By: Sherifat Mohammed
Loved To Death, is a part of TV One’s month long chilling slate of Love, Lies and Murder series airing every Sunday in July. This particular film is inspired by the network’s true crime programming. The film is a cautionary tale of love gone wrong. It stars: Malinda Williams (Soul Food and Girlfriends’ Getaway), Tobias Truvillion (Empire), McKinley Freeman (Hit The Floor), Chrystee Pharris (Media), and MC Lyte (Girls Trip). The cast should get you hyped up about seeing this film, because you know that the actors and actresses will bring their A game—more importantly this film is a film that tells the sad tale that many women (and some men) know all to well—domestic violence. Domestic violence is a topic that many don’t like to discuss. I got the opportunity to interview the leading lady in this film— the beautiful Malinda Williams. We discussed the film, what to expect from her in the future and much more. Make sure you check out Loved To Death on TV One on Sunday, July 21stat 8 pm ET/ 7 CT. Also make sure you check out my interview with Malinda Williams.
SM: So, you are starring in a new movie called Love To Death. Could you tell me a little about the movie without giving any spoilers?
MW: Well, I’ll tell you this Sherifat… While, I don’t want to create any spoilers—personally, I don’t think this movie is necessarily the type of movie where you’re like oh, wait for the plot twist—cause that’s not really the type of film that it is. I really think [the emphasis of]the film is what we can learn from the film. It’s really about domestic violence. It’s a part of TV One’s true crime series. It is based on the story of a woman who found herself in an abusive relationship for many many years—for 12 to 15 years in the relationship. She finally finds the courage to get out. When she meets her current fiancé—who shows her how to be loved, shows her that she is a queen, treats her like a queen and he helps to restore her confidence. The problem is that she was in this relationship for so long with this abuser—then he stalks the two of them and does some not so very nice things. I won’t give away all the details but I think the story will get people to understand that there are sort of nuanced behaviors that come along with abuse that we don’t readily recognize as abuse. People will ask themselves the question—have I ever been in or could I find myself in that position. Because what we now understand is that one in three women will experience domestic abuse in her lifetime. And I think that’s the number that gets reported. The unreported number tells me that the statistic is probably higher.
SM: Thank you so much for telling me that. Could you talk to me about your character and how did you prepare for your role?
MW: My character Monica, she’s just a woman—like must women—who wants to be loved, wants to be happy, wants to live a good life. [But] she’s in a relationship with a man where she always finds herself trying to appease, trying to please [him]and because he’s an abuser there is no way to please him. She can’t get anything right. She can’t do anything right in his eyes. She is constantly questioning herself because at this point she’s been abused for so long she has low self-esteem. She doesn’t have much confidence left until she meets this man (who is played by Tobias Truvillion). He is encouraging her. He’s showing her that she is worthy of being loved in a way that elevates her and makes her feel good and makes her feel proud and starts to restore her self-esteem. So, that’s who she is. I drew from some research that I did on domestic violence and intimate partner abuse and from stories that I had heard from close family and girlfriends of mine. Like I said one in three women— a lot of people that I know. Myself included. I’ve been victimized as well. So, I drew from my own experience as well as the experience of other women. I didn’t have to necessarily round up a group pf women and ask them to tell me their story. We all know their story. We all know somebody who have been touched directly or indirectly by domestic violence. If you look at my facebook feed or my Instagram feed there’s a whole conversation going on about people who have been affected and again it’s something we don’t readily talk about. I mean we don’t ask each other about it and when one of us attempts to tell the story of it—it’s like oh you never had a black eye or no one every broke your arm—so it couldn’t be that bad. Some of the worst abuse is mental and psychological abuse. That’s the kind that’s really difficult to shake. You know bruises heal. Scars heal—the scars that we don’t see takes years to heal.
SM: That is so true. You have worked on some great projects. To piggyback on my pervious question—have you ever played this type of character before?
