EP. S2E33 — Black Girl Luxury w/ Garcelle Beauvais

Ashley Ray Welcome to TV, I Say w/ Ashley Ray. It’s me, your host, Ashley Ray. This is your favorite podcast with hot TV takes, hot TV opinions, and all the behind-the-scenes access for all your favorite TV shows. This episode–I am so excited. It’s Women’s History Month. I wanted to talk to people who I just think are absolutely amazing. Inspirational Black women. Our main guest today is Garcelle Beauvais, who you know from The Jamie Foxx Show, Coming to America, and a lot of amazing projects that are coming out this year we’re going to talk about, including a wonderful Lifetime movie. But you probably also know her from Real Housewives. And if you’re a TV club fan, then you know Real Housewives is my biggest media blind spot. I’m willing to accept that. I admit it freely. I am not caught up on it. 90 Day Fiancé is where I’m a scholar. So, I had to bring in someone who knows Real Housewives. And so, I brought in my wonderful friend, Camille Corbett, who is a comedian, TV writer, and just amazing, hilarious person.

Camille Corbett Hey, thank you. I’m going to be a Real Housewife one day. I can feel it inside of my body that one day I will throw a drink on a white woman and say that she is poor on national television.

Ashley Ray And I hope I get to be, like, just a friend in the background who’s like, “Oh, wow. Drama over there.” You know, like, I’m just invited to the party. I’m just kind of one of the people who holds a drink.

Camille Corbett You signed the release.

Ashley Ray Yeah, I signed the release. I don’t want my face blurred, but, like, you know, I don’t even need lines.

Camille Corbett I could see you in Real Housewives of Potomac. Have you seen that one?

Ashley Ray Oh, yes. I’ve seen that one.

Camille Corbett They want each other to die in that one.

Ashley Ray Yeah, Potomac. I’ve seen some of Salt Lake, New York, Atlanta.

Camille Corbett That one’s such a hot mess. I know in reality TV, you’re supposed to be a hot mess. But that one is so off the rails it’s hard for me to watch.

Ashley Ray I started watching because people were like, “Yeah, this Mary lady is in a cult,” and then I was in. So, I’ve watched at least that much, but as people probably know, I have not watched Beverly Hills. So, I know Garcelle from all this TV stuff. And then I was like, “Oh, and she’s a housewife. That’s cool.”

Camille Corbett Yeah, Beverly Hills was pretty boring. For a while it was sort of interesting with Lisa Vanderpump and, like, Brandi Glanville because we were like, “Are they in a throuple? Is this happening?” It seemed really flirtatious. But after a while I got sort of bored by it. I was like, “Will they, won’t they? I’m over it.” And so, I sort of fell off. But when Garcelle started on, I had to watch because I was like, “Black Girl? In Beverly Hills?”

Ashley Ray I didn’t know they got people that famous on the show. So now that’s on my watch list.

Camille Corbett They had Lisa Rinna, Denise Richards.

Ashley Ray Is Lisa Rinna famous?

Camille Corbett Her daughter is now because of the show.

Ashley Ray Denise Richards–I was kind of…

Camille Corbett A sex symbol.

Ashley Ray Yeah, but…

Camille Corbett Wasn’t she in Undercover brother? She was, like, the White Temptress?

Ashley Ray Yeah. Yeah, the White Temptress in Undercover Brother. Like, I wouldn’t say she has, like, a current career.

Camille Corbett No. She recently started her OnlyFans after her daughter got, like, flack for it. You know, I support it. I feel like she should have been doing something like that as a sex symbol ages ago.  Like, imagine if Anna Nicole Smith–all those, like, old sex symbols–had only fans when they were at the hottest.

Ashley Ray They’d make millions.

Camille Corbett So they’d be billionaires.

Ashley Ray Billionaires. Yeah. I also wanted you to come here to talk about your watch list. You, like me, have some amazing TV opinions. I feel like so often the two of us are aligned on shows and what we’re watching. What’s been on your list?

Camille Corbett Okay. Recently I watched Perfect Match.

Ashley Ray Please explain this show to me. I know it is a Netflix dating show, so it already isn’t going to make a lot of sense.

Camille Corbett Yeah, no, I love it because they got all the people that, like, made money–a quick bag off one show. And it’s like, “Are you kind of broke? Do you need more money?” And they all got them on the Perfect Match. It was like, “I know you need more exposure. I know you need it.” And so basically, it’s all the veterans from all of their reality shows, but mostly dating shows. There’s also people from The Mole, which I don’t think has anything to do with dating.

Ashley Ray No, that’s, like, a lying show.

Camille Corbett Yeah. And, like, Twentysomethings, too. So, they have all these different people from the Netflix-verse of reality TV. And they have them come into the house, and they have to couple up. And basically, every day they have two new people from different sex come into the house. And the most matched up couple–they have some weird competition–get to choose who the two people are. And they can couple them up with people already in–

Ashley Ray This already feels like… My eyes started crossing. This sounds like math class. I’m out.

Camille Corbett It’s so good. It’s so good.

Ashley Ray I love that you’re just like, “And then every day matchiest match match.”

