TheYBF.com got the chance to chop it up with a vet in the game! Monica Calhoun stars in a new UMC movie – Everything But A Man – which follows a black, successful women looking for love. Find out what she told us about women having it all, plus her reaction to Terry Crews’ #BlackLivesBetter comment and the possible Player’s Club sequel inside…
We all were crying real tears when her character Mia died in The Best Man Holiday after her battle with cancer. Before that, she served up an epic role in The Player’s Club as an amateur stripper named Ebony.
Now, she’s flexing her talents on UMC, starring in roles that resonate with black women. In her latest role, Monica plays a successful lawyer named Vanessa Price, who is looking for love. But, her dream man must meet all of her standards even if they're superficial.
In the film, Vanessa was all about her coins…and nothing else mattered. Nothing. She was the epitome of the “strong, black independent” woman who didn’t need a man for anything. However, she def was looking for companionship, but she couldn’t get past her own superficial beliefs about what a “good man” is.
We will say, her character in the film played the “independent black woman” role to the extreme. However, by the end of the film, she learned a valuable lesson about what true love is and what it’s not. Can a black woman have the bomb career, the husband, the kids and the “white picket fence?”
“Is it possible to have it all? Of course it is,” Monica told TheYBF.com about successful women finding love. “Whoever that woman is, it’s based on her environment, her choices, her career path, her community that’s supporting her, her family system that’s supporting her (or not supporting her). It’s based on your support system. It is possible for anyone to have [it all].”
With the pressures of society, many women feel like they have to live up to a certain standard created by other people.
”I think Vanessa Price built a lot of her life on the perception of what others perceived and wanting to live up to a certain criteria or standard,” she explained. “I think that’s something that we all do, but in Everything But A Man, it was to the extreme.”
A few weeks ago, “America’s Got Talent” host Terry Crews made controversial comments about the Black Lives Matter movement. On Twitter, he tweeted about unity, but then threw in a comment that had folks dragging him for filth.
"We must ensure #blacklivesmatter doesn’t morph into #blacklivesbetter,” he tweeted.
Actress Holly Robinson Peete responded to Terry’s tweet, explaining the movement has nothing to do with black people trying to be better than anyone, but wanting to be seen as equal. She empathized with the Elijah McClain case (an unarmed black man killed by police) because she has a son (with autism) who could have easily been in Elijah’s shoes.
”Another sleepless night thinking about #ElijahMcClain and I woke up worrying about how to prevent my sweet special son from meeting a similar fate and you woke up worried about *checks tweet again*... #blacklivesBETTER ?? We are aiming for equal!,” Holly tweeted.
Monica opened up about her fears of being in a similar situation and having to deal with the police if they were to ever separate her from her son, who is visually impaired and has autism.
”Yes, I do have a child that’s visually impaired and also has autism. That’s my co-pilot,” she told TheYBF.com. “He’s 20-years-old and free from all of the limitations that have been placed upon [him]. We are enjoying life with no limitations,” she shared.
”But, my new fear is that he is 20 year-old. If somebody feels some kind of way – [If] I’m not dressed in my finest clothes and I don’t have on makeup and I’m looking like I just rolled out bed - they question me because of the color of my skin. Or wonder why I’m doing something and then I’m stopped by the police. [If] the police officer won’t take my word for anything and they separate my son and I – that’s something that’s complicated.”
The 48-year-old actress said she thinks Terry was simply trying to keep the conversation going when he shared his thoughts about #BlackLivesBetter.
”I think that was somebody’s attempt at keeping the conversation going about equal justice and fair treatment for everyone. Making sure that we are all looking out for each other. Trying to keep people held accountable to protect and serve and not disrupt and destroy,” she said.
A few months ago, LisaRaye chopped it up on The YBF Podcast about ThePlayer’s Club possibly getting a sequel. If the film was to get the sequel treatment, what would her character, Ebony, be like?
”Wooooow! That’s a writer’s question [laughs],” she said. “She would no longer be called Ebony. We would change her name to disassociate herself from that part of her life. I think possibly she may have gone into the field of – I think she would have made a complete left turn. I don’t think she would have been in the streets at all. I think she would probably do something along the lines of social services. Trying to help people who were in her situation out of her situation. I think she would be a good agent of social services.”
We could see that!
If you haven’t already, check out Monica Calhoun in Everything But A Man currently streaming on UMC! Take advantage of the free trial to get into it!