Dr. Jerry you got the whole world Welcome to
Live with Dr. Andre Jerry, your prime time destination
for bold conversations, unfiltered truth, and
real life inspiration. I'm your host, Dr. Andre
Jerry, broadcasting live from San Juan, Puerto
Rico. I've been here, or I've been back for a
few months now, and finally getting back into
the groove of things. So it's great to be back
in my second home. Anyway, tonight we're diving
into part four of our series called Random Rants
and Real Talk. These are episodes where I let
loose a little bit, speak more freely, and share
a little bit about what's been heavy on my spirit
or just whatever is trending in these streets,
okay? So let's go ahead and get into it. All
right, so what do we have? Juneteenth is tomorrow.
Does anybody care? Now we know the current administration
doesn't give a damn about Juneteenth, Black History
Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, LBTGQ, Pride,
any of that. Any other marginalized group with
a nationally recognized observance. And I could
be wrong about that, but I probably am not. I
remember earlier this year, before I retired,
how the current administration were just really
coming out of the gate swinging at diversity
equity and inclusion or DEI And it just didn't
stop there. They came for almost anything that
might have made The plane feel a little bit more
even and less lopsided So it was basically like
they were saying okay y 'all had y 'all moment
now go sit down go sit down You know, so I think
it's safe to say that they've made their priorities
loud and clear. But let's just put the current
administration aside for a minute, okay? Do we
care about Juneteenth? And I'm talking about
we the people, black folks in particular, because
I'm black, if you haven't noticed, and I'm not
even sure I care about Juneteenth, like perhaps
I should. And that's not entirely on me because
I'll put it this way. Okay, so I wasn't the most
attentive student back when I was in school.
Mostly because I was just trying to survive and
keep from getting bullied. But I don't remember
learning anything at all about Juneteenth or
anything about Juneteenth really when I was in
school. I don't think any of my contemporaries
have either. Have any of you guys heard of Juneteenth?
back when you were in school. And this was at
least back in the day when they were at least
trying to teach some form of black history in
the school. These kids today, they don't even
know regular history, I don't think, let alone
black history. Half of them don't even know who
Rosa Parks is, and they certainly don't know
about Claudette Colvin. So Claudette Colvin,
just really quickly. She was just 15 years old
when she refused to give up her bus seat to a
white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama. This
was about nine months before the incident with
Rosa Parks. So Claudette Colvin was the true
unsung hero of the civil rights movement, and
her bravery that she showed that day helped to
lay the groundwork for the Montgomery bus boycott.
So sadly, she didn't really get her due kind
of, you know, Rosa Parks just seemed to just
take it and run with it. But there was an incident
that predated Rosa and her name was Claudette
Colvin. So just in case you didn't know that
little bit of history. But anyway, back to my
point about Juneteenth, when President Biden
declared that this was going to be a federal
holiday, it was in June of 2021. I was happy
to have another day off. You know, um, but did
I really understand the meaning behind what Juneteenth
was at the time? No, I didn't. I'll be honest
about it. But I'm a fairly inquisitive person,
and I don't like walking around ignorant about
things. So, of course, I did my research just
to find out what Juneteenth was about. But yeah,
honestly, prior to that, I had never heard of
Juneteenth in my life. And I know I'm not alone
about that, so... I don't feel too bad, but I'll
tell you what I do feel a little guilty about
and that's I don't really care that tomorrow
is Juneteenth. Like I'm not fired up about it.
I'm not excited necessarily. I'm just not anything.
I'm just sort of indifferent towards it. And
I venture to say that the average black person
feels the same way that I do about it. And I'm
not saying that we don't care about it in the
same sense that I guess a non -black person may
not care. I'm just saying that I feel like a
lot of black folks feel disconnected from Juneteenth,
whether that's due to a lack of awareness or
a lack of understanding or just not being taught
about it growing up. I don't know. But I guess
what I'm saying is that I don't know anyone who's
throwing a barbecue tomorrow. or marching or,
you know, any parades that's going on. A few
of us may watch a documentary or something, you
know, tonight or tomorrow, but as far as what
I've been seeing, nobody really cares, myself
included. And, you know, I'll be honest, that
kind of makes me feel messed up. You know, I
feel kind of like a bad black person. It's such
a thing. You know, I'm being serious because...
