Best of full interview: Phylicia Rashad Talks Respect, The Rhythm Of Acting, Chadwick Boseman's Brilliance + More

Summary

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The Breakfast Club — "Best Of" Interview: Phylicia Rashad

Podcast: The Breakfast Club (iHeartPodcasts)
Date: January 1, 2026
Guests: Phylicia Rashad
Hosts: Charlamagne Tha God, Jess Hilarious, Lauren LaRosa (filling in for DJ Envy), Dr. Elizabeth Poynter (guest hosting)
Episode Summary: An in-depth, engaging conversation with the legendary actress and director Phylicia Rashad. Rashad discusses her upbringing, the importance of community and freedom, her new directorial work on Broadway, lessons from her family and career, and her memories of icons such as Chadwick Boseman. The episode is filled with wisdom about art, identity, legacy, and the ongoing need for collective uplift.

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Main Theme

A celebration of Phylicia Rashad’s legacy, her directorial debut on Broadway, and her philosophy on respect, community, and the transformative power of the arts. The conversation connects her personal journey to broad issues: Black excellence, parenting, education, identity, the state of culture, and mentorship.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Growing Up in a Household of Excellence and Freedom

• Rashad details her upbringing in Houston, Texas, with her poet mother and dentist father, and the ways her parents instilled ambition and confidence in her and her sister, Debbie Allen.
  • “We grew up with a poet. We grew up with a visionary. And it was about freedom. It was about realizing your full potential as a human being.” (06:18)
• Her mother used aphorisms like “The universe bears no ill to me. I bear no ill to it” and emphasized being true, beautiful, and free.
• Her mother's approach shielded Rashad and her siblings from the trauma of legal segregation by focusing on self-worth and creative potential.

2. Community, Safety, and Education

• Rashad explains how community provided a sense of safety and confidence, despite the challenges of segregation, noting free music education and the caring environment.
• Remarkable family stories, such as her mother fearlessly confronting a would-be intruder: “We grew up to be fearless, but not to be stupid.” (11:31)
• “If you see a rattlesnake in front of you, come on... Don’t be stupid.” — On balancing fearlessness with common sense (11:34)

3. Instilling Values in the Next Generation

• Parenting advice from her father: “Never let anybody run over you.” (21:16)
• On love and support as the core of parenting: “When you love them, that’s all.” (21:14)
• The importance of expanding the ‘village’ to support all children, regardless of background: “We can expand it because we need all the people.” (43:56)

4. Making Her Broadway Directorial Debut

• On directing "Purpose" on Broadway (written by Brandon Jacobs Jenkins), Rashad describes ensemble work as “collective intention.” (05:37)
• The storyline centers on family drama and shared human experiences, with a cast including Harry Lennix and LaTanya Richardson Jackson.
  • “It’s the most incredible ensemble I’ve ever witnessed. Each one is a master.” (22:52)
• Audiences of all backgrounds relate to the play, confirming its universal themes.

5. Iconic Roles and Acting Philosophy

• Discussing Claire Huxtable: Rashad says she never felt pressured to maintain an image. “Light is not heavy. Carry light. Share light.” (24:48)
• Emphasizes the craft and discipline behind her performances, particularly the rhythm and intention in delivering lines.
• Her approach to roles, including villains: “Everybody’s a human being…You’ve got to be sick to mistreat another person...A sane person won’t do that.” (37:17)

6. Mentorship and Legacy at HBCUs

• Reflections on her time at Howard University, as both student and Dean, and the enduring impact of Black educators who shaped her.
• Vivid memories of culturally formative moments: “Dr. King was assassinated in my sophomore year...I remember when Muhammad Ali came and spoke on the steps...” (41:07)
• The responsibility and joy of mentorship: “They [teachers at HBCUs] poured into you in a different way.” (42:17)
• Her continued connection to Howard through dramatic readings, including Chadwick Boseman’s "Deep Azure." Rashad mentored Boseman and watched him grow from student to star. “Chadwick was an actor. Yes. Chadwick was a writer, director, scholar. He was brilliant.” (53:54)

7. On Black Representation and Cultural Evolution

• On the shift in how young women present themselves in popular culture: Rashad expresses concern about revealing clothing, framing it as an issue of respect and self-worth, not critique.
  • “You’re young queens, beautiful and smart and brilliant and bright...I’m taken aback when I see, on a college campus, young women dressed in strips of clothing...” (55:16)
• Highlights the historic dignity and grace of women she admired, and the impact of modern trends.

8. Art, Identity, and Personal Worth

• Rashad shares a deeply personal lesson learned later in life: “The lesson that I learned later in life was that I’m enough...You go through a period where you feel like you’re not enough because you’re looking outside yourself...It’s only when we look inside ourselves that we see what beauty really is.” (58:41)
• Encourages teaching young people to look inward for validation and empowerment.

9. The Legacy of Chadwick Boseman

• Rashad describes Boseman's multifaceted brilliance—actor, writer, scholar, and a person “profoundly respectful” and engaged in service. “He combined all of that with...African cosmology...He was brilliant. There was nobody else to play Black Panther but Chadwick.” (53:47)

10. Closing Wisdom

• Rashad ends with a guiding principle for life and uplift: “Make yourself great by making others greater.” (62:05)

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Instilling Inner Freedom (06:18):
  “You have to look inside and you have to teach young people to look inside. There’s nothing but freedom there.” — Phylicia Rashad

• On Parental Wisdom (21:16):
  “Never let anybody run over you. And...always know the balance of your bank account and keep your own money.” — Advice from Rashad’s father

• On Playing Claire Huxtable (24:48):
  “Light is not heavy. Carry light. Share light. Light is not heavy.” — Phylicia Rashad

• On Acting and Performance (35:58):
  “Language and how you use it...there’s rhythm and there’s pace, and so much is conveyed in that way. If you said it another way, it wouldn’t be as effective.” — Phylicia Rashad

• On Choosing Complex Roles (28:45): “People get all caught up in funny stuff. What was that woman doing? She was rescuing people...She was living with the deepest hurt that a mother can have, that she lost her child because she was not paying attention.” — Rashad, on choosing a challenging character

• On Legacy and Empowerment (62:05):
  “Make yourself great by making others greater.” — Phylicia Rashad

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Important Timestamps

• 03:45: Phylicia Rashad introduced as royalty, a pillar in representing Black women with dignity.
• 06:18: Rashad describes her visionary parents, foundational family wisdom, and growing up amid legal segregation.
• 11:31: On “fearless but not stupid”—family stories about courage and practical sense.
• 21:14: Parental tips and the importance of love and boundaries.
• 22:05: Discussion about her Broadway directorial debut, "Purpose".
• 24:48: On how she approaches her iconic roles without feeling image pressure.
• 28:45: Navigating dramatic roles different from public perception.
• 35:38: Acting technique—the importance of rhythm, pace, and language.
• 41:07: Reflections on revolutionary moments and teachers at Howard University.
• 45:01: Chadwick Boseman’s legacy, "Deep Azure," and Rashad’s pride in her former students.
• 53:54: Boseman’s intellectual and artistic rigor.
• 55:16: Thoughts on popular culture and self-presentation.
• 58:41: The personal lesson of self-worth she learned in her 30s.
• 62:05: Rashad’s maxim: “Make yourself great by making others greater.”

