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On this week's ESSENCE Now, Mary Mary dishes on music and marriage, Quevenzhane Wallis reads from her new book, and we discuss Jemele Hill's suspension from ESPN.
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00:00I'm Malkon Lobu, and today on Essence Now, Mary Mary dishes on why they're leaving reality
00:10TV and the future of their music together, and Kovajané Wallace does a reading from
00:16her new children's book.
00:17But right now, it's time for the hot list, the biggest stories you're buzzing about today.
00:27Nene Leakes is apologizing for some really tasteless and insensitive comments she made during a
00:32comedy show in Oakland.
00:34Here's a clip, courtesy of the Jasmine brand.
00:36I ain't even gonna get in the shade by the goddamn Uber driver.
00:40I hope you raped your ass tonight, you ain't gonna take this home, bitch.
00:43And see your pocket.
00:44Hello.
00:45Really, girl?
00:46Really, girl?
00:47The Real Housewives of Atlanta star took to Instagram to explain herself.
00:51Sometimes, words can cut deep and hurt when you have no intentions of them doing so.
00:56As a woman and someone who has survived abuse, I regret the words that I used.
01:00I made a mistake, and I should have known better.
01:03Well, a lot of people aren't here for her apology.
01:06Jennifer Smalls wrote on Facebook, that was going too damn far.
01:10She better watch her mouth or stick to Real Housewives of Atlanta, because that kind of
01:13talk gonna end her stand-up career quick, fast.
01:16An XOXO petty girl had jokes on Twitter.
01:19NeNe Leakes is a comedian?
01:22What is happening?
01:26DeAndre Harris, the black man who was attacked by a white supremacist mob in Charlottesville
01:30parking garage, is now facing a felony charge for, get this, unlawful wounding against another
01:37person during that same beating.
01:39A 20-year-old, who police are not naming, claims that DeAndre injured him during the brawl.
01:44Never mind the fact that witnesses have long said that DeAndre was the victim, and video
01:49clearly shows DeAndre running from the mob.
01:52DeAndre's attorney told the Washington Post,
01:55We find it highly offensive and upsetting, but what's more jarring is that he's been charged
02:00with the same crime as the men who attacked him.
02:07Some folks are calling for an ESPN boycott after the network suspended anchor Jamel Hill
02:12for her tweets for what they say is a second violation of their social media policy.
02:18It all started when Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said that he would punish players who
02:22knelt during the national anthem, and Jamel tweeted this,
02:26Change happens when advertisers are impacted.
02:28If you feel strongly about J.J.'s statement, boycott his advertisers.
02:32Now, we should mention that she has also followed up by saying that she wasn't advocating for an NFL boycott,
02:38but what does Jamel's punishment say about all of us who use social media?
02:42Let us know in today's Viewer poll.
02:44Do you censor yourself on social media to keep your job?
02:47Send us your comments and votes using hashtag Essence Now,
02:50because we're talking about it next.
02:53It's Tuesday, October 10th, and it's time for Essence Now.
03:07Welcome to Essence Now.
03:08I'm your host, Makon Lovu.
03:09Remember, you can talk to us at any time using the hashtag Essence Now
03:13or by email at Essence Now at Essence.com.
03:16All right, let's get right into it.
03:18One of the biggest stories today is the suspension of Jamel Hill from ESPN.
03:22And, of course, All45 is not only advocating for Jamel to be fired,
03:26but he's also threatening to cut the NFL's tax breaks because the players are, quote,
03:31disrespecting our anthem.
03:33Mm, mm, mm, mm.
03:34But a lot of fans simply aren't having it.
03:36According to BuzzFeed, the organizers of the Women's March gave this statement.
03:40The suspension of Jamel Hill is a despicable attempt to silence a black woman
03:44speaking out against systematic oppression in this country.
03:48Now, here to talk about it all are film and TV critic Rebecca Theodore,
03:52on-air talent and entertainment journalist Gia Peppers,
03:55and via Skype is feminist blogger and community activist Feminista Jones.