Camille Corbett Yeah, they just try and get, like, the couples to break up by whoever new enters the house matching them up with the strongest couple or who they deemed the weakest couple. Yeah, it’s very interesting. And it’s cool to see, like, these people that you’re like, “Oh, you were terrible in this show.” And be like, “Oh, you’re going to really like this person because you already know the backstory of them.” It’s like, “Oh, Bartise–we already know he likes, like, the white, blonde girls.

Ashley Ray I don’t want to see Bartise on television anymore

Camille Corbett No, but they treat him the same way. It’s cool to see, like, women also be repelled by him before Love is Blind had come out because that was filmed before Love is Blind came out. So, I feel like he basically did Love is Blind, got stood up at the altar, and then they immediately just, like, flew him out to Perfect Match. That’s the vibe it gave. And so, the women basically act like he’s disgusting, too. I mean, it’s kind of amazing.

Ashley Ray I guess I could kind of get into that.

Camille Corbett You would love it.

Ashley Ray Okay, I’m going to try it.

Camille Corbett If you are a Francesca Farago lover… I love her. I think she’s unhinged online.

Ashley Ray Yeah, sure.

Camille Corbett You’ll like it because she’s in it a lot. And she’s definitely the villain of the show so far.

Ashley Ray I love a good villain.

Camille Corbett And she’s bisexual. It’s cool. She got matched up with a girl and left a dude–Damien from Love is Blind–on it.

Ashley Ray See, it just feels like it’s all the worst people.

Camille Corbett It is the worst people. It was a show meant for the sociopaths of all the Netflix reality shows–all come together to find love.

Ashley Ray It’s their punishment is what it sounds like.

Camille Corbett Yeah, it’s definitely their punishment. But I respect it because they’re all vets in the game. They all have a vet perspective.

Ashley Ray They know how to do TV and create the drama. I’m going to check it out now. On my watch list, I’m going to talk about Below Deck a little bit. =

Camille Corbett I need to watch that.

Ashley Ray You should. But it’s my favorite Bravo reality show.

Camille Corbett What? It’s messy then.

Ashley Ray It’s real messy. And it’s real people. This is people who are like, “I work on a boat. I’m going to cheat on my wife back home and sleep with this stewardess.”

Camille Corbett I’m crying.

Ashley Ray It’s such a fun show. And as people may know, friend of the podcast, Sandy Yawn–Captain Sandy Yawn–was stepping in on Below Deck. She’s usually on Below Deck Mediterranean. She had to step in because Captain Lee got sick. He had a horrible, debilitating injury–he had to go. And it looked like Captain Sandy was going to finish the season out. But then in this latest episode, who shows up? Captain Lee. He’s like, “I’m back to take my ship.” And Sandy’s like, “Thank goodness because this crew is the worst.” Which I agree. They’re so boring. Captain Lee comes back. He has, like, a cane. He has all this stuff. It’s so clear he still has the same problem, where he was like, “I can’t really walk around. I can’t leave the captain’s nest.”

Camille Corbett It’s giving Succession–

Ashley Ray Yeah. So, it’s a little like, “Okay.” But they only have one charter left, I think, so… But you could have just let Captain Sandy finish off the season, but I know that I’m rare in loving Captain Sandy, so yeah. What else on your watch list?

Camille Corbett Okay, I remember the show that I watched that was really good. Riches on Amazon. So basically, it’s, like, a Black British show. It’s basically like Succession, but over a magazine. And it’s just so well-made. I have never seen, like, a Black show that is set in England have such great production value.

Ashley Ray Yeah.

Camille Corbett It was outstanding. And then, like, obviously, the story is amazing. But, you know, in England it’s kind of different–Blackness. Like, a lot of people can, like, search their roots back directly. Like, I’m Jamaican. And in America, that’s kind of, like, weird. Everyone’s African American, and no one really knows where they came from. But, like, in England, most people know exactly where they came from. They’re like, “I’m Nigerian,” “I’m Jamaican,” “I’m whatever,” you know? And so, it was cool seeing all these different types of Black people knowing where they come from and, like, come together and share that and, like, be posh. It was just a really great show–really high stakes.

Ashley Ray I feel like Prime Video–they have a deal with, I think, the BBC that allows them to show certain shows to American audiences. I know the one they just did with Stephen Merchant… I can’t believe I forgot the name of the show.

Camille Corbett The Outlaws.

Ashley Ray The Outlaws, yes. They have this BBC deal. The Outlaws was shown in England and then was shown over here. And it also deals with, like, a lot of diversity and has a great Black cast. So, I’m excited with what they’re doing over there at Prime. Did you watch Harlem? The new season?

Camille Corbett Harlem is amazing. That show… Man. There are so many shows that tried to be the diverse Sex and the City. Harlem won, y’all.

Ashley Ray Harlem won.

Camille Corbett Harlem won–hands down.

Ashley Ray If we’re crowning a winner, I will give it to Harlem. I think this latest season, they found a new comedic tone that felt more defined–more strange and out there and fun. I’m excited to see, like, what the twist is. The only thing I need is more episodes. I feel like it just got going. And then the finale was last week, and it was–what–eight episodes this season? I need more.

Camille Corbett Yeah, I was curious about that. Why did they have less episodes than before? They better not be canceling it. They should double up on the episodes. You can cancel anything that Tracy Oliver has made. You would be fucking stupid.

