As the stars of Tyler Perry‘s The Six Triple Eight reunited on the red carpet during the Los Angeles premiere of the upcoming Netflix war film, rapper Big Sean revealed a special connection to the story — which finds Kerry Washington in the lead role of the real-life Charity Adams, commanding officer of the 6888 Central Postal Directory Battalion during World War II and the highest-ranking African-American woman in the army at that time. Big Sean’s grandmother was one of the 855 who served in the only Women’s Army Corps unit of color during the battle.
“I told Tyler Perry how thankful I was because it’s such an overlooked crucial piece of American history and Black history,” Big Sean told The Hollywood Reporter as he walked the red carpet with his mother, both holding framed pictures of his grandmother. “The 6888 battalion connected millions and millions with over 17 million pieces of mail where there was no other means of communication to families and information about loved ones. They were fighting their own war being strong Black women during segregation and fighting for their country.
“I’m just proud of them,” Big Sean added, “not just my grandmother, proud of all of them. I’m happy to be raised by such strong Black women that are embedded in my DNA and I’m forever grateful for it. It’s a super emotional night.”
Emotions were indeed high among the mostly fresh-faced stars of the film, like Sistas‘ Ebony Obsidian who portrays Lena Derriecott King, a member of the battalion whom she got the chance to meet on her 100th birthday on Jan. 27, 2023. King died just shy of her 101st birthday on Jan. 18 of this year.
“She was a lady,” Obsidian told THR. “She was poised and in her wisdom and at her age, she was eloquent and she was sharp. She was not what we would think when we think about that age, but it speaks a lot about how much she’s seen, how much she’s endured and how much she still had to share with the world. This film is just that. It’s for her.”
It’s King’s story that served as a jumping-off point for Perry when he began writing the script for the film, which he also directed after being introduced to the story of the 6888 via a sizzle reel from Nicole Avant, who serves as a producer of the film. Avant is the wife of Netflix co-chief executive officer Ted Sarandos.
“The script took two weeks to write and that’s because when I sat down with Lena King — I flew to Vegas immediately to meet with her. She’s 99 years old, I didn’t know what to expect but she was in her right mind, she was clear, she sat with me and told me this story about her and Abram and I thought, ‘There’s the way in,’ and we started from there,” Perry told THR. “The story flooded out of me once I got all the information.”
Washington also had a chance to chat with King over Zoom, which was a full circle moment for the actress who previously dressed up as the war hero for her Black History Month social media series “Black Her Story” before she even knew a film was in the works. It was her photo that caught Perry’s eye and made him send her the same sizzle reel Avant had sent him.
“I was like, ‘Oh my god, I know about these women, I want to do this movie,’” Washington said of her reaction to the clip. “To play Charity Adams is just the privilege of a lifetime so I’m really, really grateful that Tyler even thought of me for this role, that he reached out to me and that he trusted me with her legacy. I feel really, really honored. And then to be a part of it as an executive producer and be able to be supportive in other ways and bring some of those other muscles to task was really great.”
Perry has long been instrumental in the journey of Washington, who just received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this week with the filmmaker by her side.
“Tyler Perry has been like a godsend to my career,” Washington shared. “When For Colored Girls came along, it was at a time that I was really done acting. I was like, ‘I think I’m done. I don’t think there’s anything more for me.’ And he was like, ‘Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh.’ He’s really special and he’s been an incredible collaborator and amazing director.”
“I would not have given the performance I gave in this film without him and I’m so proud of that performance,” the star continued. “He wanted to make sure, we wanted to make sure, that when people watch the film, they didn’t think about any of the other iconic characters that I’ve been able to play. He really pushed me to do things I’ve never done before with my voice, with my posture, with all of it and I’m so grateful to him for that. He’s also a friend and more than anything, I cherish his friendship.”
The Six Triple Eight premieres on Netflix on Dec. 20.
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