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Flow & Tone

The conversation is warm, respectful, and filled with a deep sense of nostalgia and reverence. Rashad speaks with wisdom, humor, and grace, nurturing the hosts’ curiosity and offering memorable lessons. The hosts maintain a tone of admiration and excitement, often reflecting on their own upbringings through the lens of Rashad's insights.

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Useful for Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In

• This episode is perfect for those interested in Black culture, art, legacy, and positive social influence.
• It provides both personal anecdotes and societal commentary, serving as a masterclass in dignity, artistry, and purpose.
• Rashad’s reflections bridge the past and present, offering practical insights for parents, artists, students, and anyone seeking a sense of belonging, empowerment, or creative fulfillment.

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Transcript

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

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[Charlamagne Tha God]

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[Katie Whelan]

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[Felicia Rashad]

The kids didn't come home last night. Along the Central Texas plains, teens are dying. Suicides that don't make sense, Strange accidents and brutal murders in what seems to be a plot ripped straight out of Breaking Bad. Drugs, alcohol, trafficking of people.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

There are people out there that absolutely know what happened.

[Felicia Rashad]

Listen to Paper Ghosts, the Texas Teen murder on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts from. NBA champion Stephen Curry comes Shot Ready. A powerful, never before seen look at the mindset that changed the game.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I fell in love with the grind. You have to find joy in the work you do when no one else is around. Success is not an accident. I'm passing the ball to you.

[Felicia Rashad]

Steph Curry redefined basketball. Now he's rewriting what it means to succeed. Order your copy of the New York Times bestseller Shot ready [e-mail] welcome to Decoding Women's Health.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

I'm Dr. Elizabeth Poynter, Chair of Women's Health and Gynecology at the Atria Health Institute in New York City. I'll be talking to top researchers and clinicians and bringing vital information about midlife women's health directly to you.

[Felicia Rashad]

100% of women go through menopause. Even if it's natural, why should we suffer through it?

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Listen to Decoding Women's Health with Dr. Elizabeth Poynter on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts on January 9th.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Greenland 2 is making an impact across the globe.

[Felicia Rashad]

Hang on.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Audiences rave. It's deeply emotional and better than the first. I wanted you beginning first, Bob. You'll be holding your breath from start to finish.

[Felicia Rashad]

Oh, my God.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Grab onto something.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Greenland 2 migration. Rated PG 13.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Wake that ass up early in the morning.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

The Breakfast Club.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yes. It's the world's most dangerous morning show. The Breakfast Club. Charlemagne. The God. Just hilarious. DJ Envy's not in, but Lauren LaRosa is filling in for him. And we got royalty in the building, man. We have a woman who has represented, you know, black people, especially black women, correctly forever. Ms. Felisa Rashad is here. How are you, queen?

[Felicia Rashad]

I am good.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Good to see you.

[Felicia Rashad]

Thank you.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I'm a little starstruck, too.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

You know, I do not mean to keep staring at you, but I. I cannot believe I'm sitting here across from you and.

[Felicia Rashad]

Right.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

And like, it's.

[Felicia Rashad]

Woo.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Cause we've been watching you on tv. You always carry yourself in such a regal manner, but then when you walk in the room, you feel it even more so. It's like, whoa. I was telling them, all right, mama. Walking in the room. Straighten up. Okay. Clean up.

[Felicia Rashad]

Yes.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Make sure everything tidy. All right.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Do you have. And I know you have this effect everywhere you go. Are you used to people acting like.

[Felicia Rashad]

Oh, you all are. What can I just say? We are, as a people respectful. Yeah. To each other.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Yes.

[Felicia Rashad]

Yes. Yes, ma'. Am. Yes, we are. Yes, we are.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

But not the others.

[Felicia Rashad]

We are, as a people respectful.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Absolutely. Absolutely.

[Felicia Rashad]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And you're here for. I mean, we're going to talk to you about a lot of stuff, but you're making your Broadway directorial debut in purpose.

[Felicia Rashad]

Yes.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

How did that feel?

[Felicia Rashad]

Well, it was wonderful. It's not the first time I've directed. This is the first time I'm directing in a Broadway theater. But this play and this cast, it's a real gift. I hope you'll come and see. Yeah. Yes. I hope you'll come and see. Brandon Jacobs Jenkins is the playwright. He received the Tony Award last year for his play Appropriate and this particular production originates in Chicago at the Steppenwolf Theater. And the Steppenwolf has its own ethos, its own legacy for theater as it was formed by actors. So it's ensemble work. And that's the best work.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Absolutely.

[Felicia Rashad]

Ensemble work. But then that spirit. I watched it move through the cast into everybody, the designers, the production office and staff, the theater stuff, we all. It's. It's everybody. It's one. We call it collective intention. Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

When I think about the things that you and your. Your sister have done, Ms. Debbie Allen, you know, I just wonder, what did y' all dream of when. When y' all was kids, when y' all was just two little girls growing up? Like, what did y' all play about? What did y' all think about? What did y' all imagine?

[Felicia Rashad]

We. We grew up in Houston, Texas. Our father, Dr. Andrew A. Allen, is a dentist. Our mother, Vivian Ayers, is a poet. We grew up with a poet. We grew up with a visionary. And it was about freedom. It was about. Pardon me. It was about realizing your full potential as a human being. Can you imagine things like this, teaching little children like this? She would teach us things like. She have aphorisms, and she'd give them to us to say, the universe bears no ill to me. I bear no ill to it. And we repeat that. The universe bears no ill to me. I bear no ill to it. We just go around. The universe bears no ill to be I bear. When you teach a child like this. When you teach a child, be true, be beautiful, be free. She would say things like this to us, and she'd say things like, thinking requires thought. Thinking requires thought. We know, he was saying, but these seeds were planted by the time I was 11 years old.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yes.

[Felicia Rashad]

Oh, Debbie. Debbie was nine years old, and she said to my mother, I did dance classes, and you're not doing a thing about it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And nine.

