*We caught up with Emmy Award-winning journalist Jemele Hill to dish on her recently released book titled “UPHILL: A Memoir.”
Hill is the co-founder of Lodge Freeway Media, a contributing writer for The Atlantic, and host of the Jemele Hill is Unbothered podcast on Spotify. She gets candid in her new memoir about the whole story of her work, the women of her family, and her complicated relationship with God, per a news release. The memior is described as “unapologetically provocative” and “character-rich.”
There are also stories surrounding her time at ESPN and SportsCenter and her public Twitter battle with former president Donald Trump. Additionally, Hill details growing up with parents who struggled with drug addiction, her own life-threatening experiences, and having an abortion while in her twenties.
We spoke with Hill exclusively about what motivated her to release a memoir, having tough conversations with family about the book, and her journey as an on-air talent. She also shared her insight on dating as a Black woman in the media industry.
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When you can put on a Ric Flair robe to reveal the cover of your memoir, of course that’s what you do. MEMOIR DROPS OCTOBER 25th. We did it @HenryHolt!
Pre-order:https://t.co/fq5E0Pveqt pic.twitter.com/QqpPmUhqTz
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) June 1, 2022
In 2019 Hill decided to write her memoir book but she had to be convinced to do so by her agent. The deciding factor was the money. She said her agent told her he knew she wanted to write fiction and scripted, among other things, but this was her best entry point.
Hill recognized that sharing her life would also mean sharing the details of others’ lives close to her. She said there were some difficult conversations with her mother and husband, Ian Wallace. Hill said her mother is a huge component of the book. Interviewing her mother for it involved asking her some “very deep and traumatic questions.” For example, she reveals that her mother was molested and raped.
Hill also discussed her experience becoming an on-camera analyst. With television being a visual medium, you have to copy a specific TV look. Hill explained what it’s like when you don’t fit the mold.
“It was an uncomfortable transition because my tomboy roots ran deep,” she told EUR’s Jill Munroe.
“The truth that I had to accept about the business of television is that, yes, the focus should be on what you say, what you know, and what you can tell people, but it is a visual medium, and there is a certain TV look that you’re expected to have. And if I wanted to be successful in that arena, I had to copy that look,” Hill continued. “And that’s why I hired an image consultant. Just as I was making more of a hardcore turn into television. And, you know, I got highlights in my hair for the first time and started learning about accessories. I started wearing pink and all the things that were a little foreign to me. But if you want to experience true growth, you have to be somewhat uncomfortable,” she added.
“And it was an interesting learning exercise for me, just from the standpoint of being able to stretch myself. And I know it sounds probably crazy to a lot of women listening; I know they don’t consider makeup to be stretching yourself. But I never really wore it and then suddenly put in a position where I was getting my face made up every day. So it was quite interesting,” Hill added.
Hill said she learned how harsh the business could be on women, especially Black women because the TV look usually does not include us.
“In some ways, it was a little deflating because I’m not going to be blonde, and I’m not going to be white. There was a certain mold I was physically never going to fit. And if my success in TV depended on me fitting that mold, I was in trouble. And, you know, for a while, especially as I tried to find my footing, I wondered if getting a show was ever really going to happen for me because I did not fit the mold,” she explained.
“I was also just from a content standpoint, not a traditional anchor. I was somebody who was used to driving conversations and shows with my opinion. I wasn’t the woman who was teeing up dudes to see what they thought about things. I didn’t fit the box in any particular way. And it was, to me, very eye-opening to see how we were scrutinized. Women go through that sort of thing when you’re on television. People are nitpicking your hair, your makeup, everything. They’re nitpicking everything except what’s coming out of your mouth,” she added.
We also discussed Hill’s relationship with her husband, Ian Wallace. The two met in 2014 and married in 2020. Hill asked her husband to read an advanced copy of the book. The journalist said she didn’t want him to be surprised by anything she overlooked or didn’t go into much detail about in “Uphill.”
She said the choice to reveal her husband to the public and on social media was one that was made gradually.
“When my husband and I first started dating, I purposely did not tag him in things. It took me a while to put him on my Instagram. And the reason was that when you choose to date somebody with a public profile, you also accept all the things that come along with it. And that means the praise and the negativity as well. So he didn’t sign up to be a public figure. At that time, his Instagram profile was locked. So knowing that I figured he chose that privacy option for a reason. As we got more serious, I started to attach him to things because I had to show him that if this is what you decide to get involved with, know what you’re getting into,” Hill shared.
Hill said the surprising thing that has come out of this is middle-aged women who have not yet married and often tell her that she gives them hope.
“I think there’s this societal pressure that women face overall, but black women, especially, that if we’re not married by a certain age, something’s wrong with us, or we’re not as desirable after we get a certain age,” Hill said. “And I wanted to show that love is still possible and deserved, no matter your age. I never thought we could positively influence people who were either already married, in a relationship, or looking for something like that, so they would know that it does happen. Love happening later in life is just as gratifying as if it happened earlier.”
Hill said, “one thing I’m happy about having written this book is that it forced me to go back and appreciate and acknowledge how far I’ve come both personally and professionally because I don’t get an opportunity to do that in my day-to-day life.”
Check out my full conversation with Jemele below.
“Uphill” is available everywhere books are sold.
*Jill Munroe is a Los Angeles-bred entertainment journalist, producer, and host. You can follow her on all social media @StilettoJill or check out JillMunroe.com.
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