Nia Long opened up about her childhood experiences with bullying during a heartfelt interview with NostalgiaCulture.
Sharing both laughter and tears, Long detailed a formative encounter with a childhood neighbor, Carrie, that ultimately shaped her resilience.
“I used to get teased a lot as a young girl,” Long recalled, dabbing tears from her eyes. “There was this one little girl who would chase me home and bully me every day. Her name was Carrie. I hope she’s watching.”
Long’s mother, who joined her for the interview, candidly admitted to the unconventional advice she gave her daughter during that time:
“I told her, ‘You can’t come home every day crying over this girl. You better beat her ass.’ That was not the right thing to say as a mother, but I was just telling the truth.”
She added a sweet incentive to the lesson: a pack of plain M&Ms if Long stood up for herself.
Long described the turning point with Carrie, who had been a friend before their dynamic shifted:
“One minute we were cool, and the next, she was trying to beat me up. One day, she tried to push me off my bike and take it. I said, ‘No, this is my bike.’ We got into a fight, and it was my first fight—I whooped her ass!”
Her mother vividly recalled the aftermath:
“She came running in, all sweaty, and said, ‘Mommy, I beat Carrie’s ass!’ I said, ‘Good for you,’ and then we went and had some M&Ms.”
The anecdote ended on a sweet note, with Long sharing her enduring love for the candy, revealing, “to this day, plain M&Ms are my favorite.”
The story showcases Long’s early encounters with adversity and the strong mother-daughter bond that has shaped her life.
Nia Long is a celebrated American actress known for her contributions to Black cinema and television.
Rising to fame with Boyz n the Hood, Long became a household name as Beullah “Lisa” Wilkes on the hit NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