[Felicia Rashad]

Wow. You're not doing a thing about it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Wow.

[Felicia Rashad]

Well, you know, legal segregation at that time. My mother took the railing off the side of the stairs going upstairs. She took the handrail and had it attached to a wall in what was supposed to have been the dining room. And she hired this teacher who had come from the New York City Ballet, a Caucasian man, to come and teach Debbie in the house. Her ballet classes were there. This is how we grew. We grew like this. And he gave Deborah a book about ballet with photographs of all the famous dancers. And we would look at that book all day, every day. My mother would take us to exhibitions, to lectures, things we couldn't understand. She knew we couldn't understand it. She told us later, I knew you wouldn't understand what was being said, but you were present and the seeds were being planted. When we were growing up, she didn't want us scarred by the ignorance of racism. And it was all around us. It was legal at that time. But as little, little children, if there was somewhere we wanted to go and we were restricted, she'd explain it like this. She'd say, oh, well, that's a private club for members only, and we're not members of that club. And then she'd do something else. She'd invite all our friends into the living room. She'd teach us music. She'd teach us to tumble. She'd teach us things like this. She'd teach us corporations speech. And that's how we grew. And at that time, music education, this is very interesting. In a time of legal segregation, music education was free and in the schools, and the schools had instruments that students could use. I studied viola. Debbie played the bass violin, if you can believe it. The littlest thing in the school. They had to sit her up on a stage stool. Had to sit that child up on a stool. And her little fingers, her little hands couldn't. You know, a bass player usually had big hands. Yeah, you should have seen Debbie up there. She never missed a beat, and she never played a sour note. She played that thing like she had created it herself. This is how we grew. Yeah, we grew up in. Surrounded by a community that cared for its children. And, I mean, we were safe. Yeah, we were safe. We felt safe. We didn't. I didn't feel fear as a child. Our mother was a great example of that, too. One night, somebody tried to break in the house, and my mother was awake and she heard the clamor. She went out the back door and walked her way around to where this man was trying to come through the window. And she stood right there and she said, you could get arrested for that, you know. Scared the bejesus out. He dropped everything in red. We grew up to be fearless, but not to be stupid.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Expound on that. Fearless but not stupid.

[Felicia Rashad]

Well, I mean, look, if you see a rattlesnake in front of you, come on.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's right, that's right.

[Felicia Rashad]

Don't be stupid.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's right, that's right, that's right.

[Felicia Rashad]

If you see a car coming your way, don't be stupid.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Absolutely.

[Felicia Rashad]

Absolutely.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I love that. I love the story you just told, because as you were talking about it, I'm like, man, how do you teach freedom to black kids in a country that wasn't providing you that freedom at the time?

[Felicia Rashad]

I'll tell you how. I'll tell you how. A poet, a visionary, You have to look inside and you have to teach young people to look inside. There's nothing but freedom there. So much distraction today, right? One thing and then another, to make anybody, not just African American children, but anybody, feel separate from a creation, separate from the one who created everything that is separate from one's own self. In the midst of majesty, nature, in the midst of presence, distraction. Pay attention to that.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

You're going to be stealing your quotes for the rest of the month. Every day on the show, we do positive note, and Charlemagne is over there writing down everything in his mind. That's right, Ms. Rashad. He is going to be quoting you for the rest of the month. I know it.

[Felicia Rashad]

Yeah, so you don't. You know, we knew history, you teach history, but you don't identify with the middle passage as who you are. That's not who you are. That's not who anyone is. That is what happened. But people survive that because of who we are as human beings. Right now, I'm just saying it, right now, we need all the people. Yeah, all the people. Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That sense of community you talking about, growing up in Houston, you need that. You need to be able to teach kids freedom. You need to be able to instill security and safety in kids. And that can only come from us.

[Felicia Rashad]

It comes from home. And in teaching, you know, it's shared with others. You know, children are not born into this world fearful. No human being is born into this world fearful or filled with hate. Nobody's born like that. You have to learn that stuff. You know, there's a song from a Broadway show. You have to be carefully taught. Carefully taught. Well, you can be carefully taught the right way, too.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

What was your mother's upbringing like? Because she seemed like she was so still and so short of herself, and I'm sure she had, you know, experienced a lot.

[Felicia Rashad]

My mother grew up in Chester, South Carolina.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Hey, I'm from South Carolina.

[Felicia Rashad]

What part?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I was born in Charleston, raised in a small town called Monks Corner.

[Felicia Rashad]

Oh, you the people.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Felicia Rashad]

Okay.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Ichigala.

[Felicia Rashad]

You the people. Okay. So it was a small mill town.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Right.

[Felicia Rashad]

Her father was a blacksmith. One of his brothers was a mortician, and the other brother was. And these businesses had been owned by her grandfather. It was an agricultural community. Right. But there was a school there that had been founded by the Presbytery There were such a number of such schools, pardon me, that had been founded by the Presbytery for the descendants of freed African people throughout the South. This school was Brainerd Institute. And in this school there was this classical education administered by black people. My mother was always interested in music. Oh, she was quite the pianist. She's described herself to me once as saying she was a little girl swinging high on the swing, looking up at the sky and dreaming big dreams. That's how she grew. Her mother passed away when she was. When My mother was 9. She lost her mother. And she said as she sat at her mother's funeral and listened to the things that people were saying, she decided none of them were intelligent enough to tell her anything to do. She would chart her own course at nine.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

At nine.

[Felicia Rashad]

At nine. And she did. And she did. It was not an easy life, but there was this spirit in her, living in her, burning in her, that carried her through. Her first publication is Spice of Dawns. This is a collection of poems. Her second publication, Hawk. If you read Hawk, you will understand how I grew. This is an inner journey. This is an allegory of freedom, which parallels flight through space without a vehicle. It was published 11 weeks before the launch of Space, but make one.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Wow. What did you learn from your. Your father, because you said he was a dentist.

[Felicia Rashad]

Oh, my father. My father was born on the back porch of a farm in Lovedale, Louisiana. He was one of nine children. His father worked on the railroad. He was a fireman on the south to Pacific Railroad. And his mother, you know, was housekeeping. Right. My grandfather put great emphasis on education, and he made sure that all of his children went to college. Imagine it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Especially in that time.