It's not anything I'm losing sleep over or anything
like that, but if I'm being honest, it was a
part of me that's like, Andre, you really don't
have anything planned for Juneteenth. Not even
a hot dog, you know? So I'm not gonna throw a
barbecue, I'm not marching, I'm not going to
a parade or anything like that. But so that I
can at least sleep a little easier tonight and
feel like I did something, I'm gonna break down
really quick what Juneteenth is. and why it's
important. And this is just for anyone who doesn't
know. It's a lot of people who still don't know,
or just for someone who may need a refresher,
okay? So in plain terms, Juneteenth marks the
day, which was June 19th in 1865, when enslaved
black people in Galveston, Texas were finally
told that they were free. And mind you, this
was about two and a half years after the Emancipation
Proclamation that had already been signed into
law by Abraham Lincoln. So it took almost three
years before black people in Texas were notified
that slavery had been outlawed. So even though
slavery was illegal, Texas, I guess they didn't
get the memo and they were still doing business
as usual. And we know what that was all about.
But it took Abraham Lincoln sending Union troops
to physically ride into Galveston to formally
announce the end of slavery. Okay. Again, this
took place on June 19, 1865, which was two and
a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation
was signed into law. So that's what Juneteenth
is. It's not the day slavery ended in America.
It's the day that the last known group of enslaved
black people in the South finally got word about
it that slavery had ended. So in a way, Juneteenth
is less about celebrating freedom and more about
recognizing the delay in those freedoms, the
delay in justice, the delay in dignity. and the
delay in humanity. So that's what makes Juneteenth
relevant. Because if we're real about it, even
now in 2025, so many of us are still waiting
for some version of freedom, whether it's financial
freedom, mental freedom, freedom from broken
systems in this, I'm trying to be nice, this
small -minded leadership that we currently have.
So, you know, black folks, I know we're largely
collectively not going to do anything, but if
we're going to barbecue or have a cookout or
something like that, it really should be tomorrow,
not 4th of July, which is what we're all used
to, because that's not really our Independence
Day, if you know what I mean. So look, even if
you're not going to throw a cookout or have red
velvet cupcakes, which apparently is a Juneteenth
tradition. I saw that online today. If you're
not going to do any of that, just take a moment
then to reflect not just on what happened, but
on what's still happening. And if you do decide
to fire up the grill tomorrow, just know it's
not about the ribs and the food and all of that.
It's about the reminder, the reminder that freedom
has always come late for us. But you know, we
still claim it. Anyway, right All right. So let's
move on next topic. I'm gonna give you guys an
update on my new Drinking habit. Okay, and Z
and I talked about this a little bit before the
show started but so in part three of this rants
and real talk series I share with you guys that
I'm now a weekend drinker and I'm kind of liking
it, you know, like I was telling Z the first
couple of weeks were tough I'll admit that I
think I even tried to sneak up a few drinks in
on a Thursday a time or two but seriously I have
noticed the change in my behavior my productivity
and my overall health now I know that sounds
kind of like I was a total alcoholic but you
know I can admit that at the very least I was
a heavy drinker that's if I'm being delicate
about it but Probably more accurately, I would
say I was and have been a functioning alcoholic
for most of my adult life. And I have absolutely
no shame about admitting that. I don't because
number one, me admitting that live on air just
now, it makes it easier for someone else who's
struggling to admit that they also have a problem.