03:59Welcome, ladies.
04:01All right, Rebecca, let's start right with you.
04:03Regardless of the content that Jamel tweeted, do you think her suspension was just?
04:07No.
04:08Yeah.
04:09Um, I just think that there's a lot of double standards,
04:11because I know there are a lot of white male journalists that have said worse than Jamel Hill.
04:18But, I mean, I really think, and a lot of people, and I believe this, too,
04:21this really goes back to her initial tweet about Trump and the administration
04:25and calling him a white supremacist.
04:27Um, people just don't want to admit the truth.
04:30So, I think it's retaliation.
04:31I think it's retaliation.
04:32Yeah.
04:33That's an interesting theory.
04:34Now, Feminista, you posted a lengthy video on this topic
04:37and pointed out the double standard and the support that Colin Kaepernick got for kneeling
04:41and the backlash Jamel is facing.
04:43Talk to us about that.
04:44Um, I think it's really interesting that people become selective
04:48in how they support black women who speak out about, um, issues related to black liberation and black freedom.
04:54Um, it's fine if, you know, you're representing in a way that makes people feel comfortable,
05:00if they're, you know, quiet and not risking your job or making things difficult for other people.
05:04But when you start pushing buttons, as black women have always done,
05:07suddenly you don't get the same kind of support.
05:10And so after this second suspension, we're seeing some people saying,
05:13well, she went too far and she should have just been quiet and, you know,
05:16she should have known what was going to happen.
05:18That's not how it works.
05:19As long as the racism continues, as long as the police brutality
05:22and all the things that they're protesting continues, you have to continue speaking.
05:26And she was taking a huge risk and deserves our support.
05:28That's absolutely right.
05:29I mean, the people that say that sports and news don't go together,
05:32I'm not even sure how you address that.
05:34So do you think if it was a man who spoke out, do you think perhaps the reception would have been different?
05:38I think that there would be more support and there are a lot of men who, you know,
05:43have taken some backlash against her because of other opinions that she's had defending black women.
05:47And so there's some people that are saying, oh, well, you're on your own now.
05:50And I think that that's unfortunate.
05:52But she's always dealt with this as a woman who is in sports and she is a sports opinion person
05:57and people have not liked her opinions and haven't thought that she should be there.
06:00So now they're just jumping at the opportunity to attack her even more, even though they've always been.
06:05Oh, wow.
06:06OK, so Gia, you work in the industry as an entertainment on air personality.
06:10Do you censor yourself and what you put on social media?
06:13I mean, to be honest, even today when I was tweeting in support of Jamel, I was like,
06:17oh, maybe I shouldn't tweet all of these because you never know.
06:21But I think, you know, after a while, you realize that this is bigger.
06:25This moment is bigger than all of us for Colin, for Jamel, for everyone.
06:29This is not about what either of us are going to lose.
06:32Anybody that's going to lose, you know, brand endorsements, even jobs there.
06:36Jamel is so talented.
06:37She'll be fine.
06:38If ESPN lets them go, it actually lets her go.
06:41It shows them in a bad light more than it shows her.
06:43She's fighting for the right side.
06:45And in 10 years, 15 years when this is in our history books,
06:48she's going to be one of the first people to stand up and say, you know, especially this is not right.
06:53And we definitely have to talk about it.
06:55And we were talking about it earlier about how this is her dream job.
06:58What a difficult situation it must be to speak out against this injustice
07:02and also to be in this position where you have your dream job.
07:04Exactly.
07:05Because, I mean, ESPN is the mecca and I know they've had ratings trouble lately,
07:09but it's still the mecca of sports.
07:11So, you know, as a sports journalist, she's fought her way to the top
07:14and now this is what she has to deal with.
07:16And it sucks as a black woman to have to see her deal with it like this.
07:19Right, right, right.
07:20So going back to that first suspension, right?
07:21People have this thinking or this theory that sports and entertainment people
07:25shouldn't speak out about political issues.
07:27What are your thoughts on that?