Ashley Ray Yeah, I feel like it just got more and more fans this season. The first season–I felt like it was trying too hard to have a message and be like, “We’re going to talk about this.” And this season–I felt like it was making fun of that. And I loved how much it made fun of Camille.

Camille Corbett Yeah, I love that the main character has the same name as me. I’m not going to lie. That, like, drew me in. That’s the selling point.

Ashley Ray She is the most annoying.

Camille Corbett For every sex comedy show like that that has an ensemble cast, I feel like the main character is always the most annoying. Girls is the same way.

Ashley Ray Sex and the City is the same.

Camille Corbett Yes. It’s like, “Damn, Carrie, you’re such an asshole.”

Ashley Ray So annoying.

Camille Corbett And I think that she, like, really, you know, captured the Carrie-ness of, like, being an asshole. I do think that the love interests are not equally yoked. Obviously, you’re going to choose your old flame.

Ashley Ray He’s hotter. Yeah.

Camille Corbett Yeah, outstandingly hotter.

Ashley Ray The casting for this show–kudos to this casting agent because every man on that show is fine.

Camille Corbett Yes, you did a good job there. The Jamaican American representation–it’s, like, the first time I’ve ever– I loved it. But I don’t know if the actress actually is Caribbean, but her accent was authentic enough for me to believe it. I was into it, and I loved that, like, Rick Fox and Jasmine Guy were her parents. I was like, “What? This is a step up from Empire.” Being on Empire–it’s hard to top that show, especially being Lucious Lyon’s, like, side piece. Like, how do you top that roll? And she topped it on Harlem.

Ashley Ray She topped it on Harlem. And she just is killing it. I love how they explored mental health and depression with that character. So, you know, I’m going to give Harlem–the whole season–the Watch of the Week. That’s a thing I just made up, but I’m labeling it right now. Watch of the Week.

Camille Corbett Watch of the Century.

Ashley Ray Yeah. And I’m afraid it’ll get canceled.

Camille Corbett It better not get canceled.

Ashley Ray I want 12 episodes next season. It could have a 20-episode order, and…

Camille Corbett I want 20 episodes or, like, 18. Like, I think it would be great to have more and to have, like, them play around more. I just think that people don’t give Black shows enough of a chance, especially Black female shows. And I feel like, you know, I’m a Black woman, and even I feel like I didn’t give it a first chance when it first came out. Like, I wasn’t really into it until I saw a clip of it. And then I was like, “I have to watch this. This is absurd.” It gave me almost, like, South Side vibes.

Ashley Ray Yeah. Which R.I.P.–just got canceled.

Camille Corbett It has to find a home. South Side has to find a home.

Ashley Ray I really hope it gets picked up.

Camille Corbett Adult Swim should take that show.

Ashley Ray Well, I mean, Adult Swim is still owned by Warner Brothers, so they’re experiencing the same cuts and had to cancel a lot of stuff too.

Camille Corbett But I feel like it would have fit perfectly with Adult Swim though. It would pair perfectly with Rick and Morty, you know?

Ashley Ray Yeah. South Side, again, put it on your watch list if you haven’t watched. I think that’s pretty much all I really watched; I think that’s a good list. You know we had some stuff on your homework last week that’ll be coming up. We’re going to talk to the amazing Garcelle Beauvais after this and get into all of it–Jamie Foxx, Real Housewives. We’ll be right back. Camille, I have you here today because we have a very, very special guest, who we are both big fans of and, I think, have just our own attachments to: the amazing, amazing Garcelle Beauvais. Hello.

Garcelle Beauvais Hi, guys. Thanks for having me.

Ashley Ray I am so excited to have you here. You know, TV, I Say is about TV history. To me, that is you. The Jamie Foxx Show–just everything you have done. You are one of those first Black women I saw on TV who just defined everything for me. So, I wanted you here for that. I was telling all my friends, “I can’t wait to talk to her about this. I can’t wait to talk to her about Coming to America.” And my friends are like, “Ashley, she is the Housewife.” And I’m just like, “I’ve only watched the old seasons, and I’m catching up. I had no idea that Housewives had it like that.”

Garcelle Beauvais Oh, they have it like that. We have it like that. It’s crazy. It’s crazy fun, you know?

Ashley Ray Yeah. So, I had to bring Camille in because she knows. She knows what’s up.

Camille Corbett Yes. I love Real Housewives. Definitely, one day I’m going to be one.

Garcelle Beauvais Okay. We need some more diversity in Beverly Hills, so come on over.

Camille Corbett Dude, I was so happy when you joined because I was getting tired of all these old, white women. Like, I was so happy.

Garcelle Beauvais Stop it right now.

Ashley Ray And that’s when I figured you’re the first Black housewife. And I was like, “I should have just started at your season.”

Garcelle Beauvais Well, no, no. It’s good to start before, and then you can catch up.

Ashley Ray And Kelly Bensimon went to my high school, so I started with her as well.

Camille Corbett What? That’s crazy.

Ashley Ray There’s portraits of her, like, everywhere. She goes back sometimes.

Garcelle Beauvais No way.