And two, if you can't admit the truth about yourself
and you can't admit the truth to yourself, then
you really do have a problem. And three, you're
more than likely a heavy drinker yourself. Because
if you recall in the last episode, the episode
before last, I reported that according to the
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism,
If you're drinking more than four drinks on any
day, or more than 14 drinks in a week, for men
that is, then you're a heavy drinker slash alcoholic.
And for women, if you drink more than three drinks
in one day, or more than seven drinks in a week,
then you're also an alcoholic. And remember,
one drink is a 12 ounce can of beer, five ounce
glass of wine, or shot of liquor so you see what
I'm saying that put me in the company with a
lot of other people and I remember at the time
when I reported that statistic that I just gave
you I remember being a little bit pissed about
it because my whole thing was okay four drinks
in one day that that sounds like a good time
to me you know and five or six drinks even better
but I can't say that you know even with Just
a month into this new drinking habit that I have,
I can look back and see where... I can see where
they're coming from to a certain extent. Four
plus drinks in a day, unless you're on like vacation
or you're on a cruise or you got something else
unique happening, four or more drinks in a day
is a bit much. I can say that now. I can be honest
about that, you know? And I'm not saying I still
don't have some work to do, right? Because even
though I've been, you know, I've switched to
just drinking on the weekends, I've noticed that
I still consume a fairly good amount of alcohol,
right? So the first couple of weeks, it was like
I was just so glad it was Friday. I was so glad
I made it to Friday. So, you know, I found where
I was on my second bottle of wine before the
sun was even down. on a Friday. You know, so
this is how I planned it out. So I usually get
sometime during the week three bottles of wine.
I'm talking about for my new regimen I have now.
And one bottle is supposed to be for Friday and
the other two for Saturday and Sunday. Well,
I was already on the second bottle before Saturday
hit. And I think that was just because I was
looking so forward to the weekend and being able
to let loose and have a couple of drinks. And
so I would find myself running out of all three
bottles before it got Sunday. So we ended up
going back to the package store and getting like
a bottle of liquor or something, just to finish
out the rest of the weekend. So still consuming
a good amount of alcohol, but at least it wasn't
on a daily basis. At least it was being condensed
to the week. You know? But even with that, it's
sort of a good thing because now by around eight
or nine o 'clock at night on a Sunday, I'm just,
I'm sick of alcohol. I don't want to drink anymore
by that time. In fact, this past Monday, I'll
tell you what I did. I did something I rarely
do. And that's, I took some leftover vodka and
I poured it down the drain. That's how sick.
alcohol I was at the end of this past weekend
I Remember and this was a couple of weeks back.
This is around the time when I first started
my weekends only rule I Had I snuck in a couple
of drinks on like a it was like a Tuesday or
something. I don't know and my Let's just say
my accountability partner my accountability partner
was furious that I was sneaking sips in, and
he poured an entire bottle of Bombay Sapphire
Gin down the kitchen sink drain. I was so effing
mad, but I had to keep cool about it. I just
kept it inside so I wouldn't come across like
a belligerent drunk, but I was so mad. I was
like... You son of a bitch that bottle cost $40
and I even pay for it but still it was just more
so the fact it was a brand new bottle of Good
liquor that was supposed to be for the next weekend
and It's not like I was gonna be sneaking drinks
all week I just you know, it was I was new to
that regimen where I'm only drinking on the weekend
I was just starting out and so I just I just
had a little weak moment and just needed a couple
of sips But uh, I didn't get I was upset but
I didn't I just kept it inside I was like Andre
just stay calm Don't cut him out. He's just trying
to help you Right. Oh my god, but the old me
The old me would have showed completely out.
I mean to the point where it could have possibly
fractured the friendship and I'm just so glad
I don't act like that anymore. And this is why
This is why therapy is important because the
unhealed version of myself had a lot of unresolved
anger. Remember we talked about that a couple
of episodes back? Had a lot of unresolved anger.
