Jennifer Holliday GOIN OFF On Wendy Williams- Page 2

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 7:45pm

Going off?

Hardly.

And you folks are making mountians out of mole hills.

[Raviolisun]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 7:50pm

I guess she was perfect for Effie then. :]

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 9:55pm

Ok, I am listening to it now . . . and she sounds like a stuck up biatch. I understand she is heart broken that she was not asked to do the film and yada, yada, yada. But, that was a great moment in her life but it is in her past. She keeps comparing herself to Jennifer Hudson and pretty much saying "I had to sacrifice because I was younger and fatter and whatnot . . . Jennifer is just getting handed to her" [paraphrasing of course]. She needs to move on and do something else. If she is suffering because she can't sing that song anymore . . . THEN GET A FREAKIN' JOB!!!!!

[All_For_Laura]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 10:06pm

"THEN GET A FREAKIN' JOB!!!!! "

It isn't that easy. She can't just magically get a job. She wants to be a part of the theatrical arts, but as you can see it's very hard. Listen to her interview. She is not living the easiest life by any means.

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 10:15pm

Neither are any of us blokes trying to make a career in performing and working survival jobs to get by. You do what you gotta do. She's luckier than most. She had a break. She gave a legendary performance in a legendary role and won a Tony for it. Most would kill for that kind of opportunity. Unfortunately, fame is often fleeting and she needs to accept that she is most likely going to spend the rest of her life behind the counter of Starbucks and stop crying.

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 10:30pm

Did anyone else get the feeling that Wendy Williams was making fun of her at times (and I don't mean when the conversation turned to Holliday's lack of sex life)?

[chino]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 10:46pm

She's making a big deal out of it. Listening to this interview makes me feel bad, I respect Jennifer Holiday so much, hearing her saying these things is a nightmare.

She has to learn how to deal with these things. She's in the business.

This is just sad. just sad.

Wishing you the best though Ms. Holiday

[ICEcreamAssassin]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 10:53pm

okay i finished the listening to it finally.. WOW.. couple of things...
1. she totally released a spoiler of the movie!! Thats messed up
2. I'm sure everyone noticed the MOO sounds in the background.. how sad.. whatever
3. She wonders why she was uninvited to the Premiere? helloo talking trash on Extra and Wendy Willams won't get you in honey!
4. PASS THE TORCH AND MOVE ON!!!!!!! You are soo incredibly talented but have some humility. Let J hud have her moment in the sun !!

I still love Jho..and as a fan this makes me sad... I hope things get better for her.

[alterego]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 11:28pm

What could she have done in the movie? She's way too old to play Effie. She wouldn't have been happy with a walk on and she's not really a big enough name to be worthy of some especially written new material. Away from this board most moviegoers probably have no interest in her. I think she maybe needs a reality check.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 11:28pm

There's plenty of roles she can play, and plenty that she can play because of her race. Color Purple, Hairspray, etc. Get a better agent!

[touchmeinthemorning]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 11:32pm

Overall, I dont think she's insane. She is sort of wacky when she gets flustered by someone saying "pass the torch". We all know that didn't mean she's gone and forgotten, it just means someone else is in the light.

I'm all about her getting some sort of credit. And, Jennifer Hudson has been very good about saying how much she thinks Jennifer Holliday is a superstar, so if I were Holliday, I wouldn't stress too bad about it. She'll turn out okay.

[alterego]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 11:33pm

Exactly!

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 12/5/06 at 12:10am

I couldn't really give a squat about Jennifer Hudson, but all this mishegas on Holliday's part is demonstrating CLEARLY why people might not want her around when they're casting parts on stage or even cameos in a movie. Jennifer, honey, it might be YOU.

[Marquise]

Posted: 12/5/06 at 5:23am

Jennifer Holliday lacks CLASS. She acts likes she's the only actress on the face of the earth who didn't get to originate her original stage role in a motion picture adaptation. Did Janis Paige go on record bashing Doris Day for replacing her in THE PAJAMA GAME? Did Julie Andrews rip Audrey Hepburn to shreds for getting the role she originated in the film version of MY FAIR LADY? Did Carol Lawrence do the same to Natalie Wood in regards to WEST SIDE STORY or did Chita Rivera criticize Rita Moreno and Janet Leigh for winning roles in the film versions of WEST SIDE and BYE BYE BIRDIE which she garnered acclaim for on stage? NO! And you know why? Because they had........CLASS!

It's no wonder Holliday is persona non grata at the film's premiere. She put her foot in her big fat mouth and in the process got the door shut on her BIG FAT BEHIND!

