: to say something because well, aren't I being paid to
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: say something? But you're also being paid to just be
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: quiet when necessary. I'm better now, by the rashant, by
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: the way, I'm better now now, I got a bank now,
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: and they give you know, I'm better. Okay, that's awesome.
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: It's the thing about it because it just when I'm talking,
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: I'll have a note in front of me. I out
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: doing have any questions in front of me because of
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: the fact that I'm talking with history. I'm talking with
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: somebody who has lived in life. She's she's a truth,
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: She's the truth. The game has changed so much, Felicia.
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: You know, because because you guys are really stars now.
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: I mean, you know, you know I have to say
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: that because you're getting deals and the content that you
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: have has value and from an African American standpoint, At
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: one time, reality shows told the African American point of
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: view on television. Yeah, made us all man. I remember
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: when I was doing the awards, all my guests presenters
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: had to be from reality shows. You know, we had
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: no sitcoms. We have dramas. Where where are we at
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: right now? Where are we at right now? Yeah? You
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: know it's you're right, and um, you know I I
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: love reality shows from the point of view that my
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: brother is an editor on one of them, and so
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: when he works and is in a union job, that
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: means he's not in my pocket. Sold I love him
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: for that point of view. But you know, I was
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: like sad to see them taking over TV and you know,
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: see writing, um, you know, comedy and drama writing, like
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: particularly as comedy writing or comedy show started to disappear
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: from network television. And you know, couldn't all my friends
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: who were comedy writers, who I grew up in comedy,
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: you know, couldn't get arrested. That was painful to watch.
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: And so then to have made the transition to drama
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: and all my comedy friends saying, how did you know
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: that it was time to move on? How did you
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: just know that it was about to be? And I
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: didn't know. I just was blessed. I got out at
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: the right time, went back to school and came out
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: a drama writer, and it just timing was just everything,
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: you know. And but I still remember Rashaan like you know,
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: uh SOFA went off the air in like two thousand
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: and four, so like fourteen years ago, and after I
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: came off of that, you know, hit drama, the first
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: drama to black drama feature black folks. That was a success.
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: There have been others before it, but in terms of
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: a success, and you know, five seasons and I thought,
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: oh my god, it's all finally changed, and I went
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: out in two We're gonna be back in one minute
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: because you're talking great news on the phone. As a visionary,
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: she created Landmarks Soul Food series of long first running,
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: the drama featuring African Americans. Um, she's currently involved with
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: The Punisher, who that's one of my favorites that shows
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: a violence. It's ridiculous. But up there, right there, just
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: I'm there, I'm there, And so that's the third season.
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: You've just completed shooting right Felicia Henderson completed the second
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: season of The Punisher and quit saying that show so violent,
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: it's better we put it there than you know, I
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: go out in my real life and start shoot my folks. Well,
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: here's she doesn't have a character. She cares a gun. Now,
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: don't don't get me wrong. Now, just let's girl telling
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: the truth. Now, Now here's the deal. I was like,
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: you know what confuses me because of the fact that
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: you know, it started on Daredevil and they built this
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: character out of that, and I get the impression that
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: that was one day there was another very popular a
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: series on Netflix. They built this character out of that,
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: and I just finished watching the first season. That's why
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: I'm just acting like it really is the second season
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: that you shot in New York? Correct this this past
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: that's correct. Yep, yep, that's right. Um and yeah that's right.
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: So we should in winter and basically winter and spring
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: and summer. Um, so sometimes it's quite cold, but yeah
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: we shoot mostly and um you know brooking sometimes in Manhattan. Um,
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: but yeah, to shoot the show in New York. The
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: writers are in our based in l A and the
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: Marvel offices here. Yet we know the first time I
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: wanted just so much. I'm gonna tell you. First of all,
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: I realized how big you are when I'm going like,
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: I don't have enough time, but I'm gona getting squeez
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: I'm gonna a squeeze job. Now it's the part that
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: really got to meet when she started doing animation. Now
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: see see that that that wasn't the Black Folks world
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: right now they're doing animation. Now, how did you get
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: into animation? No? So okay, so this is what happened
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: in the comic books, right right right, yeah, But this
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: is the thing people don't know because whole balks around saying, well,
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: when I was a little girl, I was a sickly
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: little asthmatic who couldn't go outside. So that's when I
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: started reading comic books. So I loved comic books my
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: whole life. Like I was obsessed and still is with Batman,
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: like Batman was everything because that wasn't he was my
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: you know everything, and so truly just starting to meet
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: you know, you meet more people as you do different
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: kinds of shows. And I was um coming off of
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: Gossip Girl and on Fringe when UM I was first
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: approached by d C Comics saying, hey, we got this
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: comic book that's about teens, but it's still sci fi
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: and you just came off of a team show and
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: now you're doing sci fi. How would you like to
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: write Team Titans? And for me, I was like, that's
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: an entry, you know I wanted. I like, why not?