And if it weren't for my therapy, that one little
episode of him pouring out that liquor and confronting
me and challenging me like that, it would have
triggered me. Because, you know, of the bullying
and not standing up for myself and You know how
I said I would never allow something like that
again? It would have triggered me. I would have
went completely berserk over something relatively
petty, just, you know, as a trauma response.
And I would have said or did some things that
would have just been completely unnecessary and
could have permanently fractured the friendship
when all the person is trying to do is help me.
You see how that works? You see why I say therapy
is important? You know, and so I know all of
that probably sounds like really bad and like
I have a serious drinking problem, but I promise
you, it's nothing like that. Like I mentioned
in the other episode, drinking was more, for
me, it was more of like a habit than it was an
addiction, you know? I've been drinking since
I was 16 years old. It started as a coping mechanism.
You know, something to help me be more social
and to show more of my personality so I'm not
so introverted and shy like I can be. And the
same thing for, you know, when I got a little
older and I started going to parties with my
friends or out to the clubs. I am an introvert.
I keep trying to tell people this. I am a true
introvert. So... There has never been an instance
where I felt comfortable at a party or at a club.
I've always had to rely on alcohol to sort of
loosen me up enough to where, you know, I can
be social and have a good time. And even with
family events, it's the same thing. Just because
it's my family and people who know me and, you
know, people I'm comfortable around, it doesn't
make it any easier for me. You know left to my
own devices without a crutch I would much rather
find a quiet space in the room or a corner somewhere
and just Play with my phone or just you know
watch everybody else have a good time but after
so many years of becoming known as the life of
the party and You know all of this there becomes
this pressure to keep up that facade, right?
So when you see me at a party or a club, or even
on social media dancing, you know, I've posted
a video, a lot of you may have seen me dancing
at a casino. Anytime you see me carrying on like
that, that's more of the alcohol than me, you
know? I guess that's why they call them spirits,
because for me, it truly turns me into someone
I'm not. But not in a bad way, not in a bad way.
And I know for some people, when they drink,
they may become belligerent or angry, even violent
in some cases. Or there are instances where a
person may exhibit behaviors that are destructive
to themselves or to other people. But it's never
been like that for me. I'm a happy drinker. I
sing, I dance, I joke. laugh I have an obnoxious
or infectious it depends on who you're talking
to but I have a very loud obnoxious laugh and
you know I just like to have fun you know then
that's the extent of it for me if alcohol ever
put me in a place where it disrupted my life
and you know put me in a space where I wouldn't
have been able to be successful I would have
done away with it a long time ago but To the
point I was making earlier It's hard to break
a habit true, but breaking an addiction That's
gonna involve a lot more than just willpower
Right, you're gonna you're gonna need willpower.
You're gonna need prayer. You're gonna need support
Maybe even a medical intervention depending on
your vice or what you have going on and group
therapy and counseling and things like that thankfully,
I you know it wasn't that serious for me but
if you are someone you love is struggling with
an addiction if you can encourage them to seek
help seriously if they want to break the addiction
then try to get them some help because It's gonna
be something that's extremely difficult for the
person to do on their own and in their own strength
They're gonna need some help and there's no shame
in that at all and Remember addictions come in
all types of different forms Some are visible
like drug and alcohol abuse others. They may
be able to hide a little better It could be something
like compulsive gambling or over eating Stealing
some people have sex addictions. I know a couple
of those so regardless of the substance or the
behavior The impact of it can be just as devastating
to a person's life in terms of their mental and
their emotional state their their their spiritual
well -being But the good news about that is that
there is help available. There is help out there.