Ashley Ray But I am also excited to have you here because you have this wonderful Lifetime movie coming out called Black Girl Missing, which is now out. You can go stream it. And it’s so important. It is about obviously your daughter who goes missing and the police don’t pay attention because they are basically focused on this white girl who goes missing. And it looks at this overall trend in our country. Again, Lifetime movies–such a big part of my childhood growing up. That’s what my mom raised me on.

Garcelle Beauvais Me too. Me too.

Ashley Ray What did it mean to you to work on this project?

Garcelle Beauvais It meant everything. I mean, I’ve been a huge fan of Lifetime for so long. I did a movie with them last year called Caught in His Web about cyberbullying. And I am going to sidebar for a moment. I watch Lifetime so much now that I think everybody’s the killer and it’s not helping my dating life. “You’re the killer. I know you are.”

Ashley Ray Same! I’m like, “You’re lying to me. You’re going to lure me somewhere.”

Camille Corbett It’s very helpful.

Garcelle Beauvais It is! It’s so fun. And my kids are like, “Mom, are you okay? You’re watching a lot of these movies.”

Ashley Ray I’m just like, “No, you got to pay attention.”

Camille Corbett You gotta stay ready.

Ashley Ray You got to stay ready. Okay? Yeah. That’s how I learned it when I was growing up. My mom would really just be like, “Okay, look for these signs. Just because he’s a bad boy doesn’t mean he’s the one you should date.” So, I love Lifetime movies. And seeing that you get to make one that’s part of that legacy is so exciting. I just am curious, you know, was this with your production company?

Garcelle Beauvais Yes. Garcelle Productions. Yes, for sure. And I’m executive producing. I mean, this project to me is everything. And the fact that Lifetime, you know, got it right away–the minute we pitched them the idea, they’re like, “How soon can we start shooting?” And it’s because of the message, it’s because of the story, it’s because of, you know, they have a campaign that deals with violence against women. And for me, I’ve been frustrated for years. So many times we go missing, you hear someone’s missing, and it’s nowhere. It’s not on your news feed. It’s not on the news. No one’s doing anything about it. And so, this subject matter is really close to my heart. And I feel like, “Let’s do something. Let’s do a movie that’ll get people talking–or people who are not aware–because sometimes it’s got to be in front of your face to go, ‘Oh, I didn’t realize that was happening.’” I mean, we can name, you know, JonBenét Ramsey, Natalee Holloway, Gabby Petito. But how many of us can say there’s a Black girl that’s missing, and… What was her name? And that’s the point of this movie. This is the point. So that the media takes accountability, the police take accountability. So many times, we’re like, “Oh, they just ran away. They’ll be fine, or “In a couple of days, they’ll be back. Don’t worry. They just went off to blow some steam or go off with their boyfriend or girlfriend.” And we all know, you know, the first 24, 48 hours are crucial. So, this movie was everything. And, you know, as an actor, normally when I show up, I know my lines and I do my character work. But this–I got to choose the director, casting, locations, story. It was important for us to weave the white girl portion of the story where you see the difference. And, you know, I’m so proud of it, and I thank you because you’re helping to keep the conversation going by having me here and promoting the movie.

Ashley Ray Again, so excited. This is a part of Lifetime’s Stop Violence Against Women campaign. And again, it’s Women’s History Month, so…

Garcelle Beauvais That’s right.

Ashley Ray So I am really curious. I think a lot of what you said has to do with the fact that young Black girls are sometimes seen as more mature–more adult. And your relationship with the daughter in this is so sweet. It’s so tender. She just looks so young and like a child. And I think that’s also so important.

Garcelle Beauvais Yeah, and that’s the thing. I think we just want to be heard and seen. We just want the same, you know, equal search and care for our brown and Black girls, boys, older women, older men. We just want to be seen, heard, looked after, and searched for. We deserve it.

Camille Corbett Yeah. I agree. I feel like women of color–when they go missing, no one cares. And research literally backs up that that happens, and it’s just disturbing to me, too. I’ve traveled quite a bit and I’ve always wondered, like, if I get lost abroad, will anyone care?

Garcelle Beauvais Right. I hope they would. I hope they would. Like, listen, I came to New York when I was 17 to start my modeling career. I mean, all I did was travel, right? And I would go to a random airport, someone would hold up a sign, and I would go with that person. I mean, the faith in knowing that you’re going to be okay–but I didn’t know. Something could have happened to me. I mean, it happens all the time, right? And for me, I just feel like the brown girls deserve it–the Black girls deserve it. You know, they deserve for us to search for them and look for them. And so, you know, this is so important to me.

Ashley Ray Yeah, I think TV is a great medium for it. I think the power of TV is so great. I know that you’ve said in interviews you learned English from Sesame Street growing up.

Garcelle Beauvais I did.

Camille Corbett Wow.

Garcelle Beauvais I did. I did. I came to the United States at the age of seven, didn’t speak a word of English, and had never seen snow. I mean, it was just a culture shock. And Sesame Street is how I learned English because I couldn’t go to school because I wouldn’t have understood anything.

Camille Corbett You’re from Haiti, right?

Garcelle Beauvais Yeah, I’m from Haiti.

Camille Corbett So what was it like coming to America as a seven-year-old from Haiti? I’m Jamaican, so I am very interested.

