INTERVIEW: Mary J Blige Talks Diversity in Hollywood, Black Stuntwomen And Her Gold Bond Team Up
Gold Bond’s latest #ChampionYourSkin Campaign is picking up right where it left off from Black History Month as we enter Women’s History Month. The initiative features singer-songwriter and actress Mary J. Blige who continues to honor those who put their skin to the test and break down barriers for themselves and others. Blige has made it her mission to specifically spotlight and give back to those who rarely get the recognition they deserve — Black stuntwomen.
Doing some of her own stunts as Cha-Cha in the series Umbrella Academy and Monet in Power Book II: Ghost, Blige says she enjoys doing the work.
“I get to shoot all my own guns [in Power Book II: Ghost] because I know how to do that. I get to do all my own fights and my own tussles and scuffles,” she tells BET.com. “But when I was doing Umbrella Academy and I had to do a lot of martial arts, there was a stunt woman. Although I learned a lot of martial arts and I did a lot of it, there was a stuntwoman to help me."
In an industry largely dominated by men, Blige is laser-focused on putting Black stunt women at the forefront and advocating for them on and off the screen.
“What was important to me about stunt women is as actresses we need them to take the fall, to get burnt up in the fire, to break a leg, to break a rib, which we don't want,” Blige tells BET.com. “But the actresses can't. I have to go back to work the next day, So that's why they are extremely important because they're an extension of our work.”
According to a press release obtained by BET, Gold Bond is also giving back by partnering with Diamond in the Raw, an organization founded by stuntwoman La Faye Baker. The contribution will help support Baker’s Skin Champions Stunt Workshop program, which is geared towards helping more young girls and women of color pursue their dreams of entering the stunt industry.
The program is set to launch in June 2021, and applications for the program are now being accepted.
