Fantasia Barrino and Danielle Brooks take us to church in a recent interview
“Without a test, you don't have a testimony,” Fantasia Barrino said when discussing the importance of keeping faith through struggle.
Many notable moments emerged from “The Color Purple” film’s press run. From discussions about inequality in Hollywood to heartwarming moments of true sisterhood amongst the cast, the interviews and conversations in these interviews have been memorable. Recently, Joy, a British entertainment reporter at Magic Radio, went viral after sharing clips of her conversation with the film’s stars, Fantasia Barrino and Danielle Brooks.
“Back in November, I interviewed Fantasia and Danielle Brooks for their roles in ‘The Color Purple,’” the journalist wrote at the beginning of the video. “My interview took an unexpected turn.”
The moment stemmed from a question surrounding the actresses’ faith when working on the film. Like the original story, God, faith, and sisterhood were core elements in the newest cinematic adaptation of “The Color Purple.” And when asking Brooks and Barrino how the presence of God has been with them throughout their journey and on set, Joy was candid about her own battle with faith.
“How has the presence of God been with you guys throughout this journey and feeling his presence on set,” she asked the stars. “I just want to tap into that cuz my faith is not where it needs to be […] because of pain.”
And like your most comforting auntie, Barrino responded: “Those are the moments where you have to trust God the most. These moments are necessary cuz sometimes we can get ahead of God or we try to be God in everybody’s lives and sometimes he says, ‘Okay, now you’re doing my job. Are you not trusting me?’”
“When God has promised you something, do not rush the fulfillment of that promise,” Brooks added. “And sometimes that’s what we do, we rush the fulfillment; we want it so bad, we know what God has promised us and told us in our hearts and we know it to be so, but you got to not rush it because how horrible would it be for you to receive that thing and you not be ready.”
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In her response, Barrino also encourages the journalist to listen to a sermon Bishop George Bloomer spoke over her life nearly 15 years ago in which Bloomer says, “You can always tell how blessed you’re going to be tomorrow by the hell you’re going through right now.”
“We have to go through certain things,” Barrino explained to the journalist, who was saddened by the concept of having to go through struggle.
“Because you wouldn’t know how to appreciate it [if you didn’t,]” Brooks followed. “Do you know how many no’s we’ve heard in our life? There’s so many testimonies we could share with you.”
After teasing that there are so many she could write about, Brooks got emotional reflecting on how difficult 2023 was for her career.
“If you only knew some of the s–t I went through at the top of this year as an actor where I, for the first time in my career, wanted to quit,” Brooks said, tearing up. “I never felt that way [before], but I had to go through that to get to this moment so I can be more appreciative so that I could know my worth.”
Emphasizing that there is a reason for your pain, the now Oscar-nominated actress used Barrino’s career as an example.
“There’s a reason [Fantasia] went through everything that she went through because now her testimony is serving millions of people,” she added.
In addition to their own testimonies, Barrino leaned on biblical references to further prove their point. Citing the story of Abraham, the book of Job, and more, the star reminded the interviewer and viewers that “without a test, you don’t have a testimony.”
With thousands of views on TikTok and YouTube, the message is a reminder, no matter your religious belief, to stay the course, as Brooks said.
“One foot in front of the other, one foot in front of the other,” Brooks said. “And soon, before you know it, life will turn around for your good.”
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