A few short months ago on these very pages, we stated that come award season, the work put in by Regina King for her work in “If Beale Street Could Talk” would warrant strong consideration to hear the words “and the winner is…” at any and every award ceremony that honors the craft of acting.
One down in the winning category as she was awarded the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress. The win itself was enough to garner pride, but her use of the platform afforded to the winner is the character that implements and effects change. During her acceptance speech, King stated, “I’m going to use my platform right now to say in the next two years, everything that I produce, I’m making a vow, and it’s going to be tough, to make sure that everything I produce that is 50 percent women. And I challenge anyone out there who is in a position of power —not just in our industry, in all industries—I challenge you to challenge yourselves and stand with us in solidarity and do the same.” Class personified!
Unfortunately, as it pertains to the entertainment world, that would not be the topic of water foundation discussion after the weekend. Television, radio, blogs and social media were lit ablaze with one singular focus. In fact, another speech attributed to Regina King, this time under the guise of a character (Huey in the show the “Boondocks”) proved to be both profound and prophetic.
Coming in the episode “The Trial of R. Kelly,” King as Huey affirmed, “Hey! What the hell is wrong with you people? Every famous nigga that get arrested is not Nelson Mandela. Yes, the government conspires to put a lot of young innocent Black men in jail on fallacious charges, but R. Kelly is not one of those men! We all know the nigga could sing! But what happened to standards? What happened to bare minimums? You a fan of R. Kelly? You wanna help R. Kelly? Then get some counseling for R. Kelly! Introduce him to some older women! Hide his camcorder! But don’t pretend like the man is a hero! And stop the damn dancing. Act like you got some goddamn sense, people!”
For the most part, that was the stance held by most viewers who were glued to the Lifetime network for the six-part docuseries “Surviving R. Kelly.” Honestly, the production value and extensive research while stellar pales to the emotion elicited for the three nights it aired and beyond.
As a viewer, my personal attention span was on those that were complicit to his two- decade run as a predator hiding in plain sight. Parents, public servants, industry executives, fellow entertainers, all grown folk, held him down, wait, hold him down, because the saga continues.
Do people realize that after the series aired, we know more names of “alleged abuse victims” than artists he molded into stardom? Boo and Gotti? Talent? Vegas Cats? Those names ring any bells? They were all associated to his record label. Yes, he has a litany of hits, but with artists who were already established. So even that logic was a fail! Is the prospect of fame and the promise of wealth really worth it? What are we doing? At some point in the show, it was uttered that he needs help. Nah, we need help.
Over and out. Holla next week. Til then, enjoy the nightlife.
