00:00Well congratulations on your NAACP Image Award. How does it feel for you you know getting this
00:12recognition? I mean it's so it's so exciting. I have been going to the Image Awards for quite
00:19a long time honestly. I think my first one I was like 10 or 11 so growing up not just at the awards
00:27but around my mentors and people that I've looked up to for so long is so so amazing and you know
00:34it's kind of just boosted my confidence to do what I'm doing now so I'm just so honored and words
00:40cannot express how grateful I am for their constant love and support every single year and I just hope
00:48to make them proud the more I keep doing what I'm doing and it's like it's just it's it's very
00:53exciting because they are the first people to recognize my work ever since I was little so
01:01yeah hopefully when I get up like up up where I want to be I know I know where I know where
01:07it all started and you guys have the Image Awards so I mean I I love it and I'm so so honored every
01:13single year I love that I also love your character of course like most people do but I mean Diane
01:20takes me out every every single scene what has it been like for you you know I was talking to
01:26Dionne Cole about you know when Blackish started people were so worried about the name and they're
01:31like I won't watch it and you know thinking it was something it wasn't yeah here we are seven years
01:36later super successful winning awards you know how has it felt for you growing with this show over the
01:42past um it was it was really fun honestly at the name I was laughing at it I was like oh this is
01:48funny yeah I I love it I love it it's educated me on so much and I think it educated people like
01:59this our audience as well and that's what makes it uh the way that it is now is because it's
02:04relatable it's raw it's real yet it doesn't uh it doesn't stand on a point where they don't lose
02:11any jokes or comedy by talking about these topics and yeah to the writers but um yeah I feel like
02:18this seven years strong we have been just telling real stories and like just uniting and our chemistry
02:26is great I mean I love I love the family that we've made on that set and um yeah I mean it's really it's
02:32really really cool and yeah I'm just I'm grateful and I'm lucky to be on a show like that because I
02:39mean it's really rare to audition and get on a show that's at least even lasts for like a season
02:45or two you know exactly episodes or something we have 22 to 24 episodes every single season yes
02:52it's it's it's amazing and I am I'm so so grateful sometimes you know what's funny sometimes I think like
03:00if I didn't audition for Blackish where would I be you know like what right you know so I just I
03:08I'm I'm grateful I'm really grateful yeah and now you're having you know another venture of your
03:15own that you're working on what can you tell us about Saturdays yes um Saturdays is just fun
03:21it's a great series that we've been working on for about two years now so I am glad it is out
03:29in the open but um yeah it's something that um it's it's all it's all about our wonderful Black
03:36community and I am grateful to Disney Channel for opening the door for us to uh tell these stories
03:42and it's really really cool because uh uh a president Mr. Marsh girl Gary Marsh we love him but um he is
03:50like there's a lot of things that you wouldn't expect like a Disney Channel show to actually
03:56highlight like Saturdays things that we are talking about and it's it's so exciting and I
04:01cannot wait for you guys to uh see it yeah and um I mean during even during my lunch breaks on Blackish
04:08I would look through uh the audition tapes okay because casting is my biggest thing like all time
04:14big thing so having uh having an outlet where I know what I want I want my three Black girls
04:21I want to make sure I want to make sure they're there and our amazing Black family and um just
04:28having it having another type of show where um Black families Black girls anyone can relate to
04:35yeah and telling these stories and um Sickle Cell is actually a big thing we highlight as well which
04:40we all know is really big in the Black community and it's something that we don't talk about often
04:46um we do not talk about often in the industry and it is if it is talked about it's talked about in
04:51a way where it is like sad depressing these people are sad you know on the floor like you know just
04:57this is you know but you can still you still live your life you know and our main character um we
05:04highlight her in a way where it's all about positivity she is still a little girl living her life
05:10doing yeah and um she doesn't let it stop her you know she loves to rotate with her family
05:16tell stories that um mean the most to her and she is an artist in her own form so I am very excited for
05:24you guys to see it and um yeah and it's already made such a big impact on social media oh cute
05:29I was just about to ask you about this tweet if you saw it since you brought up casting
05:34um because they said now how is it that my good sis Marcella is producing her first show
05:41but with a cast of all dark-skinned girls you know and people who've been in the industry for years
05:46don't do it yeah you know and can you talk about intentionality and and you know was it difficult
05:52for you to be able to do that um or did you have that control it was it was difficult I'm not gonna lie
05:59it's difficult in every single thing that we try to do because I mean every single time we try to
06:05break you know we're breaking boundaries we're breaking that um a lot of people in the industry
06:10that have been here for years don't see yeah and that's the goal here um me and my family we are
06:16fighters especially my my mother and father we are fighters and we have team and we have a really
06:23strong team that pushes through and make sure we we get what we want at the end of the day
06:28which is recognition and um making sure our we're seeing you know our uh our audience is seeing
06:37my audience uh sees themselves and um yeah it's gonna make a lot of people like mad but we gonna
06:43make sure we get it done that's what you know so that's that's our big thing and that's that's the
06:48thing about being producers and um having our own company we got we got to kind of make some uh hard
06:53and tough decisions and talk to people about what we want so they can see it um at the end of the
06:57tunnel they'll see the light at the tunnel they'll be like oh i see what you were doing
07:02the same thing with little same thing yes blackish same thing that just you know it happens and it's
07:10going to continue happening and yeah but we're here for it we're here for the long run and we make sure
07:16we um do what we love at the end of the day yes well i love it thank you for being a fighter
07:21and uh congratulations again it's such a pleasure to talk to you yes thank you so much thank you take care
07:28you
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