Chatting with Oprah and Viola Davis

Last week I was in shock as I opened an email to find an exclusive invite about sitting in on a chat with Oprah Winfrey and Viola Davis as they talked about Viola’s movie Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which can be seen streaming on Netflix. I was honored to be invited to this event and I sat down to watch the phrase to be a fly on a wall came to mind. Listening in on this chat between two very well-respected African American Women in Hollywood was amazing. They dropped so many wise words of wisdom during the course of their hour-long chat. So keep reading to see what chatting with Oprah and Viola Davis is like.

The one thing that struck me from the very beginning is that Viola Davis said she suffered from Imposter Syndrome. Wow I thought if she suffered from this and is an amazing actress that there is hope for those of us who suffer from it as well. 

She said that she had to do a lot of research about Ma Rainey because there weren’t a lot of articles written about her- so she took what she learned and filled in the blanks with what she learned from the strong women like her Aunt Joyce. She relies on what she knew about life to fill in the blanks about the rest of Ma’s life. 

Viola continued on to see that there was such a boldness about Ma. She was a very liberated woman and from the first time, we see her on-screen she is fighting for her worth. Whether that is by her wearing a fur around her neck, demanding a coca-cola, making people wait for her, or wanting things done her way. 

She said playing Ma was one of the best experiences of her life- from the makeup, hair, direction, costume, and of course the actors. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom was the last film that Chadwick Boseman appeared in before his death from cancer. She talked at length about what a great man Chadwick was and how he wasn’t a one-dimensional image you see onscreen but a genuine human being who was grateful for the opportunity to do what he loved. 

I think the thing that hit me the hardest is at near the end of the interview Viola said she still feels invisible when she walks into a room. And she still feels that she has to fight to be accepted. Wow right!! Someone as accomplished as her still feels that she has had to fight for acceptance, what must that say about the rest of us. I loved Viola before this interview but I love her even more now. 

She said the legacy of playing Ma Rainey left her knowing her worth and that Ma helped her harness her power. Now Viola has the feeling she deserves to be in the room because she has worked for it. I don’t think I could love her anymore and then she dropped two words that made it so “SOCIAL ANXIETY”. Wow, Knowing I am not alone in this world and that someone, as accomplished as Viola Davis, suffers from this while makes me see that light at the end of the tunnel. 

I can’t wait for a few minutes to go back and watch Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom again to see all the things Viola was talking about.  This was such a great way to spend a Saturday night. 

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