'The First Lady': Black Twitter Reacts To Viola Davis’ Portrayal Of Michelle Obama
Academy Award winner Viola Davis has been trending this morning for her portrayal of Michelle Obama in the new Showtime series The First Lady.
The series which debuted on Apr. 17, tells the personal and political lives of Eleanor Roosevelt (Gillian Anderson), Betty Ford (Michelle Pfeiffer), and Obama, found Twitter users keying in on certain facial expressions that Davis adopted in her portrayal.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Davis admitted that she was nervous about the task of playing the lawyer, writer, and wife of the 44th president in the 10-episode series.
“There’s a lot of fear that I messed up my portrayal of Michelle Obama. She’s an icon. Everyone knows what she looks like and what she sounds like so I am absolutely terrified. But I’m mostly terrified about what she will think. I don’t want to insult her and have her call me. I gotta make the sister look good,” Davis said at the series’ premiere screening on April 14.
To prepare for the role, Davis studied Obama’s speech patterns by listening to her podcasts “over a hundred times,” and watching numerous videos to nail her mannerisms. She also consulted with Obama before filming and read her memoir, Becoming for more insight.
Davis refused to spill any details about their conversation, but that didn’t stop the social media critics from weighing in on her performance. And while most were trying to poke fun, there were many on Twitter who came to the award-winning performer’s defense, even praising her performance.
You can check out those reactions below.
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