07:28Should they separate the two or should they?
07:30I think that's fantasy line.
07:32That's never been the case.
07:33If you look at history, Jackie Robinson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Muhammad Ali,
07:39we have a long and storied history of black athletes and athletes of color
07:44who have used their platforms as athletes, you know, to speak about political issues.
07:49So I don't really understand how we can...
07:51You know, there seems to be this idea that because they're part of the 1%,
07:54oh, these athletes make so much money that they can't have an opinion about politics.
07:58Well, they live in this world too and, yeah, they have a right.
08:01I mean, it's just they don't have the opinion that you like.
08:04Right.
08:05So it's okay for a VP to walk out and protest, but it's not okay for the athletes to protest.
08:08Exactly.
08:09Which cost us money, by the way, because I heard that it cost over $250,000 for him to do the staged walkout.
08:15Oh, insane.
08:16So, for me, speaking of Trump, we have to talk about, you know, the whole notion that he can tweet whatever he likes
08:21without any repercussions, but that NFL players cannot.
08:24Why do we have that double standard?
08:27It's laughable, right?
08:29So here's what happens.
08:32You know, we are in a position where athletes are expected to perform and there's a certain labor expectation of them
08:39that doesn't involve their opinions or them even speaking.
08:42They are there to make money.
08:43They are there to entertain.
08:44And that has been the history of that.
08:46And I just wanted to touch really quickly on what was just said.
08:49You know, I actually wrote a piece for Essence about the history of black athletes
08:52and how they have been, you know, so important to the civil rights movements
08:56and how they have taken stands and how they have, you know, supported and represented the United States here and abroad
09:01and have come back home and been treated like dirt.
09:04And I think that athletes have gotten to a point where they're like, we're not just here to make you money.
09:09We are here because we love this sport.
09:11We love what we do.
09:12But we are also proud of our accomplishments.
09:14You can't just use us.
09:15And so I think that it's really interesting that Trump is trying to silence them
09:19and all of his supporters are trying to silence them because they've been speaking for decades.
09:23And they're not going to be silenced.
09:25This is nothing new.
09:26Now, finally, I will throw this question to all of you ladies.
09:29What do you think will happen?
09:30What do you think the outcome will be from this situation?
09:32Gia, we'll start with you.
09:34That's so tough.
09:35It could go one of two ways.
09:38I think that ESPN, they do understand the power of our demographic.
09:43Like, black men are major sports watchers.
09:46I know half of my friends and family go home and watch SportsCenter at the end of the night.
09:50We can boycott.
09:51We can absolutely make our voices heard.
09:53So if we do decide to stop watching it, I feel like they will realize the power that Jamel has,
09:58the power that Michael has by not showing up to the show, and really, like, make a change.
10:03But it might be too late.
10:04Like, I feel like Jamel might just make moves.
10:07Make moves, Rebecca?
10:08I agree with that.
10:09And, I mean, it also brings up the idea of black media personalities that are working in non-black media outlets.
10:17Like, how much support, how much freedom you can have.
10:21I mean, would this have happened if she were at Essence or at The Root or, you know what I mean?
10:25So I think, with the two weeks, I think she should just go on vacation and she should enjoy herself.
10:29And stay off of social media and, yeah, maybe look at different avenues.
10:33Different opportunities.
10:34Feminista, I will let you have the final word on this.
10:36How do you think that this situation, what is the outcome of this situation?
10:40I think that ESPN is definitely going to understand the value of black women in our contributions to media.
10:48And they're going to see that in the loss of Jamel Hill just over the next couple of weeks.
10:52There's a lot of support brewing.
10:55And I think that they're making a huge mistake.
10:57And I do want to echo the sentiment that we need to support more black media,
11:01because there are other outlets that are willing to put our voices out there.
11:05And we have to support those.
11:06And we have to give them our money and our attention and our ratings.
11:09We make or break TV these days.
11:11And we have to understand and harness that power.
11:13Yeah, that's absolutely right.