Garcelle Beauvais Oh, you are? Oh, Jamaica is one of my favorite places. You know, as a kid, you’re kind of wide eyed but also a little nervous because my mom left us for a year and a half before she sent for us so that she could, you know, get a job, save money, get a place, and, you know, get our paperwork so we would come legally. And I think about that now. I mean, obviously that was traumatic for me because I didn’t understand at the age of six that she left. But wow. But that’s what, you know, immigrants do. And I think that’s where I get my strength; I’ll take anything head on, and I think that’s part of seeing what my mom did for us.

Camille Corbett That’s beautiful.

Ashley Ray Yeah. I mean, so much of your life–your story–it should be a TV show.

Camille Corbett Literally! Oh my God, I would watch that.

Ashley Ray Yeah, I think I read one story that was like you were on your way, you didn’t have an appointment at a modeling agency, you stopped at a light to put your makeup on, and the person you were going to meet was in the car next to you.

Camille Corbett Amazing.

Garcelle Beauvais I mean, crazy stuff. You can’t make this up.

Ashley Ray You know, you have this overall deal that you signed with NBC, I believe. And so, I’m curious. You’ve started with this really important message in this Lifetime movie. Are there other things that you want to portray, you know, surrounding immigration, surrounding, like, Black female joy? You know, so much of what your character represented on the Jamie Foxx Show to me–that was Black girl luxury.

Garcelle Beauvais I want to get that on a T-shirt.

Camille Corbett It’s a hashtag.

Garcelle Beauvais That was such a fun job for me. I remember the first time I met Jamie Foxx at the audition. I was still modeling, so I was still going back and forth. And my agent would say, “There’s a new show that they’re doing. You should audition for it. They want to see you.” And I’d be like, “Well, I have to go to New York,” or “My son is sick, and I can’t come.” And finally, they’re like, “You need to go in for this.” So, I go in. And I had done a music video called Down Low with R. Kelly–and that’s a different story.

Ashley Ray Long time ago.

Garcelle Beauvais And that was at the time when you could request videos. And so, I’m waiting in the waiting room now to audition for the Jamie Foxx Show. And Jamie is walking by. You know, there’s about six of us actresses waiting to go in. And he looks at me, he stops, and he goes, “Do you know how many times I requested that video?” I was like, “Oh my God.” I remember I wore a sheer dress in that video. And I think that’s what he was referring to.

Ashley Ray That’s the one with Ron Isley in it, too?

Garcelle Beauvais Yes! Mr. Biggs. Yeah. And I just remember auditioning with Jamie. I knew him from stand-up. You know, he was doing stand-up at the time. And we just formed this bond, and we thought, “Okay. If we do 13 episodes, we’re golden.” Nobody knew who WB was–the network. And we ended up doing a hundred episodes.

Camille Corbett And they were all amazing.

Ashley Ray All amazing. And it’s still in syndication.

Garcelle Beauvais It’s still in syndication. And to this day, we’re friends. Even last night, I texted him–I was like, “Hey, J. Can you post for the movie for me?” And I put my phone down and I went to grab a bottle of water. By the time I came back, he was like, “Done.” And he posted it.

Camille Corbett Oh, that’s so nice.

Garcelle Beauvais It was just so cool. It’s just so cool that we’ve maintained our friendship and, you know… I’m a big fan.

Camille Corbett I worked with him on Dad Stop Embarrassing Me; I wrote on that show.

Garcelle Beauvais You did?

Ashley Ray Other connections. Other reasons I was like, “Come co-host this one.”

Camille Corbett And he would always talk about you and wanting you on the show. And you’re beautiful, and, like, he would always talk about that, too–how beautiful you were. You were the first person that I watched as a kid, and I was like, “I want to look like her.”

Garcelle Beauvais Aw, that’s amazing. That show should have gotten a second season.

Ashley Ray Yes, yes. It really should have.

Camille Corbett We got robbed. Netflix, mark your days.

Garcelle Beauvais Yes, you did get robbed. Agreed.

Ashley Ray I think you’re so beautiful. I think you’re known for that. And it’s like you’re this gorgeous character, but you also are just so funny. Would you like to do more comedic roles in the future? Is that something you’re interested in?

Garcelle Beauvais Yeah, I would. I mean, listen, I love doing all kinds of things. I think that’s part of being an artist, right? But I just did a four-episode recurring role on the new Netflix show Survival of the Thickest with Michelle Buteau this summer. She is hilarious.

Ashley Ray She’s so funny. That is one of those shows that’s, like, a must watch that we’re all waiting for. I think it’s on so many lists. You also did a part–you got cast in The Other Black Girl on Hulu.

Garcelle Beauvais Yes! I am beyond excited about that. Beyond excited. That’s for Hulu, and it’s really great. I keep saying it’s Get Out meets Devil Wears Prada.

Camille Corbett Yes!

Garcelle Beauvais So, you know, there’s a little bit of thriller. You don’t know what’s happening. But it’s really cool. Great producers. Rashida Jones is one of the producers. And I’m really looking forward to people seeing that.

Ashley Ray Are you allowed to say anything about your role?

Garcelle Beauvais No. I mean, it’s been announced that I play Diana Gordon, and she’s the author. So that’s all I can say.

Ashley Ray Okay.

