music, and cheer, intertwined with a nod to pop culture and a distinctly African American flavor, to the small screen. The success of the show—tucked in the viewership numbers—makes clear that I was onto something. Executive producing is all right by me.
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None of this would have been possible if, on the set of Benjamin Button, I’d held on to that initial bitterness. As always, God was right, and so was my daddy: all I had to do was be patient, shut out the noise, and stay focused, and joy would come in the morning.
12
My Squad
Draped in a fierce black custom Alexander Wang gown on the Microsoft Theater stage, with all eyes on me, my Empire costar Terrence Howard, and that glossy white envelope trembling in my hands, nothing else mattered but the raised bold letters that would announce the 2015 Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series. The winner’s name sent me into a tailspin; my gasp, buoyed by pure adrenaline and unadulterated excitement for my girl, was as audible as my heartbeat was fast. In that very moment, swallowing my excitement and doing the prim and proper thing was not an option. I needed to scream her name: Regina King.
Regina is my heart; we have not only matured and excelled in this industry together, but our friendship runs deep, deeper than simply passing one another on the red carpet or powwowing on movie sets. Ours is a bond made between two busy single mothers who depended on one another for the thing that matters to us most: the care and keeping of our babies. When Marcell and Ian were school age and Regina and I were juggling parenting with the hectic schedules that came with our burgeoning careers, we banded together to provide for one another some of the inherent support that comes with two-parent households: a helping hand with the logistics of having to be in two places at one time, an understanding ear on which to bounce tricky parenting predicaments, commiseration on the challenges of school, thoughtful discussions on what it means to be a mother raising boys. Fortunately, our sons attended the same school, so we came to count on each other for help when the other was working—taking turns picking up the boys, getting them dinner, shuttling them to after-school activities and such. If Regina was busy, she would still look out for me and mine, arranging for her sister, Raina, and her best friend, Patty, to watch our boys, and for that and for them I am forever grateful. Knowing Marcell was in good hands gave me the peace of mind I needed to take care of business. Though our boys are now men, Regina and I remain inextricably linked, so much so we share just about everything, even the same housekeeper, Daisse! So when I called her name for that Emmy award, and she strutted her pretty self onto that stage and we got lost in our screaming and jumping and joyful exaltations, my happiness for her was coming from the realest place. I was, am, and always will be so proud of her.
Unbeknownst to me, the embrace Regina and I shared onstage would go on to become one of the most discussed and dissected moments of the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards—that, and the moment I stood and applauded, hugged, and kissed Viola when she became the first black woman to win best actress in a drama, the category in which I’d also been nominated. I woke up the next morning in a plush hotel room, slightly hungover from celebrating both the evening and the huge, historic night for us black actresses, and it seemed the entire media world—newspapers, websites, gossip columns, blogs, and social media—was lit with stories that made me out to be the personification of “squad goals,” the cultural catchphrase of 2015 everyone was using to describe the power and magic of friendship. I have to admit, though, I found the collective reaction to my actions odd. After all, isn’t this what you do when your friend is winning? Squeal and cheer, hug and fist-bump, giggle and yell, “Yaaaaassss!” as she takes her place in the spotlight and shines in its glow? Where I come from, showing up and out for your girl is a basic tenant of true friendship.
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I learned from the best. When I was a kid, I would get downright giddy when I would catch wind that my mother’s sisters