11:14Ladies, thank you so much for joining us.
11:16Really appreciate it.
11:17Now, early on in the show, we asked you, do you censor yourself on social media to keep your job?
11:22Use the hashtag EssenceNow to vote A for yes.
11:25I don't post anything I wouldn't want my boss to see or B for no.
11:29My personal page is my business.
11:31We'll read the results later in the show.
11:33But right now, let's check in with you on social to see what you're saying.
11:37Our girl Kayla is back from vacation and she's reading all your comments.
11:41Kayla, I know you back from vacation and this is nuts.
11:44What are you thinking?
11:45What are folks saying?
11:46It's nuts.
11:47So those are coming in.
11:48Some folks are saying yes.
11:49They don't post anything they wouldn't want their boss to see.
11:52Rena Penn says she does censor herself.
11:54Barry Cynthia says employees already police social media and people have been fired
11:58because of what they found on their private pages.
12:00So she steers clear too.
12:01But lots of votes for no are coming in now.
12:03Ronda Morrow says I say what I want.
12:05Nisi Churchill says I have to censor myself with rude obnoxious customers.
12:08So if I spoke the truth or I would be fired.
12:12But she says you have to be free to express yourselves on your social media account still.
12:15Oh, it's so tricky.
12:17Oh my God.
12:18Keep those comments coming in and we'll read more later on in the show.
12:21But right now, we're recently caught up with 14-year-old actress, Kavajanae Wallace,
12:26to find out about her latest venture, children's books.
12:29Check it out.
12:30Hi, I'm Kavajanae Wallace and this is my new book, A Night Out With Mama,
12:34and I'm going to read a few pages from it.
12:36Today is extra special.
12:38So Daddy makes everything I love for breakfast.
12:41We eat pancakes with banana eyes, strawberry noses, and turkey bacon smiles.
12:47Mama calls the party I'm going to tonight, an award show.
12:51And because the party is glamorous, someone has come to our house to do my hair.
12:56My sister and I watch in awe as she works her magic.
13:00And when she finishes, my hair is beautiful.
13:03I wanted to put my story of The Night at Oscars into a book because it's something really
13:10important to me, especially at a young age going at nine.
13:14It's really important.
13:15And I went with my mom, someone that really supports me.
13:18When children read my books, I want them to get the happiness.
13:21I felt Oscar night and the happiness in the chapter book and all the different feelings
13:26that Shane felt throughout the books.
13:29I do see myself writing more books in the future and many more things to come.
13:34Thank you for watching Essence Now.
14:00I'm your host, Makon Lovu.
14:02Remember, we're still taking your votes for today's Viewer poll, which in light of Jamel
14:06Hill's suspension is this.
14:08Do you censor yourself on social media to keep your job?
14:11Use the hashtag Essence Now to vote A for yes.
14:14I don't post anything I wouldn't want my boss to see or B for no.
14:17My personal page is my business.
14:19We'll read the results later in the show.
14:21Now recently, I got to catch up with the ladies of Mary Mary to talk about love, marriage,
14:26and Trump.
14:27But first, I have to find out why they decided to end their hit week TV show.
14:32Watch.
14:33You got to dive right in and talk about the sixth and final season of the show.
14:36Yes.
14:37It's so successful, so popular, so amazing.
14:39Why are you walking away from it?
14:41It's just time to graduate.
14:43You know, sometimes you feel like I've given all that I can give.
14:46The TV show is following my life.
14:48When it turns into my life has to try to follow the TV show.
14:51Yeah.
14:52It's like, you know what?
14:53I think I've given all that I can give.
14:54We've had babies.
14:55We've had marital issues.
14:56We've been a duo.
14:58We've gone solo trying to figure out how to manage that.
15:02We just feel like we've given the world so much of our life.
15:05Yes.
15:06And you have to choose when is the best time to bow out gracefully.
15:09Exactly.
15:10And I feel like what has transpired with Mary Mary, this is the best time.
15:13Was it a collaborative sort of conversation or did Tina, Erica, who brought it up?
