Mudbound actress Mary J. Blige was invited to The Hollywood Reporter‘s Actress Roundtable, to discuss the culture of abuse in Hollywood. Sitting alongside fellow actresses Jessica Chastain, Allison Janney and Saoirse Ronan, they discuss the recent allegations and the power dynamics behind the scenes.
Blige talks about the experiences within both the music and the film industries and revealed her survival methods.
“Well, in the [music] industry, I never had that problem. I was always kind of a tomboy and one of the guys. I feel sad for the women, but I’m happy that they’re free because they had to hold on to a secret for years. And I believe that things will change because this is making other women say, “Me too,” “Me too,” “Me too” — it keeps happening every day because people are tired of sitting around with that secret that holds them, prisoner. Women have been going through this since they were children. As a child, I went through it all the way up until adulthood. When I got in the music business, I never had it because I went through so much of it in childhood.”
Jessica Chastain then asks “But you said you were a tomboy. Do you think you made that decision to shield yourself from it?”
To which Blige responded, “I did. Because I’ve been through so much as a child and a teenager, I just wore baggier jeans and Timberlands and hats turned backward. It took me a very long time to even wear makeup and tight clothes because I had been through so much. And those secrets I still have to deal with. So hopefully these women are free, because it hurts.”
Watch the clip below.
You can read the full interview in the Nov. 15th issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine or by clicking here.