[Felicia Rashad]

Imagine it. So my father was a very kind and generous man. He was what was called a man's man. Men loved him and trusted him. He was always the treasurer of the Dental association because they said, if Tex takes care of the money, we're in good shape. He was organized. He was very clean. He loved music. He loved theater. He loved the arts. He came to see any and everything we did. Whatever it was, he was very supportive. He was. He was so handsome. He was so handsome and he was so good. He did things that people didn't know he did. He was like that. And in his office, he dealt with people's pain and anxiety every day. And they came to him and trusted him. And when they couldn't pay, he'd work out a payment plan for them that was convenient for them. They didn't have to Go anywhere and incur interest rates. He would work that out for him. When my father passed away, at his viewing, the line stretched out of the mortuary. Wow. All the way down the street, all the way around the block. And when the last person came, he said. He looked at him and said, you don't understand. Understand? You don't understand. That's my dentist. And that motorcade, as I remember, that motorcade on the way to the cemetery stretched as far as the eye could see. He was so beloved.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Thank you, Jeff.

[Felicia Rashad]

Thank you.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So that's why I asked. Just because, you know, when you look like I said, you know, you look at Felicia, Rashad and Debbie Allen, two strong queens. Somebody had to raise them. Somebody had to instill that in them. And as a father raising four beautiful black girls, you know, I'm just always thinking about, you know, what should me and my wife be instilling in them all the time, just so they grow up to be strong black women?

[Felicia Rashad]

When you love them, that's what my.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Mom says all the time.

[Felicia Rashad]

When you love them, that's all, you know. My father. If I can remember one great instruction, my father gave me two great instructions. He said, and I was a little girl, he said, never let anybody run over you. I was five years old when he told me that. Never let anyone run over you. And then later on in life, he said, always know the balance of your bank account and keep your own money. Yeah.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

What can you tell us about the story without spoiling it? You know, the Broadway. But what can you tell us about the story of purpose without giving it all away? I know you don't want to.

[Felicia Rashad]

Oh, this is wonderful. Family. Family drama. And there's humor in it. A young man is recalling a visit to his home. And on this night of nights, so much happens in one night, and so much is revealed in one night. And some things are resolved. It's. That's all I'm gonna tell you. Okay. Except to tell you the cast. Harry Lennox.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Okay.

[Felicia Rashad]

Latonya Richardson. Jackson. Okay. Glenn. Glenn, Dave, Alana Arenas and John Michael Hill is the most. It's the most incredible ensemble that I've ever witnessed. Each one is a master. Each one. And the inimitable Cara Young, who was Ludy Bell in Pearly Victorious last season, that's our cast. People come at the end of the play and have various reactions. One woman said, oh, that scene at the dining room table. Oh, that was my family's Thanksgiving for the past five years.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Relatable, right?

[Felicia Rashad]

And she was not an African American. Woman. Wow. People see themselves, and that's when we know we are really doing our best work. When you see yourself.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

I was gonna say, speaking of doing your best work, I think, you know, for a lot of us, in watching you on television, the iconic role of Claire Huxtable and just what that image of, you know, having a mom, that was just so graceful and so, like, everything that you were in that show. Do you, like, in real life, is there ever pressure or was there at the time for you to, like, upkeep, like, a certain. Like, I don't know, like an image or, like, just anything that people try to house? No, like, so not in your house, but, like, in real life, like, in Hollywood and other roles you were taking. And, like. You know what I mean? Like, did you ever feel like. Because I think for us, like, you are, like, the perfect, like, image of, like, a black woman. Like, so I always wondered if you felt that pressure.

[Felicia Rashad]

No. Light is not heavy. Carry light. Share light. Light is not heavy.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Even in. Even in interviews. But I. I understand what you're saying. I. Even in interviews, back then, you would still have the same deposition, the same grace. When, you know, outside of that role, I'm gonna tell you the one that sticks with me. When you told Sondra's boyfriend, Elvin Alvin. That is iconic. And then when Vanessa wanted to go to Baltimore, where I'm from, to see the Wretched. Oh, my God. When I tell you those are my two, like, key episodes, right? Well, yeah. Cause I'm from Baltimore, and I done snuck out the house, and I done done all that. You ain't knocked Vanessa out? I got knocked out of few times, but.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Well, she almost did, but Cliff held her back.

[Katie Whelan]

Well, yes.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Right, right.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

That's it.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

That's it.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Also, I also want to bring up the movie Beekeeper. Oh, my God. How is that working with Jason Statham?

[Felicia Rashad]

Oh, he's such a good person.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Yeah.

[Felicia Rashad]

Oh, yeah.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Okay.

[Felicia Rashad]

So generous.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

So kind.

[Felicia Rashad]

Amazing to a fault, you know, that was a great experience.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

That was a great movie because it also, like, talks to what's going on these days. Like it is. So I know y' all two probably didn't see it.

[Felicia Rashad]

So.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

The Beekeeper is a movie about an older woman who is robbed of her. Her retirement funds, everything cleared out. Her bank accounts, fraud, a lot of fraud. She took a phone call from this company that acted as if they were trying to, like, help her with some type of banking information, and. And she, like, kind of fell for it and ended up. Now in Beekeeper did. Is this the question I always have. Did the woman kill herself or did she killed herself?

[Felicia Rashad]

Not because she lost her money. It was other people's money she lost.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Okay.

[Felicia Rashad]

And do you know that maybe six months after that filming, I read of such a thing in the newspaper. Oh, wow.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Oh, wow.

[Felicia Rashad]

This was a man. Yeah. And he was so embarrassed he killed himself. Yeah. But the. The. The. The greater problem here is access.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Yes.

[Felicia Rashad]

Yeah. So much access to people. Is all of that necessary? Is it good?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No.

[Felicia Rashad]

No, it's not.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I don't think.

[Felicia Rashad]

No, man. No, it's not. And as we see it moving towards more access. You gotta think about that. Yeah.

[Katie Whelan]

How do you.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Oh, good.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

How do you. Nowadays, like. Because, I mean, you obviously pick and choose what you want to do, what your roles. Like. I watched you and d' Airra from Detroit, and I like the one scene where y' all in the car and you were talking about the Temptation.

[Felicia Rashad]

What?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You said she slept with the Temptations.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Yes, all of them.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

I'm gonna tell you right now. Now, I felt bad watching that.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

I'm like.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

I don't think I was supposed to hear her say.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I thought that was AI. She a say that?

[Felicia Rashad]

Yes.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

But it's.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know what's so funny, though? The first time I saw the clips, they didn't tell me it was from a TV show.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What the. I said what? He literally.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

He thought that you were up here, like, really reflecting on your life. I said, damn, she slept. Claire Huxtable slept with all the Temptations.

[Felicia Rashad]

No, no, no. That was the character, darling. That was the character. As actors, we play these roles.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

When you choose a character like that, where it's like. It's a lot different than how we've seen you or how I've seen you anyway, and different things that you've done, what's your thinking behind it? Is it because you wanna. You want people to see you in the different lights, or is it just. I just wanna do it?