Camille Corbett I read the book. I love the book.

Ashley Ray Yeah, I love the book.

Garcelle Beauvais Oh, you read the book. So, you know.

Camille Corbett It’s like Mr. Robot, but, like, you’re a Black girl. It’s kind of trippy, but maybe the TV show is a little different.

Garcelle Beauvais Yeah, I mean, it’s so well-written. It’s been a long time since I’ve been like, “Oh my God, I can’t wait till the next episode,” just to read it. So hopefully it’ll turn out well.

Ashley Ray Rashida is so funny.

Garcelle Beauvais She is so funny.

Ashley Ray People, again, I think, really overlook that. But this was another one where I was just like, “I think this is going to be dark, scary, and kind of really hilarious.”

Camille Corbett I was wondering sort of about The Real Housewives sort of situation because I was really obsessed with how you, like, handle racism versus, like, Crystal. I feel like Crystal is very, you know, millennial and is always like, “I’m very triggered.” And you sort of split the difference, where you’re willing to call things out but, you know, also you’re not blatantly calling people racist. How do you deal with that?

Garcelle Beauvais You know, it’s a tricky thing. And the word “racist” is very deep and very heavy. So, you don’t want to throw that around, do you know what I mean? I say this to my kids all the time when they were smaller. Like, “Oh, he’s a bully.” And I’m like, “Well, you know what? That’s just a kid being a kid.” Like, you can’t just throw words around. So, for me, it’s about seeing the situation, talking about it, and then you gotta let it go– Not let it go, but talk it through. But then you have to move on because, I think, it’s also an entertaining show, right? People are not really watching it for those type of conversations, but you have to have those type of conversations, you know? And with me when people were like, “Oh, we don’t want to talk about race on the show.” But we have diversity on the show, so we can’t not talk about it. We have to talk about it. You know, when I walk in a room, it’s different from somebody else walking into the room.

Ashley Ray Yeah. Again, I haven’t watched your season–but it seems like everyone loves you, which I have not seen in the Real Housewives universe. It seems like people are more divisive. And I did do a Real Housewives podcast where originally, they told me, like, “We’re just going to talk about the seasons you’ve seen.” And then I get there and they’re like, “We’re going to talk about a recent episode that you were in with Erika Jayne.” I had no clue what was going on, but I just said something like, “I don’t know, I think Erika Jayne has a point.” And so many people were like, “Oh, you never go against Garcelle!”

Camille Corbett Famous last words: “Erika Jayne has a point.” She never has a point.

Ashley Ray When it aired, five friends texted me and were like, “No, Ashley. You have no idea. You never go against Garcelle.” And I was just like, “I’m so sorry.”

Camille Corbett You never agree with Erika Jayne.

Ashley Ray I was just like, “What’s she supposed to do with the necklace?”

Garcelle Beauvais People are so invested in the show. And I think that’s part of the fun, but it’s also part of the scary part because they’re so invested. But listen, Bravo knows what they’re doing. They put some strong minded, independent women. They’re going to say how they feel. And so there you have it. Yeah. And we do just that.

Ashley Ray Now, I know I’ll never go against you.

Garcelle Beauvais Call me. Text me.

Ashley Ray Yes. Now I know you’re right. She was wrong.

Camille Corbett Garcelle is always right.

Garcelle Beauvais No, that’s not true. That is not true.

Ashley Ray I’m curious. Before you joined Real Housewives, did you watch a lot of reality TV? Do you watch more now, or has it kind of been like, you know, seeing how the sausage is made? You’re like, “I got to give it up.”

Garcelle Beauvais That’s really a good question. I knew of the franchises, obviously, right? I used to watch Beverly Hills and Atlanta, and every now and then I would watch New York. And so now that I know how the sausage is made, I don’t watch as much of the other franchises. But I do love reality. I think it’s interesting. And the writers’ strike? That really is what started reality. So now I watch different shows. I like relationship shows because, you know, you get some inside. I love Love is Blind. I always say, “I’m not going to watch The Bachelor and The Bachelorette,” and I end up watching it. Every time.

Ashley Ray Do you have any other favorites?

Garcelle Beauvais 90 Day Fiancé I used to like. I’m not crazy about this cast right now.

Ashley Ray Yeah, yeah.

Garcelle Beauvais I like them. And what else? Married at First Sight I just can’t get around because would I marry a total stranger? I think I did actually one time.

Ashley Ray You’re like, “Been there, done that, actually.”

Garcelle Beauvais I knew him for two months, so I kind of did.

Camille Corbett Two months? That’s crazy.

Ashley Ray Yeah, actually, I think that is a shorter window than they film for the show.

Garcelle Beauvais That is crazy.

Ashley Ray I think the show is, like, nine weeks maybe.

Camille Corbett You were in love. I need to be in love like that.

Garcelle Beauvais I got my son Oliver out of it, so it turned out okay.

Ashley Ray I want to say also, you’re just so candid and open about your life. You used to have a relationship podcast. So many reality people, I think, want to seem like they have these perfect lives. And you’re so relatable, and you just kind of break that down. What does that feel like? Is it hard to kind of merge that with a brand and feel like it’s part of your brand? But it’s also just, you know, who you are.