And a lot of it is free. So like I said, if you
or someone you love is struggling, silently struggling,
loudly struggling, remember there are a lot of
free and confidential resources that are ready
and available to help you with support and guidance
and get you on a path to recovery. Now, I'm going
to give you a couple of numbers. I have a list
here of some trusted organizations that you can
look into, and maybe they could help you or the
person in your life that you love that has an
issue. Now, if the person has a gambling problem,
there is an agency called the National Problem
Gambling Helpline. And I'm going to give you
a 1 -800 number. You can text this number. You
can call it. They also have chat and what have
you, but the number is 1 -800 -GAMBLER. So 1
-800 -426 -2537. If anyone you know has an eating
disorder, where there's bulimia, anorexia, I
don't know who has those things anymore. I know
there's some people that do, but bulimia and
anorexia just seem like they're so like 80s.
like an 80s disorder, but I know that there are
millions of people still struggling with that.
If you eat too much, I know a few people who
are morbidly obese, they can't control their
portions, and they have an issue with, they just
can't stop eating. That's an addiction. There's
an organization called the Alliance, and they
give free therapist -led in -person or virtual
support groups. Their website is Alliance for
eating disorders calm Alliance for eating disorders
calm Okay If you have problems with drugs or
alcohol or no someone that does They have a national
drug helpline. This is 24 hours seven days a
week is confidential Their number is one eight
four four two eight nine zero eight National
Drug Helpline 1 -844 -289 -0879. We talked about
sex addiction earlier. Don't be ashamed. That's
more common than you think. I actually found
a service here that offers support for sex addictions
and, I don't mean to laugh, sex addictions and
love. Addictions, I didn't you know necessarily
know that was a thing But apparently some people
are addicted to love to love and it causes them
a lot of you know Just issues. Let me give you
a website is s is in Sam ill is in Larry a a
F is in Frank W s is in Sam org Okay, it's called
the sex and love addicts anonymous whatever that
is, but it's SLAA. So it's Fellowship Based Support.
I do not mean to laugh, it's just I never heard
of Love Acts until I looked this up today. But
they have Fellowship Based Support for people
struggling with obsessive, sexual, or romantic
behaviors. I told you it can take a lot of forms
now, so just because you're able to hide yours
and make it look pretty, it doesn't mean that
it's still not having a negative impact on your
life. All right, this is the last one. This is
just for anyone with any mental health and or
addiction issues. This is S -A -M -H -S -A, National
Hotline, 1 -800 -662 -HELP, 1 -800 -662 -4357.
Again, this is confidential, 24 -7. They speak
various languages on this line. And it's a good
resource for substance abuse and or mental health.
And I lie, there is one more. I found another
one that is a suicide and crisis lifeline. And
you can dial this from your regular phone or
your cell phone. Just dial 988. So it's just
like another emergency number. Just dial 988.
You'll instantly be connected with someone that
can help you if you're having a mental health
crisis or you're under emotional distress or
you're having suicidal thoughts or something
like that, they'll talk you through that type
of stuff, okay? All right, how are we looking
on time? 628. Before we go to break, let me give
you an update on my friendship with Craig. Because
in part three I mentioned that my friendship
with Craig has sort of changed over the years.
You know it all started with that fallout between
me and the girlfriend and Then my numerous relocations
and deployments all over the world And then most
recently his now staunch atheist beliefs which
Conflicts directly with my personal beliefs Not
that I'm religious at all I grew up sort of in
a religious type thing, but I've kind of moved
away from that. I believe that religions are
man -made constructs that were designed as a
tool to manipulate and control and divide the
masses. And I talked about this a little bit
on our very last show with Jeff Kleckle when
we were talking about his near -death experience.
Even with that, I still do believe in God, Jehovah,
Jesus, Yahweh, the source, the universe, whatever
you want to call it. I don't believe that matters
so much as we treat others the way we wish to
be treated while we're on this earth. All the
arguments and divisiveness that we have going
on in this world about various religions or non
-religious views and all this, I don't think
any of that serves any type of useful purpose.