15:18Like, girl, I think it's time to end the show.
15:19I think Tina probably brought it up.
15:21No, I think at this point we both felt okay with it.
15:24Season five was a lot for us.
15:26And, you know, me and my husband started at church.
15:29I started a radio show.
15:30So I was traveling and really busy.
15:32And we're like, when do we even have time to do it?
15:34And, you know, now that Tina's doing so much and I'm doing so much,
15:37we just had to figure out, you know, that they didn't have budgets to have cameras all over the world at the same time.
15:41Right.
15:42Okay, now when are y'all gonna film together?
15:44We're just like, let's just let this be the end.
15:46Let them see where we are now and live.
15:49And you shared a lot.
15:50No, go ahead.
15:51Mary Mary is not broken up.
15:52Let's just establish that.
15:53No, let's talk about that.
15:54Because the fans, we want to know what's going on with the music.
15:56They are not happy about this.
15:57They're not happy.
15:58First of all, we're not happy about the show.
15:59But what is the status of Mary Mary?
16:01The Mary Mary is together.
16:02Mary Mary never has broken up.
16:04All of those seasons when everybody was looking at Mary Mary supposedly breaking up,
16:07we were also having concerts at the same time.
16:09So that's the part that's a little confusing.
16:11But because there's so much to our lives that was not a part of our lives six years ago,
16:16seven years ago when we started, it is very hard trying to manage our time together and our time apart.
16:20And it's imperative that when we come back together as Mary Mary to make a new album and to promote it
16:25and to just be everywhere together, we have the time.
16:27We don't have that time now.
16:29And so the group is not broken up.
16:30We just haven't decided when we're gonna make a new album.
16:33So there's still a question mark there.
16:34I'm saying next year.
16:35You're saying next year?
16:36I'm saying next year.
16:37Okay.
16:38I'm holding you to that.
16:39So 2018 is just two months away.
16:40She said next year.
16:41Tina didn't say none.
16:42Tina didn't say none.
16:43This is why we need the show to keep going.
16:44So I have shared so much.
16:46I mean, we've seen pretty much everything from childbirth to infidelity to loss in the family.
16:50Do you ever feel like you should have held some stuff back?
16:53Or are you comfortable with everything that you've shared on the show?
16:55I'm comfortable with everything that we've shown.
16:57Real life happens.
16:58And once you learn to embrace what happens and know that that makes you better, that you grow and learn from it,
17:02and you move forward.
17:03Not only do I grow, but I allow someone else to see my growth and possibly help them to grow as well.
17:08Yeah.
17:09We've never, you know, gone, oh my God, I wish I could take that off.
17:12I mean, we're blessed to be executive producers.
17:14So if we didn't want it on there, we wouldn't have put it on there.
17:17And that was really a part of the stipulation because we'd heard some horror stories about people in reality TV world.
17:22But we had some good partners that we work with, so we're able to feel good about what we put out there.
17:27The Mitch's of the world.
17:28Are y'all still working with Mitch?
17:29No, we haven't been working with Mitch for three seasons.
17:31Actually.
17:32Wow.
17:33But it ain't no love loss.
17:34Okay.
17:35Actually, about three of his artists have just come on my show, my radio show, to do interviews.
17:39And I was like, why didn't you?
17:40I didn't realize they were his artists until after the fact.
17:42Uh-huh.
17:43And I was like, why didn't you say something?
17:44He was like, oh, I just, you know, just let them do what they do.
17:47Yes.
17:48I think he thought I was going to be shady, but I'm not shady.
17:49But no, the love is still there.
17:50The love is there.
17:51Absolutely.
17:52We've seen you share some really vulnerable moments, you know, the whole infidelity thing.
17:55So you go through that and rise out on top.
17:57What is the status of your relationship with Teddy now?
17:59How y'all doing?
18:00Girl, let me tell you something.
18:01Tell me.
18:02I got the coldest relationship on this side of heaven.
18:05Me and my husband are so in love.
