*On the Wednesday, November 15 edition of “Tamron Hall,” Academy Award-winning actress Ariana DeBose joined the Tam Fam to talk about her role in Disney’s new animated film, “Wish.”
DeBose also chatted with Tamron about her rise to fame starting from “So You Think You Can Dance” to landing her role as Anita in “West Side Story” after 10 years on the Broadway circuit.
Later, in a Daytime exclusive interview with co-founder and lead emcee for “The Roots” Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, opened up about accidentally burning down his family’s home at six years old and how that experience shaped his life. Trotter also recounted his parent’s tragic murders and discussed how his “village” helped fill in the missing pieces.
Also on today’s show, founder of Drybar and New York Times bestselling author Alli Webb discussed her new memoir and the life lessons she learned from becoming an entrepreneur, selling her business and working through a divorce and a shopping addiction.
Webb also detailed her son Grant’s struggle with substance abuse and mental health and why the mother-son duo decided it would be important to share the experience in her memoir.
Ariana DeBose on her journey to fame starting from “So You Think You Can Dance”:
“I think I got to the whole concept of upcycling through my ‘So You Think’ experience if that makes sense because I had to choose to not let that experience define me. No matter what was said about me or my talent on that show, just because that’s one person’s opinion, does not make it true. You define who you are. I knew that then. And when I came to New York and started auditioning, it took me a minute, like I was not like an overnight success… I worked on Broadway for 10 years, I was in the ensemble of shows, I played feature parts. Eventually I worked my way up to playing a leading lady but then ‘West Side’ happened. I was playing Donna Summer in ‘Donna Summer: The Musical’ on Broadway and that’s when ‘West Side Story’ found me. But there was 10 years of work and humbling myself and trying again and failing before ‘West Side’ happened. And I’m really grateful because at that point I was in my late 20s and I was finally ready to be able to balance everything that was about to happen to me.”
Ariana DeBose on the big song from her new Disney movie, “Wish”:
“I believe in the lyrics. Julia Michaels, who wrote this beautiful music, is one of the most talented songwriters of her generation and she literally wrote, I think, the pinnacle of ‘I wish’ songs. And the lyric is ‘so I make this wish to have something more for us than this’ and that’s kind of a definition of my life. Like, I think it’s okay to have ambition. I think it’s okay to want to pursue more than what you have if you’re willing to do the work to put good energy out there. And the song is a huge song. I’m a nervous vocalist. I really am. Every time I have to get out there and sing I want to vomit. But, I do it anyway because we do scary things every day and it doesn’t negate my love for singing.”
Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter on the experience of accidentally burning down his family’s home at six years old:
“You know, I think I had to grow up fast. So, you know, there’s a level of – almost a rush to maturity, you know. I felt just a tremendous amount of guilt, even though I wasn’t reprimanded, I didn’t get in trouble. I still felt that it was my responsibility, right, this thing that I’d done, even if by accident, you know, had caused this seismic shift and there was a change that was something that I could never undo…I feel like so much of the person I’ve become, the man that I am, was forged in that fire.”
Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter opens up about the tragic murders of both of his parents:
“I think, I mean, they’re no longer with us, but they’re still with us, you know…Both of my parents were murdered. You know, my father when I was young, and before I turned two. So, I was about, you know, like one and a half, like one and some change, and my father was murdered, and he was only 26 years old at the time. And then my mother, you know, she was also murdered when I was in 11th grade. So I think I was about 15, maybe about to turn 16. And she was, you know, 36, 37. Tamron steps in to add, “Both of them babies. Babies! And your grandma became your soul.” Trotter continues, “Absolutely. You know, for me, just leaning into the rest of my family and leaning into the guidance and support of my grandmother and, you know, other people from that extended sort of village that I had.”
Alli Webb’s on why she and her son decided to share details about his addiction and mental health struggles in her memoir “The Messy Truth”:
“You know, I talked to him a lot about telling this story and you know, I felt so much shame around all of this. Like I was this big success and then I have this kid who’s going through rehab and really struggling in his life and how that must look to the world. And even beyond that, just the fact that like, what did I do wrong as a mom that this happened to my kid, which is why I’ve come around to what I said before that we can only do so much and they are who they are and they are on their own journey. And the reason we both decided to be public about this was because every time I talk about this, inevitably, someone, if not several people, will come up to me and say ‘You know what? My kid is going through this too and I don’t know what to do,’ or my friend’s kid or my sister’s kid or whatever. And it’s that we have so much shame around this but like these kids are growing up in this impossibly hard world. You know, of course this stuff is gonna happen and sometimes they get lost. And I think that Grant and I both felt like let’s tell this story and destigmatize this stuff because it just happens and it’s life and it’s messy.”
As noted on-screen during the interview, “If you or someone you love is struggling with substance abuse, please call the SAMHSA National Helpline at 800.662.4357.”
Highlights for Tamron Hall for the remainder of the week. Please note: the lineup is subject to change.
5049: Thursday, Nov. 16: More Blessed, Less Stressed: GRAMMY® Award-winner, singer/songwriter ERICA CAMPBELL joins the Tam Fam to talk about her hit third solo album, “I Love You,” and will perform her new single, “Do You Believe in Love?” Then, actress ZAWE ASHTON stops by to talk about “The Marvels.” And Tamron meets 10-year-old CONNOR DATRI and his grandmother and shares how he lost his locket with his mother’s ashes, they are joined by LOU ASCI, a stranger they met whose unrelenting search recovered Connor’s beloved locket.
5050: Friday, Nov. 17: Made With Love: Patti Labelle, Ruben Studdard: The Godmother of Soul PATTI LABELLE is here! Patti gives the Tam Fam the latest on her tour, plus she gets in the kitchen to share one of her favorite recipes! Then, multiple award-winning, platinum artist and American Idol winner RUBEN STUDDARD and his wife, KRISTIN MOORE-STUDDARD, are here. And Ruben is ready to wow audiences with his new album, “The Way I Remember It,” and will perform his latest hit, “Masterpiece.”
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