And yet that's something that my friend Craig
seems to enjoy engaging in. But even with that,
I can look past Craig's personal beliefs. Like
I said, we don't have to have the same beliefs
in order to be friends. But I can look past that
and still be his friend. So long as we agree
to disagree about certain things, God being one
of them. I think more of our issue has been the
thing with the girlfriend that coupled with the
distance. I think those two things combined just
sort of led to us growing apart to a certain
extent. But I feel like the love is still there.
You know, if he needs me, I'm of course gonna
be there for him. And I believe that he'd be
there for me as well if I needed it. You know,
I think... What I'm mourning is the closeness
that we had. I think that's what it is. But,
you know, things change over time. And we have
to adapt to things when they change, you know?
I think I may have, I don't know, a bit of a
romanticized concept of friendship that I'm still
trying to contend with. You know, most friendships
and relationships are not going to look like
the ones on tv in real life especially when you
talk about getting in your 40s and your 50s friendships
are complicated and nuanced you know people go
through changes and you know different things
and you just have to do your best to be a friend
and and love people through whatever they may
be going through or whatever you may be going
through you know just Because things start out
one way, doesn't mean it's going to continue
that way. I don't know, I think the lesson here
is to love people the best you know how and not
be rigid in your friendships. Be willing to adapt
because every friendship is going to evolve and
change over time. It becomes a time where we
have to let go or separate with one of our friends.
Just do it with love. Do it with love in your
heart for that person. And wish them well. And
really I think that's all a person can do. Sort
of like what I was talking about with my other
friend. I said I wasn't going to say his name
no more because I was dragging him for like three
or four episodes. But yeah, that's all that you
can do is try to love people the best you can.
And sometimes the friendship is going to drift
and kind of fade. And that's OK. But just try
not to force anything. Just let things happen
the way they're going to happen. And do the best
that you can on your part. All right. So with
that, we're going to take a quick commercial
break. But don't go too far. When we come back,
we're going to switch gears a little bit and
lighten the mood. And we're going to do a little
bit of my new segment that I love called Better
Late Than Never. Plus, we'll talk about a few
topics if we have time that you don't want to
miss. So more rants and real talk coming up.
Stay with us. We'll be back. Looking for your
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All right, class of 2025. Let's talk real quick.
If you're out here applying for jobs, getting
ghosted, overwhelmed, or just straight up tired.
Hey, I've been there. The search can feel like
a full time job with no paycheck. That's why
I always recommend Indeed .com to folks just
starting out. It's simple, clean, and gets straight
to the point. You set your filters, upload your
resume once, and you're off. No fluff, no hoops,
just jobs that actually match what you're looking
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you. You don't need it all figured out to get
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out nd .com. It helped me, a lot of others, and
I know it'll help you too. Log on to nd .com
today. Welcome to another broadcast of Spiritual
Concerns, the Deborah Ruffini Show on Artists
First Radio Network. We're live from England
on Saturdays and Sundays, 3pm New York, 8pm London.
All past shows or podcasts, find them at artistsfirst
.com. I'll be your host where issues relating
to the spiritual matters of concern will be largely
examined and discussed. Enjoy the show. the meaning
and the modern -day relevance of Juneteenth and
shared a quick update on my new weekend's only
drinking habit, which I'm learning to love a
little bit more with each week that passes. And
we also talked about the fine line between routine
and addiction, or more specifically between...
Oh, Lord, I lost my train of thought. But the
fine line between routine and addiction. and
we unpack the reality of friendships that evolve
over time, fade over time, and shift a little
bit, and the importance of staying flexible in
those situations. So like I said, now let's lighten
the mood with my new favorite segment called
Better Late Than Never. And so if you're new
around here, this is where I shamelessly admit
to being a little late on just about every pop
culture trend you can think of, whether it's...