[Auggie27]

Posted: 12/5/06 at 8:19am

I agree with the poster who noted the roles she might play -- Motormouth in HAIRSPRAY is logical. Surely her name was on the shortlist for one company or not, and no doubt her rep didn't serve her. She was pretty legendary for her diva behavior when DREAMGIRLS took to the road and first stopped in LA. And she used to complain about having to keep doing the show. I smell some karma.

But what's interesting to me is the bigger, underlying psychological truth: Jennifer is saying what most people no doubt feel when they have to leave roles behind, pass the torch, etc. She's just foolish in speaking such feelings publically.

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 12/5/06 at 9:16am

Has she tried giving someone like Rob Marshall a call about possibly collaborating on a new musical? What about getting in touch with Rosie and trying to see if she could be a guest or a guest host on The View? The things she's saying right now are hurting her more than helping her. I hope she gets it together.

Updated On: 12/5/06 at 09:16 AM

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 12/5/06 at 10:11am

Ms. Holliday did help create Effie, partly by being a diva. Her performance was wonderful, but it was "And I'm Telling..." that propelled her into legendary status, not the role as a whole. Several actresses played the part better. She is not a great actress. What happened w/ Dreamgirls was a star was born and everyone remembers her winning the Tony.

She did have a slight recording career, winning two Grammys (one for "And I'm..." beating Diana Ross, Aretha, Donna Summer, Denise Williams and Patrice Rushen, the other for "Come Sunday" for best inspirational performance.)

Her recording career didnt live up to the promise of "And I'm..." though her vocals were strong, she didnt keep up with the trends of R&B or her vocals were too strong, which is a shame as some were very good, and I recommend downloading them.

Anyone who saw her on Ally McBeal could tell she isnt a great actress. They had her sing, of course, and it was great...of course.

It is a shame she is so bitter, and I agree that having her in the film would've been more of a distraction.
Nothing is guaranteed in this business, and you'd have thought she'd figured that out by now.

Going on Wendy Williams' show and ranting was obviously a BIG blunder, clearly she has no proper representation. Renewed interest in what she is doing would have been natural, and if she had given the film her blessing it may have opened a whole lot of opportunities.

This makes me sad...but not surprised. Her difficult nature made more sense when she was a kid and getting alot of attention...now it's just pathetic.

[OasisBroadway]

Posted: 12/5/06 at 10:27am

Wow, just wow! She has lost it. That whole thing about "Can't we both sing the song" is just embarassing to listen to. I have never seen a more desperate attempt to cling to something from so long ago.

[cubanpab]

Posted: 12/5/06 at 12:47pm

why do i keep envisioning Baby Jane Hudson in my head as I listen to this interview?

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 12/5/06 at 1:05pm

Thanks for posting the links to the interview, Ghetto.

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 12/5/06 at 1:23pm

Listening to that made me realize how much I hate radio. The stupid sound effects are so trashy and annoying and detracting.

Akiva

[uncageg]

Posted: 12/5/06 at 3:21pm

doodlenyc, you hit the nail on the head. Had she given the film "her blessing", it could have opened up a few doors for her. My thought is that after the movie came out, people might want to hear her perform the song again and she might pop up in places to sing it. Giving her some exposure again. I thought that they might have given her a cameo, but if she is difficult to work with, I can see why they didn't. Such ashame. And it kills me that I had tickets in advance to see the show on Broadway and it was announced while I was waiting to see it that she was leaving. I saw the show the day after her final performance. I was not a happy camper!

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 12/5/06 at 3:29pm

uncageg, you're not the only one that happened to...I came up from philly and got standing room after it opened. The audience was a flutter when I got there, and I opened my playbill and the white slip fell out saying that Sheila Ellis would be playing Effie.
The groans in the audience and then the walkouts...so sad! I asked the usher if she was out alot and she said "all the time!" Florence Henderson was in the audience, however, which almost made up for it :)

I stood 8 times for that run, and another several times for the revival. I did get to see Jen eventually.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 12/5/06 at 3:47pm

"None of the roles end up the way WE created them to."

We? Really? We?

I'm just wondering who wrote the show here, Jenn, darling.

[kevs]

Posted: 12/5/06 at 3:50pm

"Wow, just wow! She has lost it. That whole thing about "Can't we both sing the song" is just embarassing to listen to. I have never seen a more desperate attempt to cling to something from so long ago."

Yeah, I didn't understand her whole "Can't we both sing the song?" argument. Was she proposing that they both sing the song in the movie? And I also didn't understand, "I'm not going to be cancelled out," "I'm not passing no torch!", etc. No one is telling her she can't still sing the song. No one is out to sabatoge her career. She was all indignant saying, "I still need to work." She seems to think the release of the movie is going to hurt her career, that now people will think AITYING is JHud's song instead of hers.