[Felicia Rashad]

Did you see what she was doing?

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Yes, I did.

[Felicia Rashad]

That's why I chose the character. Because of what she was doing.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Yeah.

[Felicia Rashad]

People get all caught up in funny stuff.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Yeah.

[Felicia Rashad]

What was that woman doing?

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

She was rescuing people.

[Felicia Rashad]

She was rescuing people. She was living with the deepest hurt that a mother can have, that she lost her child because she was not paying attention. And in her heart, she felt that her child was alive somewhere. And this is years later.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Right.

[Felicia Rashad]

But just in a moment of being too tired and too annoyed and too distracted and wanting to do something else, she turned away. And in that instant her child was taken from her. Yeah, and so she set about saving people.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

She went on saving have you ever turned a dollar into ten grand? I doubt it. But now you can. On Better Picks Download the Better App, Pick more or less on your favorite player stats, watch the games and win some cash. It's that simple. Better picks available in 33 states, including Texas, California and Georgia. Download the Better App today. That's better. B E T R and get a free $10. No deposit necessary. Must be 21 or older. In a jurisdiction where Better Picks operates, terms and conditions apply. Better Picks Sports just got better.

[Katie Whelan]

If you're feeling exhausted, puffy, anxious, foggy, gaining weight, or just not like yourself, you're not imagining it. Women in their 30s, 40s and 50s are experiencing massive hormonal shifts and no one is explaining what's actually happening. I'm Katie Whelan, co founder of Joy. I built Joy because I lived this. The fatigue, the mood swings, the weight changes, the confusion. Your symptoms are biological, not personal, and AI generated lab reports won't fix them. Every Joy Lab includes a visit with a licensed clinician who specializes in women's hormones and connects every biomarker to how you feel energy metabolism, mood, sleep, skin weight, everything. Then we personalize real solutions hormone therapy, peptide therapy, supplements and lifestyle protocols. Get [e-mail] today. This month, new customers get 50% off labs and you can add our estrogen face cream for just $1 with clinician approval. Use promo code [e-mail] welcome to Decoding Women's Health.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

I'm Dr. Elizabeth Poynter, Chair of Women's Health and Gynecology at the Atria Health Institute in New York City. On this show, I'll be talking to top researchers and top clinicians, asking them your burning questions and bringing that information about women's health and midlife directly to you.

[Felicia Rashad]

100% of women go through menopause. It can be such a struggle for our quality of life. But even if it's natural, why should we suffer through it? The types of symptoms that people talk about is forgetting everything. I never used to forget things. They're concerned that one they have dementia and the other one is do I have adhd?

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

There is unprecedented promise with regard to.

[Felicia Rashad]

Cannabis and cannabinoids to sleep better, to.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Have less pain, to have better mood.

[Felicia Rashad]

And also to have better day to day life.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Listen to Decoding Women's Health with Dr. Elizabeth Poynter on the iHeartRadio app. Apple Podcasts or Wherever you're listening now.

[Felicia Rashad]

Hi, I'm Danny Shapiro, host of the hit podcast Family Secrets.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

We were in the car like a.

[Felicia Rashad]

Rolling Stone came on and he said, there's a line in there about your mother.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And I said, what?

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

What I would do if I didn't.

[Felicia Rashad]

Feel like I was being accepted is choose an identity that other people can't have. I knew something had happened to me.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

In the middle of the night, but.

[Felicia Rashad]

I couldn't hold onto what had happened. These are just a few of the moving and important stories I'll be holding space for on my upcoming 13th season of Family Secrets. Whether you've been on this journey with.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Me from season one or just joining.

[Felicia Rashad]

The Family Secrets family, we're so happy to have you with us. I'll dive deep into the incredible power of secrets, the ones that share our identities, test our relationships, and ultimately reveal who we truly are. Listen to Family secrets on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

You know the shade is always shadiest right here.

[Felicia Rashad]

Season six of the podcast Reasonably Shady with Gisele Bryan and Robyn Dixon is here dropping every Monday as two of.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

The founding members of the Real Housewives.

[Felicia Rashad]

Potomac were giving you all the laughs, drama and reality news you can handle.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

And you know, we don't hold back.

[Felicia Rashad]

So come be reasonable or shady with us each and every Monday, I was.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Going through a walk in my neighborhood. Out of the blue, I see this huge sign next to somebody's house.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Okay, the sign says, my neighbor is a Karen.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No way.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

I died laughing.

[Felicia Rashad]

I'm like, I have to know.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

You are lying.

[Felicia Rashad]

Humongous, y'.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

All.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

They had some time on their hands. Listen to Reasonably Shady from the Black.

[Felicia Rashad]

Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Felicia Rashad]

The moments that shape us often begin with a simple question. What do I want my life to look like now? Dr. I'm Dr. Joy Hardin Bradford, and on therapy for Black girls, we create space for honest conversations about identity, relationships, mental health, and the choices that help us grow. As cybersecurity expert Camille Stewart Gloucester reminds us, we are in a divisive time.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Where our comments are weaponized against us. And so what we find is a lot of black women are standing up and speaking, speaking out because they feel.

[Felicia Rashad]

The brunt of the pain. Each week, we explore the tools and insights that help you move with purpose, whether you're navigating something new or returning to yourself. If you're ready for thoughtful guidance and grounded Support. This is the place for you. Listen to therapy for black Girls on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts, hoping one day somebody would say, save her, son. So I choose people because I choose a character because of what people are doing. Yeah, gotcha.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I want to go back to something just said. She brought up the Elvin scene. Right. Because that was a role. Well, when you schooled Elvin on, I guess the marital. The marital role, how much input did you have on that scene? And what were you trying to convey when you saw it on paper? What did you say to yourself? Oh, I know what I can do in this scene. Convey a larger message.

[Felicia Rashad]

Oh, I didn't say anything. I just said the se. I just said the line.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Oh. So it was just as it was there.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Oh, wow.

[Felicia Rashad]

It was there, but it was the way you deliver it, you know?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So you was like, battle rapping. What?

[Felicia Rashad]

Like.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

It was so good. I thought it was improv, you know, it was.

[Felicia Rashad]

This is. This is a part of your training as an actor. Language and how you use it, you know, and there's rhythm and there's pace, and so much is conveyed in that way. If you said it another way, it wouldn't be as effective.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Felicia Rashad]

If you tried to say it like you were singing up the lazy river. No, it wouldn't work.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

It wouldn't hit like a black mama.

[Felicia Rashad]

No, it wouldn't.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What were them writers rooms like, though? Because it felt like a black experience where they. Black writers, white. I mean, what were those writers combination. Okay.