a movie that came out four or five years ago,
or a viral moment that everyone's already forgotten
about. That's what the vibe is. So let's get
into it. All right. So I finally got around to
watching the remake of The Color Purple. Again,
it's been established that I'm very late. This
was 2023 when this came out. But I took a look
at it. And you know what? It's a very different
experience from the original So this this is
a remake of course. It's I would say it's bold
and it's a musical adaptation of Alice Walker's
classic novel is produced by Oprah Winfrey Steven
Spielberg Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones and
The director was blitzed by the wooly It stars
Fantasia Barrino. This was her film debut. Of
course, she played Celie. Taraji P. Henson played
Suge Avery. Danielle Brooks, who's phenomenal,
by the way, she played Sophia. One of my favorite
new actors, not new, new to me. He's been at
this for a while, but Coleman Domingo. He played
Mr. and Corey Hawkins played Harpo. Now, like
I said, this came out back in December of 2023,
and it sort of blends the Broadway -style musical
that Oprah was producing with, you know, the
whole movie concept and the emotional storytelling
and the rich visuals and all that stuff that
she adapted from the stage. And if you compare
that to the original 1985 film, which was also
directed by Steven Spielberg, this original movie
was a drama. It wasn't a musical. And of course,
it started the great Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey
herself, and Danny Glover. So if you don't remember
this, that version earned 11 Oscar nominations.
It didn't win one, but it got 11 Oscar nominations.
And it's often considered sacred ground in black
cinema. So yeah, watching this updated version,
it brought some nostalgia, but it also brought
a different vibe. And I'm going to speak a little
bit about my thoughts about this. I just jot
it down some notes that I want to relay to you
all about this. OK, so the first thing that I
like, let's talk about what I liked first. I
actually like that it was a musical production.
I don't typically like musicals, but this was
very well done and done in a way that made sense
for the movie without sacrificing the story.
So I love that it was a musical. Very great job.
I thought Fantasia did an outstanding job being
that this was her film debut. I think she did
just as great of a job as Jennifer Hudson did
in Dreamgirls, which was her film debut. Fantasia
actually played Seeley on Broadway for three
years. So I think this is where she kind of cut
her teeth and why she was able to kind of effortlessly
transition to this role. But she did a fantastic
job. Great acting. The production was great.
They spared no expense when it came to production.
It's the costumes. were fantastic and colorful,
bright. The cinematography was outstanding. The
musical score and the choreography was extremely
well done. And I love that the choreography was
also era specific. They didn't try to put any
twerking or any of these new dances in the choreography.
It was very timeless for that time, the 40s,
50s. back during the setting of the movie. And
I also love that Quincy Jones and Steven Spielberg
were a part of the production team. I think that
gave some continuity to this new version and
bringing in some similar elements from the original.
And what else? Oh, Whoopi had a cameo in the
film. And it wasn't just any cameo, I thought
it was very well thought out. So Whoopi Goldberg,
she cameoed as the midwife who delivers young
Celie's second child. So that was sort of a subtle
but meaningful role that kind of was symbolic
because it was sort of like a bridge between
the original and the new version. It showed respect
to not Oprah, but Whoopi's role as Sealy. So
it kind of was very symbolic and meaningful.
I thought it was kind of like a chef's kiss type
thing for the new film. I love that they dug
a little deeper with the implied romance between
the Suge Avery character and Sealy. They lightly
glazed over it in the original. And I don't know
if that was... Due to the era, you know, I think
this came on what the Late 70s. So I don't know
if it was because it's the taboo for that time
or Alice didn't didn't feel like it was an important
part of the story But they kind of went a little
bit more in detail with that and made some subtle
inferences there So I did like that And I actually
agree with all of the casting Choices except
one and I'll talk about it a little bit later
when I talk about stuff. I don't like Coleman
Domingo who played mister he embodied this role
I Don't think there's anyone else who could have
followed Danny Glover in that role without some
form of eye rolling He was perfect whoever cast
him for that. It was the excellent choice You
couldn't have made a better decision for that.
He just embodied the role of Mr. for this new
version of the movie. So I love that. I felt
like the producers understood the assignment
with regard to keeping the original producers
as part of the team, Quincy, Stephen, of course,
Oprah Winfrey. I feel like trying to do this
without either one of them would have been kind
of a foul, given how masterfully the original
was done by the main producers, Steven Spielberg.