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: You know, it's the thing I loved as a kid.
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: So I knew I couldn't do it full times. It
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: doesn't say it enough money, but I knew that it
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: was really you know, I knew that it would fulfill
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: me cre negatively. So I loved it. I hope to
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: go back to it, you know, I really do. I
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: just got so busy, but I really hope to go
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: back to and even create my own comic books. I'm
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: looking for a comic book right now to adapt into
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: a TV show, you know, under my newsbox deal. That's
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: one of my goals. And especially coming out that The Punisher,
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: I'm like, yeah, I love this. You know, it's it's
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: one that really adapted well, just through about fifty thousand
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: all moments. You know, you know, gossip Girl when I
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: came off a gossip Girl and teen Titans tea this
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: is a movie theater, okay, tea just a new theaters
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: in movie these right now. You know they weren't paying
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: that enough money because you know, because you get checked
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: that foot. I was just fine, I'll rashand just managed
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: to Steve Harve and that's all I was doing. But
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: you have that blowing up and doing it well, might
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: we at? You know? The beauty of this, This is
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: why I love about you is that people always tell
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: me Richard, you have reinvented yourself so many times. Yeah,
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: sometimes I just do it automatically, and I don't like
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: I'm reinventing myself right now, hosting money just right, it's
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: like it's time to it's time for something new, and
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: you can't be afraid of change. That's what you and
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: I know that. People say, what is your secret? I'm like,
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: you can't be afraid of change, or you can be afraid,
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: but you must act despite your fear. You always have
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: a feel, you know, like, oh God, this is probably
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: time for a change, and you'll just sit and wait
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: past the moment that you should have made a change.
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: This is this is There is always laugh at me.
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: There's always laughing because I would be in I'm writing.
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: I can write, okay, can write, but but but but
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: I always have something else going on. Yeah, well you
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: always have the side hustle. You all have the side. Yes,
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: you know. I come back from launch late, Like where
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: are you being? Oh? Oh, don't make you better be happy?
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: Sarah Penny Johnson isn't on this call to talk about
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: the time. You can't back late from La Chester. Parker's
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: was at meetings, y'all at meetings to go create something
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: else was that he was at the bank and the
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: bank got held up and so that's why he came,
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: Oh my god, like I was coming back to the
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: park and that started Monique at the time and Dorian
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: Wilson and and I was like four hours later on
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: four and and and were deadline to this. Sarah say
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: where you bet? I said, O, my mind go, I
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: can't say. I've been at a meet. And she gave
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: me this opportunity bank robbery. Bank. I was at banking,
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: thank god robbed and uh, he said, she said, I
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: said it said bank I rob wish you where I
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: sit in Baby Hills. I went in there and the
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: guy said, everybody down, and we got that. You come
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: back to working calmly with the story. And that's a
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: testament how much Sarah loves you is because she went
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: okay and immediately called me, like, let me tell you
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: about the Libra shot just told me. Even today she
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: asked me about that bank robbers to Rishan the bank
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: robbers story. And let's just explain Sarah friend to Johnson Creative,
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: Mosia Creative, the Parkers, an incredible writer, amazing family matters.
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: That's what you met Sara on Family matters. Correct. I
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: met Sarah on Family Matters. I met Sarah and be
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: the Spirits who were they were writing partners at the time.
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: But Sarah mentored me my whole comedy career, and even
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: when I transitioned to drama. You know, um, she continued
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: to mentor me because she's the normal one and I'm
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: the hothead. So she's always been able to talk to
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: me off the ledgend when I got the opportunity, because
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: she always wanted to transition to drama. So when I
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: did a single Ladies for B E T I I
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: called her and it's like, hey, you're ready to do drama.