[Felicia Rashad]

The thing was to write a human story, to write about human behavior. The truth of human behavior.

[Katie Whelan]

Yeah.

[Felicia Rashad]

That's what makes comedy and theater real. The truth of human behavior. You don't have to make something up. If you're writing about something that's real, you can take a different perspective on it and your skills as a writer, you know, show up in your language or your. You know, those things that writers do. Yeah, yeah.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

What do you do to channel roles? Like your role in Fall from Grace, like, when you're the villain, what do you do to channel those roles?

[Felicia Rashad]

Everybody's a human being, right?

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Yeah.

[Felicia Rashad]

Okay. She's just a nasty human being. This is a person who is sick. Her whole perspective is warped. You've got to be sick to mistreat another person. I'm sorry. You cannot be sane and do hurtful things to people. You just. A sane person won't do that. Do you agree?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

100.

[Felicia Rashad]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

100.

[Felicia Rashad]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's why they. One of the four agreements is, you know, don't. Don't take offense to things. Don't take things personal. Because what you do, what somebody does to you is not a reflection of you. It's something that's going on internally with them.

[Felicia Rashad]

With them.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It's hard that, you know, to put yourself in that position, but you really got to know that.

[Felicia Rashad]

Yeah. Sometimes you want to just clutch somebody.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's right.

[Felicia Rashad]

Shake them real good.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

My daddy used to say, you'll stop taking everything personal. Personal. Once you realize that it's a bunch of people out here on cocaine. What he's saying is kind of true. It's like people out here doing all types of stuff that you have no idea about.

[Felicia Rashad]

Where was your father from?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Monks Corner, South Carolina. All my family from South Carolina. Mama, Daddy, everybody.

[Felicia Rashad]

Don't you just love it?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Oh, it's the best. Because, you know, it's like, if you ever been to the International African American Museum. Oh, you were there. I'm bugging. Yes. You were there for the grand opening.

[Felicia Rashad]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I didn't get to meet you. I wanted to meet you. I was on the other side, but, yeah, it's right there on the port where, like, I think 50 of all enslaved Africans came through.

[Felicia Rashad]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So that's like home for a lot of us.

[Felicia Rashad]

Yeah. And don't know.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's right.

[Felicia Rashad]

And don't know.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Another thing I wanted to ask you about. When you ran down on Vanessa, who or what were you channeling in that moment? Because I'm sure you. I'm sure you and your sister snuck out the house a couple times, and Mama had to get on you.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

You never snuck out.

[Felicia Rashad]

And I have to sneak.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Yeah.

[Felicia Rashad]

I didn't have to sneak.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Okay.

[Felicia Rashad]

Yeah, it was good. I didn't have to, but it was good not to have to do that. Yeah. You know, sometimes we might have stayed a little too long.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Right, right.

[Felicia Rashad]

But we didn't have to sneak. It was. It was. It was fun. It was. You know, it was. You're an actor, and you understand human behavior. You understand feelings. It's. It's the way you develop yourself. This is the craft. This is what we do. And I guess if you do it in a certain way, people think it's you.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Yes.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's why they can't see you playing a role. Like in A Fall from grace. Like Ms. Rashad is a villain.

[Felicia Rashad]

No, she was.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Right, Right. Exactly.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

We have to detach the actress from the character.

[Felicia Rashad]

Oh, yeah. You know, and as an artist, you don't want to sing the same Song or play the same tune.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Yeah, that's right.

[Felicia Rashad]

You don't want to paint the same picture forever. You've got a paint box. You want to use those paints and do a different scene sometimes because you have range. Well, yeah. And you want to express humanity in whatever you do. At least I do.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know, you can't. You can't. Okay.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

I was gonna say your time at at Howard. I'm an HBCU grad. I went to Delaware State.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Have you ever heard of it?

[Felicia Rashad]

Yes.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Wow.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Get them together, please. Thank you. Exactly right. But the freedom that you were talking about earlier, I remember, like, I was raised in a household where my mom was very much like that, but going to a hbcu, I remember that being the first time where I was like, okay, the world, like, really needs me. And it was because of, like, teachers and counselors and stuff that kind of had the same spirit that you have. I wonder, like, for you, what was, like, one of your favorite things about walking on campus every day with those students? As a dean.

[Felicia Rashad]

As the dean. Ooh. Walking on campus. Everywhere I looked, I was reminded of my time there as a student, and I was reminded of my friends, and I was reminded of the things that we did in the time in which we were living as students. It was an important time. Dr. King was assassinated in my sophomore year. Wow. Yeah. I watched these things happen. So much unfolded on that campus. I remember when Muhammad Ali came and spoke on the steps of Frederick Douglass Hall. And I remember him standing there and he said, look at me. Can't you see that I'm free? And you could. Oh, there were great people. There were great instructors. When I tell you about instructors I had at Howard University, you know.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Yeah. They feel they pour into, like, you never forget that. Like, they pour into you in a different way.

[Felicia Rashad]

And they're so well developed. They are deep. They are deep. So there was a time, you know, I'll just reference it back to my father's area, dentistry. There was a time when African Americans were trained, could be trained at Harvard, but they wouldn't hire them to teach. So these people who were trained in these great, quote, great institutions went to HBCUs to teach. You were receiving that education there. Yeah. That discipline, those demands. They were serious about it. They were so serious about it. There was. There was an instructor at Howard down in Medical School, Dr. Montague J. Cobb. They talked about this man. He was legendary. My father's friend said, oh, no, you don't understand. If we failed the test, he would say, meet Me in the lab tonight. And they'd all show up in the lab. And when they were going around doing what they were supposed to be doing, he would pull out his viola and play as he walked up and down the aisle. And my father's friend said, you wanted him to play that viola because that meant that he was pleased with what you were doing.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Wow.

[Felicia Rashad]

I mean, they came. You know, people we came through in a time that we should remember.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I feel like that's a level of village. I don't know if we have anymore.

[Felicia Rashad]

Well, we can have it if we want it. And we can expand it. We can expand it to include our Hispanic family. We can expand it to include our Asian family. We can expand it to include our Caucasian family. We can expand it because we need all the people. That's a line from August Wilson's play Gem of the Ocean. Aunt Esther, who Anessa says, I'm going to show you what happens when all the people call on God in the one voice. God got beautiful splendors and God got room for everybody.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Were you, when you. When you decided not to return back to Howard, did you feel like you didn't return because your work was done there, or was it just like a personal decision because, like, business reasons? Like, I just felt like people like you was like, we need you on campuses every day. But I know it's. It's probably. It's a lot to do all at once, but, like, what was that like for you, that decision not to go back?

