Like many black women, Grammy Award-winning rapper Megan Thee Stallion, real name Megan Pete, wears a mask. A shield, a protective armor she developed as a young person to guard her from unexpected pain and difficulties that arose in her personal life. But what happens when the armor is pierced by something that affects each Houston resident Megan Pete and superstar Megan Thee Stallion? Prime Video’s Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words, directed by Nneka Onuorah, explores the star’s rise to fame and the way her vulnerability became her biggest superpower.

“I see Megan as a feminist icon,” Onuorah told theGrio. “She represents the dichotomy and multi-faceted nature of black women all rolled into one. “And showing us that we don’t have to just show our strong side, but showing vulnerability can help us get through anything, accept our emotions and feelings, which also makes us strong.”

However, the “Savage” rapper wasn’t initially thrilled with the idea of ​​revealing the young woman behind her confident, unflappable public persona. When they began filming the documentary in 2022, the star was reportedly reluctant to open up and let people see the trauma hiding beneath the surface of her “Megan Thee Stallion” brand.

Although the film depicts Pete’s grief over losing her father soon as a baby and her mother early in her profession, in addition to her experiences with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicidal thoughts, Onuorah realized that the two bonded over their conversation about boiled potato chips in a jalapeno cauldron.

“There’s a scene in the movie where Meg is, you know, talking about jalapeno chips and she’s really stressed out,” the award-winning director recalled of the moment, which took place in Las Vegas ahead of the Billboard Awards. “Me and her interacting in that scene and (it was) the first time in my life I’ve ever seen Meg without her hair and makeup team, her glam team. She just at all times worked and had people in her face. So I said this can be a probability for me to return (to the hotel) along with her and just be me and her alone.

“She just got a jalapeno chip spiral and we talked… we laughed and I think we opened up for the first time. She opened up to me emotionally and I just let the camera do its thing,” she continued.

In addition to chronicling Pete’s rise to fame, the documentary provides insight into how Megan Thee Stallion handled public criticism following her altercation with rapper Tory Lanez. In 2020, Lanez, born Daystar Shemuel Shua Peterson, shot the “Body” singer in the foot, which ultimately led to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filing semi-automatic assault charges against Peterson.

Despite being the victim in the case, Pete needed to cope with social media trolls who questioned the validity of her claims. From popular industry commentators like Joe Budden to local delivery drivers on TikTok, the documentary highlights the enormous backlash the star has faced online over the Peterson trial.

“Sometimes you need understanding, especially in a world with social media and so much chaos and opposition, she just needed someone to be there for her and rock with her,” Onuarah explained. “We had a real bond. I think I offered myself to her as a safe space and let her know that (I was there) to support her and protect her and help amplify her voice. … Sometimes we laughed at the pain. These intimate moments brought us closer together.”

Ultimately, the film should remind us of the star’s humanity. As “Megan Thee Stallion,” she represents many things to many individuals – an advocate for mental health, feminism, body positivity, daring self-confidence, and more. However, Onuorah explains that the young woman behind the fame is not any different from her fans who watch her online.

“Like Megan Pete, I wish (people) would understand that this girl is under 30 and is just a regular person who has to do the same things as us…without her parents. There (were) times when we were shooting during the holidays and she (didn’t) have family to spend it with. All this is happening and she’s just an ordinary person going through it… It’s something that people should empathize with,” the director told Grio. “She’s still a young girl trying to figure it out and people can figure it out.”

Ultimately, Onuorah believes that everybody, especially Black women, can learn something from the duality exposed in the film.

“I think because Megan Pete and Megan Thee Stallion were going through something at the same time, she couldn’t rely on Megan Thee Stallion, her mask. “She really had to convince Megan Pete to step up and get empowered… now she’s truly empowered,” she added. “I feel like a lot of women need to hear this and see that our strength doesn’t just come from how tough we are or how much we avoid certain things. But how much we accept pain and sadness and how transformative it can be for us, so that we can rise from the ashes and head towards Phoenix.”

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It’s been a few weeks since Denzel Washington fans saw the actor running away from paparazzi in New York City. The shocking incident was captured on video and bears little resemblance to his demeanor in one other interview through which Washington appeared exasperated.

The same moment through which the seemingly hot-tempered artist was interviewed in 2010 resurfaced and caused more shock.

A fan reposted an ungainly interview through which Washington sits across from a reporter and asks him about the upcoming film “Unstoppable,” to which he responds tersely.

“How did it feel to climb on a moving train?” she asked, to which he replied, “Eh, you know… you get used to it.”

He then says, “You have had some amazing co-workers who stand out. When you look back at some of the most amazing talents, who do you think stands out?” and Washington replies, “I do not look back. What for?

The interviewer continued speaking, maintaining a skilled calm. “So what do you do – is there someone you want to work on, something you still want to achieve?” she asked. “You know I want to have a good day today,” he said. “I want to achieve it and I strive for it every day.”