Garcelle Beauvais Yeah, you know, I never thought of it that way. For me, it’s just this is who I am. And, you know, I didn’t have a perfect life. I don’t have a perfect life. I struggle like everybody else. And it was just like, “Well, let me share my story because I don’t feel like I’m any different than you, you know?” And I always say, “I lead a normal life. And every now and then I get to do something extraordinary.”

Ashley Ray Yeah.

Garcelle Beauvais And that’s how I see it. And I feel like lately I’ve done maybe a bit more extraordinaries back-to-back. But I still have a normal life. I still want to take my kids to school. I still want to hang out with them and their friends and, you know, drop them off at parties and pick them up. That stuff–that’s what I love.

Camille Corbett You seem like a really hands-on mother. And I love that.

Garcelle Beauvais Sometimes, too much–I’ve been told lately.

Camille Corbett No, that’s great. They’re teenagers. It is what it is.

Garcelle Beauvais They want me to let go.

Ashley Ray Do they, like, understand the weight of your career? Are they like, “Oh, Mom did this”? Or are they just kind of like, “Oh, shut up.”

Garcelle Beauvais No. And sometimes I wish they did because, I think, one, they were born–that’s all they know. But every now and then, like, let’s say we’re at an airport and someone comes up to me and says something. And, you know, I’ll say after they leave, like, “I just want to be with you guys.” And my son Jax will be like, “Mom, just a little bit of your time can make somebody’s day.” So, every now and then they understand that part. But in terms of, like, watching what I do or caring–they’re like, “When are you going to come home? Who’s going to take me to the dance? Do I have to go shopping with dad?”

Ashley Ray They’re not like, “Oh, you were Coming to America!”

Garcelle Beauvais No, no, no.

Camille Corbett Did they watch The Jamie Foxx Show, at least for a little bit of respect?

Ashley Ray Yeah, for a little bit?

Garcelle Beauvais Never a little respect. My son Oliver knows about it. I mean, the boys know about it. And obviously, we get to go to Jamie’s house, and they’re like, “Wow! Jamie’s cooler.”

Ashley Ray They’re like, “He was Ray.”

Camille Corbett “He was Ray.” I’m crying.

Ashley Ray I mean, that’s pretty cool.

Garcelle Beauvais He was Ray. And let me tell you, when we shot The Jamie Foxx Show, he would sit down at the piano. And I didn’t know that side of him because I only knew him as a stand-up. And he would sit down at the piano, he would play Ray, and he would do the movements. And then he would play, like, Stevie Wonder or Luther. And then to see him play Ray and win an Academy Award was just, like…

Ashley Ray Surreal?

Garcelle Beauvais Yeah because I saw it in the making, right? It was crazy.

Ashley Ray I think he’s just one of the most talented men alive.

Camille Corbett Yeah. Hearing him sing live–it was insane. It’s sort of like Jazmine Sullivan live. Like, they both have amazing voices.

Ashley Ray And they can do impressions.

Garcelle Beauvais You remind me of Corinne, actually. You remind me of Jamie’s daughter.

Camille Corbett People often would say that or confuse us. But yeah, we are the same age.

Garcelle Beauvais Okay, that makes sense.

Camille Corbett Yeah. I wrote mostly for her character, so that makes sense.

Garcelle Beauvais Oh, okay. Oh, that’s perfect.

Ashley Ray You’re like, “He is an annoying dad. I get it.”

Camille Corbett Yeah, my dad was, like, annoying, too.

Garcelle Beauvais That’s our job as parents. Yeah. Yeah.

Ashley Ray So, you know, The Jamie Foxx Show, I think, now is considered one of those great shows in Black history. It comes up with Living Single. Were there shows sort of when you were growing up that you considered, you know, inspirational–that made you go, “Okay, maybe I could be a Black woman in TV?” Or did you just kind of fall into it? I know modeling was your focus.

Garcelle Beauvais Yeah. I mean, I think I kind of fell into it, but I used to watch, you know, like, Good Times and Family Matters and those shows. We got to see ourselves, right? And there weren’t that many. So that was a big deal. But I’ll never forget the first time I saw Diahann Carroll on television. And I was like, “Who is that?”

Ashley Ray Yes.

Garcelle Beauvais And, you know, there was something about her that was, like, beautiful, intelligent, regal. And, you know, I didn’t feel like that was depicted elsewhere. So, I was just like, “I want to do that. I want to do whatever she’s doing.” And so, you know, that’s why representation matters, right? If we don’t see it, you can’t emulate it or be inspired by it. So, for me, you know, seeing us on TV and going to the movies and seeing us was everything.

Camille Corbett What would you consider your sort of mission statement as a producer–someone who is creating representation on the screen currently?

Garcelle Beauvais Crazy! Who would have thought? You know, I would just show up and know my lines. You know what I mean? It’s really cool. I think what’s really cool is that now we’re not boxed in. You can be a writer and have your radio station, you can be an author, you can be a TV show host, and still be an actress, and still be a producer. And I think that’s the beauty now. We can do whatever we want. And so, I’m taking that, and I’m running with it because I love doing different things. I get bored easy. So, the fact that I can, you know, be a host on The Real and then be on Housewives and then write a book. I think that’s the beauty of it. Why can’t we try different things? It doesn’t mean we need to excel at all of them, but at least we can say we did it.