[Felicia Rashad]

Well, I will always be connected. I will always be connected to Howard University. As a matter of fact, next week, I will be in Washington, D.C. for the one night only reading of Chadwick A. Boseman's Deep Azure.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

He wrote that, right?

[Felicia Rashad]

He wrote that. So he was one of my students early. Early on. Wow. When Al Freeman Jr. Invited me to come and teach for a semester. So we were in the studio doing the show Monday through Thursday and Friday morning. I'd get up and fly down and I'd teach. And he was one of my students. Susan Kelechi Watson was one of the students. Camilla Forbes, one of the students. He was fearless. He was brave. South Carolina.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

South Carolina Anderson.

[Felicia Rashad]

And he was also very respectful. This is why I say, as a people, we are a respectful people. We are naturally. So anyway, he kept in contact with me. And after he had graduated one day I received this call. I'm sending you something, Ms. Rashad. He would always call me that. I'm sending you something, Ms. Rashad. Even after he had Attained fame and notoriety. He still called me Ms. Rashad, always. So I said, okay. And what he sent was a copy of this script that he had written. Hip Hop Theater. Hip Hop Theater was born on the campus of Howard University, and he was one of the progenitors. He was one of the innovators. It's. How can I say, Hip Hop? Language and rhythm through the voice and experience of a classically trained actor. It is, grandson.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Wow.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

That's, like, the essence of hbcu. Like, when you saying it, it's like. Okay, that's what it's like when you go to, like, the calf or, like, you and the parties or you. It's. It's literally like everybody is so, like, astute, but, like, you. It's a vibe. Like, you can't describe it. You got to just be there.

[Felicia Rashad]

And it's real. It's real. And people are taking their education seriously, Right? But now with this AI business, I don't know. Children try not to write their own papers and try to do this. What do they call it, this chat thing. Who. Excuse me for stammering, but it puts me at a loss for words like, darling, don't you understand why you're here? Now, if you wanted to do that, you could stay home. You should stay home because you're taking up room that somebody else could be occupying. Who really wants to do the work? Yeah, who really wants to develop? What about your intellect, baby? Do you have no care or thought for your intellectual, for expanding that? What about that? What about your worldview, darling, do you not care for that? Oh, okay, you're gonna give that to the chat, too. All right, well, let's see where you land. Let's see where you end up. So, purpose the play. Yes. One of the things that said in this play by the patriarch, he said he feels. He feels that he has lost a communion with God. He said ancestors were in such close communion with God and his creation, they knew how to do things and how to take care of things. He says, and I think that I have. I think that we all have loss that. He says, well, maybe it's old age, I don't know. But he says he's very interested in the things we used to do back home down in the country. Fishing and hunting and beekeeping and growing. You know, I was shocked, shocked to know that they are children who don't understand that French fries come from potatoes that are grown in the ground.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Those wasn't the children at Howard, was it?

[Felicia Rashad]

No.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Okay, great.

[Felicia Rashad]

But I'm shocked But I'm shocked to know. I'm shocked to know from two pediatricians in two different cities, Right. They have books, you know, in their waiting rooms for the young children. Young children come in and pick up a book and try to sit, scan it, because the parents aren't giving them books. They're giving them these little things, Tablets, these things. Yeah. It's like, so. So here we go, back to parenting. You'll leave that in the hands of somebody else.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's right. That's right.

[Felicia Rashad]

And think it's going to come out right? I don't think so.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

The dramatic pause. I don't know if this is a dramatic pause or you'd be stopping. That's why I'd be just like.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

And I don't never know when it's time to ask another question.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Speaking of dramatic pause, are you.

[Felicia Rashad]

You calling it a dramatic pause?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I'm trying to figure out. Sometimes it's dramatic, Paul, but then sometimes you really are done. So I'm just trying to figure it out.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

She's taking her time to speak.

[Felicia Rashad]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yes, we.

[Felicia Rashad]

In conversation.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

That's right. That's right.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's right.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

The. I had a question about the deep azure.

[Felicia Rashad]

Yeah.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

So the proceeds from the one night only are going back to the College of Fine Arts at Howard Bozeman.

[Felicia Rashad]

Yes.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Would like today if Chadwick could see kind of like, you know, how the final product has come along and everybody that's involved, what would his sentiments be like, how happy would he be to see all of this coming to fruition from that first phone call that you guys had about it?

[Felicia Rashad]

I'll tell you, his wife is very happy, and his producing partner, who was his best friend in college, they're very happy. And I'm very happy because it's happening, and it's happening with a great cast of actors. I don't know if you have that list.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

I can look it up.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I don't know if we have the list. You want to look it up, Laura?

[Katie Whelan]

Yeah, I got it.

[Felicia Rashad]

Oh, you should look that up. It's.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

It's Isaiah Johnson.

[Felicia Rashad]

Yes.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Amber Iman, who plays Azure. Greg Alvarez Reed plays Tone. Joshua Boone plays Roshad.

[Felicia Rashad]

Yeah.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Lauren Banks, the Street Knowledge.

[Felicia Rashad]

Good. Yeah.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

I'm gonna mess this one up. Adesola.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

She said what?

[Felicia Rashad]

What'd you say?

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Okay. I knew I was gonna mess that one up. I'm sorry. Adeshila is the street knowledge. Evil. Jess Washington is stage directions.

[Felicia Rashad]

These are all professionals.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Yes.

[Felicia Rashad]

And, God, we're so honored. We're so honored. And our Honorary Host Committee. I mean, you know who's on that?

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

I can look it up.

[Felicia Rashad]

Look it up and see. I mean, these are. People support supporting this.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

So the Honorary Host Committee. Ryan Coogler is the honorary chair.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Wow.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Common Susan Calichi Watson, Don Cheadle, Tanisi Coates, Ta Nehisi. I'm sorry? Ta Nehisi Coates, Camilla Forbes, Reginald Hudlin, Kenny Leon and Terrell Alvin McCraney.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's like the black event.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Yes. That's a whole nother universe right there.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

That's all to support his legacy.

[Felicia Rashad]

Yeah, to support his legacy. Chadwick was. He was really amazing. Chadwick was an actor? Yes. Chadwick was a writer. Chadwick was a director. Chadwick was a scholar. He studied many things. The etymology of words. Oh, he was deep into that, into names and the meanings of them. He studied the Bible, not to Bible thump, but to understand its origins really in its deeper meanings. And then he combined all of that with. You know, I hate to say it like this, but I'll say it like this with African cosmology. Why do I hate to say it like that? Because Africa is a huge continent, and it is not a monolithic proposition.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Right, Right.

[Felicia Rashad]

But there is a certain ethos that runs through all. He was brilliant.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Very.