18:07And we're using our story through our web series, 10 Minutes with Teddy and Tina, to
18:11help countless other couples make it through their hardships.
18:14Who knew that I was in, while I was in the middle of that hell, thinking that my life
18:18is never going to be same, never going to be right again, that my life would be this right.
18:22I so love my husband.
18:23I think he is the most amazing human being.
18:26He was not that four years ago.
18:27But thank God that I forgave him and I didn't see him as a mistake, because now I'm experiencing
18:32the beauty of the potential that I saw at the altar.
18:35And I'm so glad that I forgave him, because he's amazing.
18:37What are some of the tips, you know, people that are going through it, which we're so excited
18:40about this new web series that you're telling me about.
18:42But what is the number one tip that you would give to couples that are going through that
18:45moment, right?
18:46Like, how do you push through?
18:47You know, there's tips to give someone before, to pay attention and to be attentive,
18:53and to make sure you don't neglect being intimate with each other and being honest with each other about
18:59what you need.
19:00But if you have gone through it, you need to figure out, how did we get here?
19:03You know, watching them go through it with the amount of prayer and fasting and just honesty,
19:09you know what I mean, and raw emotion that you were able to see.
19:12That didn't even make the...
19:13The TV show was the nice stuff.
19:14So, the burning of the stuff that was happening in the car, that didn't...
19:17That was the nice stuff?
19:18First of all, I ain't burnt nothing.
19:19Yeah.
19:20People just be putting too much on it.
19:21Okay.
19:22I ain't burnt nothing up and I definitely ain't shot nothing.
19:23Because first of all, I'm not getting the black family in the community walking out of there
19:26with my hands behind because I didn't know how to control myself.
19:29Okay.
19:30So, in the comfort of my own space, with a hammer, I went and took all my frustration out.
19:33I ain't shot nothing.
19:34Mm-hmm.
19:35The police didn't come.
19:36It was just me.
19:37I vented.
19:38Then I went to bed.
19:39But it's important you do that.
19:40Yeah.
19:41You went to bed and you...
19:42Yeah.
19:43But I went through all of that, hell, because I had to get it...
19:44Vending is necessary.
19:45I had to get it out.
19:46I do not recommend that everybody takes the path that I went, because you could have ended
19:48up in jail with some of the stuff that I did.
19:49That's so true.
19:50Or hell, one of them.
19:51Jail or hell.
19:52I don't know.
19:53Right?
19:54I'm so grateful that God kept me.
19:55I really wanted to get it all out because I wanted it out.
19:57The truth is, I thought...
19:58I looked in my husband's eyes and I was like, you are more than what you did.
20:01And I feel so stupid for believing this because I always said, I ain't gonna never.
20:05And in this moment, I'm thinking, but I love you.
20:08I don't love this, but I love you.
20:09And I don't hate you, but I hate this.
20:11And I'm trying...
20:12I'm thinking that I hate you, but if I got all this emotion, I don't hate you.
20:14I'm just hurt by this.
20:15So, I made a decision that with God's help, since I couldn't kill him, since I couldn't kill
20:19me...
20:20Yes, that's right.
20:21He said, help me to do this forgiveness thing because I don't want to marry somebody
20:23else for sex and money.
20:24Yes.
20:25I actually love this guy.
20:26So, help me to see that he's better than what he did.
20:28So, that took a great deal of humility.
20:30But in doing that, my husband said, if God can make you change your mind about the way
20:34you was feeling about me, this guy got to be real.
20:37So, he ran to God just like I ran to God and he changed both of our lives.
20:41Now, we have an amazing marriage, but somebody has to be willing to concede.
20:45Somebody has to be willing to forgive.
20:47Somebody has to be willing to consider what you said at the altar sitting up there lying.
20:51Better, worse, rich and poor in sickness and in health.
20:54I don't care if you're the worst.
20:55I'm just going to be here.
20:56We say it.
20:57We sign.
20:58We walk it though.
20:59But when it comes time, we all change our mind.