Ashley Ray Yeah. You know, I feel like I hear that a lot. Like, just, you know, you have to pick one lane as a Black woman and be known for this. And it’s like, “I like all these things.”

Garcelle Beauvais Right, exactly. Well, when I started, that’s it. If you were an actress, you were an actress. And it was even divided, like, if you were a movie star, you did not do TV and vice versa, right? And so, the landscape has changed, especially for us. We can greenlight things, we can star in things, we can write things. And you know, in Black Girl Missing, our writer is a Black female, our director is a Black male. That was really important to me. Hair and makeup. It was important to be surrounded by–

Camille Corbett By hair and makeup.

Ashley Ray And.

Garcelle Beauvais Definitely hair and makeup. Do you know how many times I struggle? I used to fight for hair because I figured, like, makeup–I can go to my trailer and kind of fix it. But hair–I really knew I needed someone who knew my edges, my texture.

Camille Corbett Yeah. Especially as a model, I’m sure you struggled with that. I used to model, too, and, like, people had me looking crazy.

Garcelle Beauvais Crazy.

Ashley Ray They would be like, “I think it looks cool like that.” And I would be like, “This is tangly.”

Camille Corbett Or they, like, ask us, “Is this how you do it right? I did it, right? Is this the product I use?”

Garcelle Beauvais Or you would bring your own products.

Camille Corbett Just in case.

Garcelle Beauvais Right.

Ashley Ray And also, I wanted to confirm–are you a Sagittarius?

Garcelle Beauvais I am!

Camille Corbett I love Sagittariuses.

Garcelle Beauvais Oh my God. Free spirit.

Camille Corbett I’m a Sagittarius Rising.

Garcelle Beauvais Free spirit. Fiery and free spirited.

Ashley Ray Exactly. And it just, again, points to wanting to do everything and being excited about that. And you are a perfect example of that. I loved watching Black Girl Missing. If you haven’t watched it yet, go watch it right now on Lifetime. Lifetime on Hulu. Go stream it. And then we also can’t wait to see you in Survival of the Thickest, on The Other Black Girl–you have so many wonderful projects coming out.

Garcelle Beauvais Well, I will be back to talk about it.

Ashley Ray Please, because I’m about to binge all your seasons of Real Housewives now. I’ve been set on the right path.

Garcelle Beauvais Grab a cocktail.

Ashley Ray Now I know. And I hope that the Real Housewives fans will forgive me for my mistake. I want to thank you so much for joining us today.

Garcelle Beauvais Thank you for having me. This was really fun. I really love the conversation. Thank you.

Ashley Ray Oh my gosh. She’s amazing. She’s so amazing.

Ashley Ray & Camille Corbett Beautiful.

Camille Corbett At the same time.

Ashley Ray It was a zoom, but she was gorgeous.

Camille Corbett I love that red hair.

Ashley Ray I loved it. Oh, my gosh. I want to thank her again for joining me. I want to thank you for joining me.

Camille Corbett Thank you for having me.

Ashley Ray Where can the people follow you? What projects do you have coming up?

Camille Corbett I have a project called The Island that’s currently on the festival circuit right now. And you can check out my independent pilot, Crystal & Chelsea, on YouTube and my musical comedy album, Silly Bitch Music as well, on all platforms.

Ashley Ray It’s very funny.

Camille Corbett And you can follow me @thewittygirl on Twitter and Instagram and @thewittygirl94 on TikTok. I do a lot of get ready with me.

Ashley Ray Yes.

Camille Corbett Get ready with me for this.

Ashley Ray Yes. And you have amazing sense of fashion. You can’t see it obviously, listeners–but amazing sense of fashion.

Camille Corbett So do you. I love your dress.

Ashley Ray Thank you. So go check her out. Amazing TV writer. You’re going to be hearing her name all over in the future.

Camille Corbett Allegedly.

Ashley Ray You got the Garcelle nod. There it is. I want to thank you for listening. Share this episode with a friend, a relative, someone you think will enjoy it–maybe a Real Housewives fan who was mad at me and wants to know that I’m so, so sorry.

Camille Corbett Send this to Erika Jayne.

Ashley Ray Send it to Erika Jayne. If you know her personally, please make sure she knows I’m not on her side. Ever. No homework this week, TV Club. You know, I’ve got so much coming up. All I really need you to do is be ready for the Last of Us finale because we’re going to go in on it. And we got the Oscars coming up, which we get to talk about because it’s on TV. So, let’s get some movie talk in here. Thank you so much for listening. And we’ll be back next week with another episode. TV, I Say with Ashley Ray is an Earwolf production made by me, Ashley Ray-Harris. It’s engineered by Abby Aguilar and produced by Amelia Chappelow. And our original theme song is by RaFia. It means so much to me if you go rate, review, subscribe. Follow TV, I Say. Let us know what you think and tell your friends. Share with your Golden Girls. Tell your Boys. If you love my TV recommendations, let everyone you know know. For special TV Club members, join my Patreon. And you can also find my full archive of ad free episodes of TV, I Say over on Stitcher Premium. Use Promo code “tvisay”–all one word–for a one-month free trial at stitcher.com/premium.