[Felicia Rashad]

He was brilliant. There was nobody else to play Black Panther but Chadwick.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

See how big we got him on the. On the door?

[Felicia Rashad]

Oh, yeah. And you know what he really cared about? He called me one day, and this was after graduation. He was living in New York, and he was so excited. And he wanted me to know what he was doing and to come and see. And I was thinking, okay, now let's see. What premiere is this? What film is this? What play is this? It was none of that. He was working with young people in the Schomburg Library. Wow. And he was so excited about that. Wow.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Yes.

[Felicia Rashad]

That's who he was.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know, you came up in an era, Ms. Rashad, where dignity and grace were everything. So do you ever look at how wild Hollywood is now? And you just think to yourself, boy, y' all got it easy. Y' all wouldn't have got away with that in my day.

[Felicia Rashad]

Yeah. I don't even have to look at Hollywood. I could look at the way young ladies dress.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

I knew I shouldn't wore some other pants.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I'm not talking about.

[Felicia Rashad]

I'm talking elbow shoulder over here.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

I don't see. You want my coat?

[Felicia Rashad]

The young ladies are so beautiful. They're so beautiful. And something has happened in popular culture, you know, and I Don't mean to be critical. And I hope young ladies listening don't take this as personal criticism, because I don't mean it that way. But your young queens, beautiful and smart and brilliant and bright and it really. I know. I'm taken aback when I see, on a college campus, young women dressed in strips of clothing. I mean, male instructors don't like it. But more importantly than that. And you correct me if I'm wrong, sir. No man wants his woman to be out like that right now.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I grew up on Method man saying, wearing three fourths of cloth, never showing your stuff off.

[Felicia Rashad]

Boo. You know, it's like, there's today's designers. I mean, there's ways. You know, there are other things, and.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I just leave something to the imagination.

[Felicia Rashad]

Yeah, it would be nice.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Some things are for my eyes only, you know?

[Felicia Rashad]

Yep.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

And like you said, there are ways of being sexy without showing so much.

[Felicia Rashad]

Please. And that's really not sexy.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I mean, one of the most sexiest, most beautiful pictures is you. I forgot what year it was, but you got on, like, a basketball jersey and, like, some jeans. You eating some popcorn. That is. That's an iconic picture with the white jersey.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Yes, that was. Yeah, that is a beautiful picture.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's like. That is the epitome of sexy.

[Felicia Rashad]

Oh, wow. It's. It's. I think it has to do with. I think it has a lot to do with what they. What they see, what they're emulating what they see. See, we. We grew up in a time where, you know, the. The singers, these ladies were dressed down.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Darling.

[Felicia Rashad]

These women, they were wearing robes and gowns and do. Right.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yes, ma'.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Am.

[Felicia Rashad]

Well, it's a little different today. Yeah. So they're really just emulating what they say.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

That photo was from 1987.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

1987.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Madison Square Garden, was it?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Harlem Globe Charter Jersey.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

It was, yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know the picture I'm talking about?

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Yes. Right here, right?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yes.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Oh, yes.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Do you remember that name? Yes, I remember what you was doing.

[Felicia Rashad]

I was there with Malcolm Jamal Warner. Hey, congratulations.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

We wanted all of us to be here before you got here.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Yes. Congratulations.

[Felicia Rashad]

Oh, my.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know, try to give your icons they flowers and celebrate them while they still here.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Oh, absolutely.

[Felicia Rashad]

Thank you. Thank you. Whoa.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Got her balloons, got flowers.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

We'll never do.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Have no biopy.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Not camera.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So we are giving you. You've been so gracious with your time, so I just got a couple more questions. What's a lesson you learned way too late in life that you wish you figured out sooner and you Would teach to the next generation.

[Felicia Rashad]

Now, this is going to sound weird to you after everything I've told. The lesson that I learned later in life. Was that I'm enough as a young girl growing up, you know, and young girls go through this. You'll know. Yes. You go through a period where you feel like. Because. And it's because you're looking outside yourself. You compare yourself to everyone else you see, and you're not enough because you don't dress like that one, or you don't have hair like that one, or you don't have legs like that one. You can think of any number of things young girls go through. This kind of thing usually happens around adolescence, where you feel like you're not enough. Part of that had to do with my mother being so beautiful, my father being so handsome, my sister being so cute, my brother being so whatever. And I just thought, well, when I was born, the Lord was doing something else. She. You really serious?

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

I'm serious.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

What age was this that you felt like that?

[Felicia Rashad]

When I was. When I was young. When I was, oh, 10, 11, 12, you. And that's a subtle thing that you'll carry with you until you look inside yourself and you start looking inside yourself, and that thinking vanishes and goes away. Because it's only when we look inside ourselves that we see what beauty really is.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So when did you get to that place of worthy?

[Felicia Rashad]

When did I get to that place?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Felicia Rashad]

I think I was about 30. I want to say. I was about 34, 35 years old. Wow. And now I look back at those pictures of myself and I say, why do you feel like that? Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yes.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Yeah.

[Felicia Rashad]

The mind. Oh, yeah, the mind. That's why it's important to teach young people to look inside the mind, the state of mind. And there's too much going on right now that's so distracting for them. I don't know how young people feel if they listen to news reports today. They can't feel empowered because it's not meant to do that for us, for anybody.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

But it never has, though. I mean, they always say if it bleeds, it leads. Like they. Especially for black people. They never would telling us anything to make us feel uplifted and empowered.

[Felicia Rashad]

All of humanity is in the same boat, my friend. Nobody feels empowered by that. Not really. I was taught a very great thing. I heard a very great thing from a great being some years ago. Make yourself great by making others greater. And that's what I would teach a young person.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Make yourself great by making others greater.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Yes.

[Felicia Rashad]

Ma'. Am.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Well, thank you. Not just for the interview, but for your career of things.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Thank you. Just thank you for being you.

[Interviewer/Host (possibly Angela Yee)]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Like you. You know, it is not every day you get to meet people that you, you know, you. You grew up on and watched and, you know, said to yourself, man, that person right there is a pillar of our community and what we need to be as a people. And then you meet them, and you're just as gracious and regal in person. So just thank you. Thank you to your mother and your father for raising such a beautiful, strong woman.

[Felicia Rashad]

Thank you.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And I hope I can do the same for my daughters.

[Felicia Rashad]

I think you are. I think when they look at you, they know that they're loved and they're protected. That's all they need.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Absolutely. Absolutely. Make sure y' all go check out. Purpose is running through on Broadway through July 6th. It is. Queen Felicia. Rashad, thank you for joining us. Wake that ass up early in the morning. The Breakfast Club.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.