She then asked Washington if winning two Oscars was the highlight of his profession. He replied, “We’re back in the past again.” Giggling, she said, “because I want to show all these wonderful things.”

At this point, while talking to herself, Washington was the primary to interrupt her, saying, “You have a specific plan. Okay, just tell me what you want and maybe I can help you with it. Yes, I won two Oscars.”

He softens a bit when he starts talking about the talent that Angelina Jolie and Dakota Fanning have. However, Washington later points out that the interviewer desires to proceed dwelling on his previous works, which seems to annoy him.

She asks him about Alonzo Harris and dealing with him on “Training Day,” the film that won Washington his second Academy Award.

“Training day!? Yes, yes, it was good,” he said, then smiled sarcastically and added: “You keep going back to the past. Have you cracked your case?

Before hanging up, the interviewer shakes his hand to rise up and leave, and he replies, “Now you’ve gotten to send me this clip. I need to see what you connected. It’s pressure.

Fans were shocked by Washington’s behavior within the video, with some saying he was a bit rough. One person said: “There is not any must treat someone this fashion. It doesn’t matter how big you might be…”

Someone else wrote: “He has a nasty streak. No wonder he can play such characters with surprising intensity.”

Some fans offered other perspectives. One said: “The interviewer desired to do a profession retrospective, probably because she really admired his body of labor. Denzel was there to hype up his movie, it was business and I feel that is why he was frustrated. Talking about Training Day won’t make you go see a movie about his runaway train.

Another wrote: “Actors and their studios comply with a majority of these interviews to advertise a newly or recently released movie. Don’t let the interviewer, talk show host or anyone else sit and reflect on the actors’ past work.”

The interviewer Leila McKinnonhe detailed what happened during the awkward interview during the press release. She was flown into the town for an eight-minute interview she thought would almost never occur.

“I’m sitting in a hotel corridor with dozens of reporters from all over the world. And wait for hours,” she said within the article Australian outlet, baby.

She continued: “Crowds of young publicists are flying up and down, barely concealing their panic. “He came,” I hear considered one of them whisper, “But he doesn’t want to leave the room.” An hour later, as one other runs past, I hear a breathless, “I want more tea.”

As she waited patiently, Washington finally appeared: “Huge, graceful, gorgeous, and full of attitude (and probably tea).”

The same awkward interaction occurred between Washington and a group of photographers from the Museum of Modern Art in New York. While posing for photos, someone in the gang shouts, “Show us some love.”

The “Fences” actor walks as much as the guy and says, “Yo, yo, yo… put it down. You’re talking to a man now, he said. “I heard you. You talk about “showing love” and this and that. How about… respect me?

One of the paparazzi guests continued: “We always do this.” Washington replied with an annoyed look on his face, “I said I’d see you when I get out. What part of this don’t you understand?”

He added: “Or not. We can do it one other way. I can do that in additional ways than one, y’all. Can you’re feeling me?

Jordan’s Chiles will likely always remember the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. While Chiles’ profession reached latest heights this summer, the gymnast suffered a “significant blow” when Romania’s team challenged her bronze medal, arguing that it must have been awarded to her competitor, Ana Barbosu.

Forced to return her medal, the Team USA gymnast is still working to maneuver forward after a heartbreaking title change. In a recent interview with CNNChiles explained how this example taught her the importance of “standing your ground.”

“Things can be really difficult in your life and they can be taken away from you and you’re going to have to deal with that and understand that you have to fight for what you’re fighting for,” she told the publication. “And I’ve learned the same thing over the last three or four months that I’ve been leaving Paris.”

As theGrio previously reported, Chiles and her lawyers filed an appeal in September regarding the reallocation of the bronze medal. At the 2024 Olympics, the gymnast won a bronze medal after her coach Cecile Landi made an on-floor appeal. However, shortly thereafter, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned her coach’s initial appeal, saying it was received 4 seconds after the one-minute cut-off date for submitting scoring queries.

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“CAS violated Chiles’ fundamental ‘right to be heard’ by refusing to consider video evidence showing that her inquiry was timely submitted – which is in direct contradiction to the findings in the CAS decision,” her lawyers said in a press release. in response to People magazine.

“We are not going to give up that easily and we will continue to look for video footage and other things,” her coach added on the time of the ruling.

Describing the choice as “unfair”, Chiles explained how the CAS ruling affected not only her but “everyone who supported (her) journey”. The situation left the Team USA star the victim of “unsolicited racial attacks on social media,” which, while hurtful, wasn’t the worst of it.

“The biggest thing that was taken away from me was the popularity of who I used to be. Not only my sport, but additionally who I’m. For me, all the things that happened was not in regards to the medal, but in regards to the color of my skin,” she said during her speech at this yr’s Forbes Power Women’s Summit. “I made history and I’ll at all times make history by doing something I rightly did. I followed the foundations, my coach followed the foundations.

Chiles says that with the support of her community and friends like Simone Biles, she has learned to just accept each step of her journey.