MW: No. Not in this way. I played some characters that have had some awful things happen to them. Even my character in Soul Foodhad some horrible things happen to her over the course of five seasons, but nothing to this degree. Nothing to where I had to tap into a dark place that I understand in this way. It was pretty difficult and hard on set. And also understanding that were a lot of people around me who had also experienced domestic violence and or who knew someone who experienced domestic violence. When I say that, I mean people who worked on this project—some of the actors, some of the crew, and some of the glam squad even. So, it was a pretty heavy atmosphere at times on set. People felt like the project was bigger than us. It wasn’t just for our reel or adding work to our resume—you know. It really was about helping to define what abuse looks like, so someone experiencing it could recognize it and get the help they need.
SM: What drew you to this project?
MW: I think the project find me more than I found it because it’s not the type of project I seek out per say because I don’t typically like going to the dark place with my work. That kinda work comes home with you because you’re not just acting. You’re drawing from your own truth, and when you know, as with anything, if you’re talking about it or in therapy—you are digging up old wounds and old trauma. So, I don’t run out to go digging up my old trauma, but I also felt that there was a responsibility. I always feel some sort of responsibility to first women who look like me—black women, women who can relate to stories that are unique to us. But I knew that this was more than just black women, and more than just women. It’s about women and men and anyone who found themselves the victim of any type of domestic violence or intimate partner abuse. I thought— you have a story that you can draw from and you are an actress and so those things qualify you to be able to lend authenticity to be able to help the telling of the story. So, that’s really why when it came to me—at first I was a little resistant. I said no you can’t resist this—it felt a little uncomfortable to play the role—to do the part. It will be helpful to someone. So, that was my call that said, yeah you need to do this.
SM: Unfortunately, like you said many people have experienced domestic abuse/violence or knows someone who has. What do you hope that viewers take away from this film?
MW: Well, there’s a few things that I hope that people take away from it. Earlier I was talking to my co-stars Tobais Truvillion and McKinley Freeman, and they had some really wonderful things to say about men. About how sometimes men don’t realize that sometimes they may not know when their being a little more aggressive and how they need to talk to one another and hold each other accountable—and check in with your girlfriend or your homeboys and see if everything is ok. Because you never know what’s going on with someone and how that could be manifesting itself in their relationship, home, or even in their workplace—right—because abuse takes places everywhere. So, they had some good things to say. I feel like there’s going to be an awakening for not just women—but also for men—in that maybe they need to check their own behavior. And just men. Abuser just don’t come in a male’s body. [They] come in all shapes and sizes. So, I think if anyone is seeing, like what I spoke about earlier, the more nuanced behaviors—I hope that it causes them to check themselves and to then check in with anyone who they think may be being abused.
SM: TV One is always putting out great content. How was it like working with the cast, the crew and TV One on this project?
MW: TV One is doing a really great job. They’ve been so supportive of this film—and all the projects that I’ve done with them. I did Girlfriends Getawaywith TV One. They’ve been very support and I appreciate them putting out meaningful and purposeful content. There’s entertainment. We all understand entertainment. There’s a ton of entertainment out there. We can choose to watch anything we want. But when you have a project that could potentially change someone’s life—that’s very commendable. These are the type of projects that I like to work on and those are the types of places—outlets, networks—whatever it is—I like to align myself with because they ultimately effect change—however big or small, their doing it. And that’s what I’m really loving about TV One’s content right now.
SM: Finally, what are some other projects you are working on? What can we expect to see from you in the future?
MW: I have a lifestyle venture, I started recently—we launched in January with my husband. It’s called This is Leaving—it’s a play on the phrase this is living. So, you can find content in thisisleaving.com. It’s a travel and lifestyle brand. We have a bunch of extensions. We have a retail arm that I’m launching next week—in fact. It’s about fashion and style, but global fashion and style. People will get to see and purchase pieces that are influenced by world travel.