I feel like all these producers understood what
this film meant to the culture, meaning if you're
gonna go there and try to readapt this and reimagine
this, you better do it right and you better do
it and handle it with care because the color
purple is one of those movies that's sort of
like a family heirloom for a lot of people, especially
black folks, you know, and given how we were
already starting to feel some kind of way about
Oprah, you know, given her connections with Harvey
Weinstein and, you know, how she was starting
to come for some other folks, you know, she could
not afford to get this wrong. So I think overall
it was just a great job, great production. Now
here are a couple of things I didn't like about
it. I talked about casting earlier. For the most
part, they got the casting right. What I didn't
like was John Batiste being cast as Grady, which
of course was Shook, Avery's husband. It just
didn't, it felt off. Like okay, the original
Grady was sexy. He was sexy, he was charming,
he had panache, he had this devilish but irresistible
vibe sort of thing going on. John Batiste for
me was just okay in the role. It just, to me
it was like forecasting. John Batiste gives delicate,
crooner vibes, in my opinion. You know, maybe
a little bit bisexual, you know. To me, he just
wasn't the best compliment to Shug Avery's character,
as portrayed by Taraji. Because Taraji and her
character, Shug, they're like firecrackers. And
John Batiste just didn't... To me, he didn't
hit his mark. He didn't do a poor job, but I
just felt like he just dropped the ball with
the casting. He comes off as like a kind of like
a soup sandwich a bit for me. But thankfully
his role was not prominent enough in the movie
to ruin the whole thing for me. So, you know,
that was just more of a minor annoyance on my
part. The only thing I didn't like too with this,
aside from the casting, Choice with John Batiste.
I didn't like that. This film only garnered one
Academy Award nod versus The other got like what
11? I Feel like that was a bit of a foul all
of the great acting that was in this movie Taraji
definitely deserved to be nominated for something
with her portrayal of Sug Avery Definitely Danielle
Brooks at least she was nominated. She did a
phenomenal job as Sophia But you know the film
didn't win in its category Or any other Oscars
category so that was disappointing But hey at
least it got one at least it got one nomination
and there were other awards that the the remake
got. It got a number of NCAA awards and I believe
a Golden Globe for ensemble cast. So, you know,
something there. But like I said, the remake
received other multiple accolades with my other
gripe about casting. Everything else about the
movie is superb. So if you haven't seen it yet,
you definitely want to stream it. Try to watch
it this weekend It's about a two and a half hour
movie, but you'll be glad you watched it is it's
really well done What else do we have here Better
late than never we talked about the pay pay pig
trend still nothing on that It's just a matter
of time before someone sends me something on
that and they haven't sent me anything yet But
maybe I'll do another post, you know, but I have
to keep you updated on that. What else? There
are some other things I want to talk about. I
think I might save it for next time. But I kept
you guys long enough. I think I'm going to go
ahead and close this one out. But like I said,
this has been another episode of Random Rants
and Real Talk. And I really like these shows.
I really appreciate you spending your hour with
me. These episodes are fun for me. So if you
laughed, if you learned something, if you Raise
your eyebrows a couple of times. I feel like
my job here is done. If you're new, go ahead
and follow the show on Spotify, Amazon Music.
Be sure to log on to artistsfirst .com. That's
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can also catch them on YouTube. Just look for
the hashtag LWDAJ. Next week, Wednesday, same
time, same vibe. It's gonna be a fresh new episode.
You definitely don't wanna miss it. Until then,
everybody, be good to yourself. Cut folks off
that are draining your energy. And, you know,
like I said, just always do the best you can.
Have a great evening ahead. I'm Dr. Andre Jerry,
and this has been Live with Dr. Andre Jerry.
Good night, everybody. Take care.