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: It was such a pleasure. You know, when you can
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: work with your friends, Rashawn, as you know, there's no
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: more joy than working with your friends. And so we
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: did that together and then she did the Quad with
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: me as well. She's doing another show, another drama right
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: now at the T so she um, she's a drama
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: writer now. But without that woman, I don't know where
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: I'll be because she really taught me calm your grass down.
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: But just mar Brocker kill Okay, yes, yes, Kenya Burrows,
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: come on now. Felicia Henderson Okay, Felicia, don't ever get
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: don't get a twist Mishean McDonald know. I'm saying that
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: young lady has has really uh made an impact because
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: she she cares so much about everything. But the thing
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: about it, when I talked to Felicia, like she don't
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: she she just slid right past J. J Abrams though, yeah,
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: just slip right past Yeah, you know that moment working
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: on Fox. You know what I'm saying, all the networks.
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: So when you when you look at your resume and
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: your body of work, you know, and like I said,
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: the reason I have you on the show because you
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: are because you know, people are so aware of social
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: media has made so many people wear and black people
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: watch TV anyway, So as your role of expokesperson change,
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: because used to just write your show and created, but
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: now people know so much about your life. I just
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: google your name, picture of you pops up, you know. Information. Yes,
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: it's different, isn't it. And you know, I just came back.
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: I did a panel at Comic Con and several interviews
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: down a Comic Con and San Diego, you know, for
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: The Punisher. But it's it's so interesting now everything is
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: so different. And every interview I did, and even as
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: I started the panel, they said, first, okay, let everyone
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: know your handles, like that's where they start, Like, tell
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: everyone where they can find you on social media, which,
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: by the way, and follow Felicia D follow Felicia U
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: Instagram and Twitter. So as I'm trying to learn its
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: not And so I'm such a private person and as
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: you know, I'm better one on one. I'm not a
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: big party person. I'd like to look at people, you know,
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: one on one in in your eyes. That's when I'm happy.
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: It's but it has changed, and they're like, Okay, you
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: have to get out there, you go, I go. But
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: I'm a writer. My writing will speak for its O.
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: They're like, no, everybody knows what a showrunner is now.
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: You can't just hide behind the work. So it's like
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: you've become more of a public figure and people do
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: know like stuff about you. You're like, where did you
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: even know that? Well, you know that interviews you did
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: at it was it was recorded and put up on YouTube.
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: I'm like, really, because I'm also a very frank person,
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: and I'm used to being very frank and being very honest,
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: and and you have a moment now where you're like, okay,
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: I have to edit myself with it because I don't
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: you know, know where this is going to air or
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: where this is gonna be seen. And as you also know,
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: is that I'm also a professor at the Unity University
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: of Texas Austin. So I'm also a longhorn now, and
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: you know, so I'm like, I get there, only my
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: second year there. I get there and they're like, hey,
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: so you did this this. I'm like, WHOA were just that?
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: But you haven't testing that because they, like everybody in
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: the studio, they're just shaking their head now. They we
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: just can't leave her. They all just they don't They
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: don't know what raised me in this business. Now. You know,
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: when I'm sit down and do not even know why.
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: I had to tell people I was at the bank robbery.
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: When I came back, they would not have leave anything
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: else the funny brought about the bank. You just still
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: trying to justify. I have to justify that because when
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: everybody looked at me, they looked at me. You could
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: see I was such a good story I'm a good
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: story teller anyway. And I told him and I said,
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: when the guy said everybody down, I got damn. I
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: was down. Hours I was down. I was down. I said,
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: I'm happy on me here and I was rubbing my
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: chirt like you know, like you wrinkled. And I never
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: had a to go sert your like you would ask
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: for high polica. This has been my best interview ever.
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: Can you come back when Empire starts taping in the fall,
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: can you come back on the Absolutely? It would be
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: my pleasure. It's a pleasure to be part of that
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: as well, and I would like to. And you know,
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: you and me, we we do what we do to
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: be where we have to be at all times. So
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: you calling our come running. I love you, But this
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: time I'm gonna bring you and Sarah together. Both of
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: y'all gotta be able to phone at the same time.
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: I love you, Okay, keep winning, everybody, that's Henderson the Empire.
• 23:37
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