21:01And so, I figured, God, if I try to consider committing to my commitments, will you help me?
21:06And he did.
21:07And look at that.
21:08That is really great.
21:09I'm glad that you guys have come out on the other side.
21:11Let's go over to you, Erica.
21:12Yes.
21:13We're going to talk about working with your husband.
21:14Yes.
21:15Y'all work, Warren, excuse me.
21:16Y'all work so closely together.
21:18What are some of it?
21:19Is it challenging working with him or is it great to have your partner at home also be
21:23your partner in business?
21:24It's both.
21:25It's challenging at times, but it's also great because he loves me and cares for me and
21:29we're good friends.
21:30And I really respect him.
21:31He's really, really a smart businessman.
21:33And so, we toss ideas around and discuss things.
21:36And, you know, he'll even go, okay, I want to do this.
21:39What are you thinking?
21:40We want to release this this time.
21:41Is it a video with this?
21:42Are we just going to, like, we have these really in-depth conversations about business.
21:45And it's so much fun to do business and then kiss at the same time.
21:49And, you know, and then if we get upset with each other and we need to work something
21:53out, sometimes I'll go, give me a minute because I'm mad at my business partner.
21:56I like my husband, so I'm going to come back to you.
21:58I don't want to talk to him today.
21:59We're going to talk tomorrow.
22:00We're going to revisit business tomorrow.
22:01You just have to be smart.
22:02Don't take things personal.
22:04Don't bring things into your bed.
22:06That should not be the place where you hash things out.
22:09That should be a safe place where you can talk and communicate.
22:13Pray with one another.
22:14Bond.
22:15Amen.
22:16Hallelujah.
22:17And bless his socks off and he bless yours.
22:18And then when you're out in the world, you know that you're good.
22:21You know, you can't go out in the world if you know you're not good.
22:24It's hard for me.
22:25I can't be out in the world doing stuff and I literally feel sick sometimes.
22:29My relationship is off and I'm out trying to tell the world, in the morning you'll be alright.
22:34I'm like, I don't believe that right now.
22:35I don't believe in myself.
22:36Right.
22:37You have to be sincere.
22:38I'm like, I'm gonna make sure I'm good.
22:39Yeah.
22:40And I think that's what allows us to work well together.
22:42Oh, I love it.
22:43I love seeing you guys on TV.
22:44I love the marriage.
22:45I love the families.
22:46Alright, before we wrap up, we have to talk about the state of the world.
22:50The way things are going right now.
22:51I mean, it is a really, really crazy time.
22:53Now Tina, about a year ago, I think you had said something like, let's give Trump a chance.
22:57Do you still stand by that?
22:58And what are your thoughts on him?
22:59Let me tell you what I really said.
23:00Tell me what you said.
23:01What I really said is, if those of us who are calling ourselves Christians, I wrote that
23:06letter out of place of frustration from what I was hearing at churches across America.
23:09And I'm thinking, this man is not our God.
23:12And God has given us instruction for this man, which is to pray for him.
23:16So me saying I stand with him means I pray for him.
23:18Even now, I disagree with almost every decision a man is making.
23:21But I still pray for him because he took an oath to represent this country.
23:25And we can say, he's not my president.
23:27He's still the president of America.
23:28And God gave us a responsibility to pray for him.
23:31So I pray that someone in his cabinet, someone that's in that on Capitol Hill,
23:35can have some kind of influence with him to hold this man responsible and accountable
23:39for the decision that he made to run and represent the country
23:44and make decisions that's for the greater good of the country.
23:46Because I don't think that that's what he's doing right now.
23:48So my position still is to pray for him, to hope for the best, to resist and be angry and all that kind of stuff.
23:53That ain't helping nobody.
23:54So I'm not going to be mad at the president and be mad at everybody else.
23:58I'm going to fight the devil who's the real enemy behind everybody that's acting a fool.
24:01And I'm going to pray for those that's acting a fool that hopefully God would help the fool to come out of them
24:05so they can make better decisions.
24:06I hope so.
24:07I know, Erica, you have a morning show.
24:09I do.
24:10I'm going to add him to the prayer list.
24:11Yeah.
24:12I'm going to fight and resist.
24:13I'm going to add him to the prayer list.
24:14I'm praying for impeachment.
24:15That's what I'm praying for.
24:16Yes, I'm praying for that.
24:17I just don't think he's equipped for the job.
24:18Amen.
24:19I don't think he's the guy at all.
24:20And I think his actions over the last months have shown us that he's not equipped for this job.
24:25And unfortunately, he's in that position.
24:27So we have to make sure that we're smart as Americans and use our voices and vote and make changes in an area where it really counts the most.
24:34And also vote and pray.
24:37Yes, vote and pray.
24:38And also make sure that you don't miss the final season of the show.
24:40The final season.
24:41The final season.
24:42Thank you, Erica and Tina, for stopping by Essence Now.
24:44Make sure to catch an all-new episode of Merry, Merry Thursday Nights on WE tv.
24:49Don't move.
24:50We've got more Essence Now coming right up.
24:52Thank you, ladies.
24:53You're welcome.
24:54You're welcome.
24:55You're watching Essence Now.
24:56I'm your host, Makon Lovu.
24:57Before we head out, let's check in one more time with our girl, Kayla, who's been reading all your comments on social media.
25:04Hey, Kayla girl.
25:05Hey, how's it going?
25:06All right, so we asked earlier, do you censor yourself on social media to keep your job?
25:09A, yes.
25:10I don't post anything I wouldn't want my boss to see.
25:12Or B, no.
25:13My personal page is my business.
25:14And it's actually surprisingly divided.
25:16Ruby Glass said, yes.
25:17It's the know your place syndrome, either as a woman, a brown woman, or a brown woman with a high profile job.
25:23Maria Matthews says, she's voting yay.
25:26There's a time and place for everything.
25:28A place of business is a professional atmosphere.
25:30No exceptions.
25:31But there are a couple of folks who aren't having it.
25:34Sherry Baby Parker says, B, I have no filter and I'm proud of that.
25:38Brenda Boston says, maybe people should try to have a personal page where you keep it privately and another page where it's private.
25:43But that sounds like a lot of work.
25:44It does.
25:45It's too much work.
25:46I personally, I censor myself and I'm glad I do because every thought doesn't need to be published.
25:51And the way I feel about a topic may change.
25:54And those posts live on forever.
25:55That is so true.
25:56So about this Jamel Hill thing, have you commented at all on your social media pages, on Twitter, on Instagram, or Facebook?
26:01I haven't.
26:02I haven't yet.
26:03Yeah.
26:04No.
26:05You want to come up with something thoughtful and something like, not just work off a passion and maybe say something you'll regret later.
26:09I agree.
26:10But I think in certain situations, you have to speak out.
26:13And look, it's cost Jamel a lot, but sometimes you just have to speak out.
26:16All right.
26:17It's time for the results of today's viewer poll.
26:20In light of Jamel Hill's suspension from ESPN, we asked you, do you censor yourself on social media to keep your job?
26:27Use hashtag EssenceNow to vote A for yes.
26:30I don't post anything I wouldn't want my boss to see.
26:33Or B for no.
26:34My personal page is my business.
26:36And here's how you voted.
26:37Let's see how you voted.
26:38All right.
26:39Well, this is a split.
26:40Okay.
26:4162% said no.
26:42My personal page is my business.
26:44And 38% said yes.
26:46Oh, wow.
26:47That's a split if I've seen one recently.
26:50All right.
26:51Now, thanks so much to Mary Mary, Kavajanae Wallace, and all of our guests for coming through today.
26:55If you missed any of today's show, you can catch the replay shortly on Essence.com and watch all our videos on our YouTube channel.
27:02It's poppin'.
27:03I'm Maquan Jovo, and I'll see you right here next Tuesday at 3 p.m. Eastern for an all-new Essence Now.
27:10See ya!
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