“Black Girl Stuff” is in full swing with each new episode giving viewers more hot topics, celebrity appearances and varying point of views. Last week’s installment featured Chlöe Bailey and Natalie Nunn, amongst others, and today’s (April 19) episode was just as much fun. “BGS” hosts Britt Hall, Tori Brixx, Brii Renee, guest host Pretty Vee, and resident correspondent Kennedy Rue were joined by “85 South Show’s” Karlous Miller as well as model and actress Eva Marcille. The girls discussed everything from ghosting to masculinity, dream chasing, and plenty more.
As always, you can catch “Black Girl Stuff” every Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on the REVOLT TV channel and every Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET on the REVOLT website here, YouTube channel, and app. Get into this week’s episode recap below!
1. Dream Big?
To kick things off, the ladies dove into the comments to discuss the depths of supporting your partner. When it comes to being in a relationship with someone, for most people, supporting their loved ones’ dreams is part of it. But what about supporting when things may not work out the way they expect it to?
Hall gave her two cents on the matter but from the perspective of needing that support. She said, “I think I’m the ‘God told me’ person. I will come to you and say, ‘I had a dream… God said that’s gonna happen. It’s gonna happen.’ So I think I’m the person that usually comes to people with my dreams. And usually, it’s God-based because I feel like God sends me my truth, and I usually follow through based on God.”
When asked if they ever supported a partner chasing their dream, Vee was first to respond. She said, “I’m that girl. I’m that friend, actually. I like to see all my friends win. So if I call my friends, I’m not just calling for a hairdo or makeup… or just gossip. It’s more of like, ‘Girl, let me tell you what I see or what I think you should do.’ I’m that girl. I want to see my friends excel.”
Brixx expressed similar sentiments. She explained, “I’m definitely that friend and a partner that will help you organize what you’re going to do because [that has] to make sense too. You can’t just say you’re gonna do something [without] strategy… I’m gonna make sure that OK, well, let’s make a plan.”
For Renee, it’s all about how active her partner is in achieving their goal. She noted, “I will support whatever dream my partner has if they have a plan. And I also have to see you already executing your plan.”
2. Karlous Miller Joins the Panel
Karlous Miller is a stand-up comedian extraordinaire. You may recognize him from MTV’s “Wild ‘N Out” or “85 South Show.” He’s slowly but surely made a name for himself on the comedy scene and has become a fan-favorite for many.
“85 South Show” has an upcoming Netflix special set to be released, and Miller talked about what fans can expect to see from it. He said, “We’ve been on tour for a while. So we’ve been building the live show… The people at Netflix, they got wind of how dope these live shows have been, and they provided an opportunity for us to use the platform to, you know, showcase us. What you can expect is just a big, over-the-top, live, dope performance, you know what I mean? It looks good, it feels good. You can tell that the vibe is authentic, and I don’t think it’s like anything they already have on the platform. I think it’s gonna introduce us to a whole ‘nother market.”
Miller also talked about his love for the OG kings of comedy. He said, “We got this little thing where we get love from the original kings of comedy. Steve Harvey let us use his studio for free for almost two years. I mean… he wasn’t tripping off nothing. So to get the love from those guys is amazing because it’s like we work with D.L. [Hughley], work with Cedric [The Entertainer], and then you go out on the road with those guys, and then when you see their show… it takes the game to a whole ‘nother level because people respect what they said. So big salute to all original kings and queens. I wish Bernie Mac was still alive too. So that’s the type of love that they show us.”
One of the biggest debates surrounding comedy is censorship, and Miller offered his thoughts on that as well. He stated, “Now, you can say whatever you want to say. But… it’s all about how you deliver it. I mean, you can have the same message as long as it’s not individual or feels like you trying to put somebody on blast. Is it coming from a hateful place?”
“Times have changed, people have gotten stronger, and numbers have multiplied, and now people want to be represented in certain groups and minorities, and you gotta respect it because they out here really putting in the effort, and the time to, you know — they fight, so you just got to respect it,” he added.
3. Masculinity in 2023
One of the hottest topics on social media right now is masculinity. Specifically, the difference between the masculinity taught to young boys versus what people perceive it to be in adulthood.
When asked what masculinity meant to her, Hall gave an insightful response. She said, “For me, masculinity is just leadership. It’s an energy. I feel like it’s a strength. It’s being brave and being confident in your decisions and your challenges. It’s leading from a logical mind instead of an emotional mind… I think for us women, we lead a lot with our emotions. And I think when we look for masculinity in a man, we’re looking for him to have that force to kind of challenge himself and challenge whatever he’s going after, in a sense. I think it’s just a presence that you have.”
Miller, who stuck around for this conversation after his segment, also offered his opinion on the matter. He said, “According to the social standards these days, I may have been raised wrong. I was raised around men that did man things. They were outside with the men. The ladies were in the house doing lady stuff. I don’t know what the ladies was in there doing. I just know that my mom would say, ‘Get your a** up and get out there with the men. Put your hands on something, go get hurt, and stop crying.’ I guess they treat little boys like that because the world is a little colder when you’re a man. When you fall down, ain’t nobody gonna pick you up, and if you hurt, no, nobody does… I think when you say masculinity, you have to throw in being self-sufficient, you know what I mean? Being a strong enough man where people want to follow. Being able to stand in your decisions and be a stand-up guy.”
He continued, “When you take that method with little boys, you have to show them the difference between hurt and pain. Like, are you hurt? Or are you just in pain? That’s one of the things that I know that men, you know, have to be taught. That’s why men play sports. That’s why when your son gets hurt on the football field, the father’s like, ‘Let him be,’ and the mother’s concerned. You know, what I’m saying is there’s a certain level of harshness that you have to give to your boys because that’s just how the world is.”
4. Eva Marcille Sits in the Hot Seat
The fabulous Eva Marcille is a force to be reckoned with in the entertainment world. You may remember her from “America’s Next Top Model” and “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” but her latest project, “All the Queen’s Men,” shows off her acting chops in a new light. She joined the “BGS” crew to talk about it all.
Marcille opened up about what really went on behind the scenes at “ANTM.” She said, “It showed how passionate Tyra [Banks] really was about those contestants. I think people think that like, ‘Oh, she’s just doing the show.’ She wasn’t. Her cousin and best friend was her hairstylist. She went home every night seriously trying. She knew that this was going to change these girls’ lives, me being one of them. So when she said she was rooting for her, she meant that, like, she really was rooting for that girl… Tyra taught me. She didn’t break me; she built me.”
When talking about her time on “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” Marcille touched on their portrayal of Black women. She stated, “It is so frustrating. OK, so I am a very simple hood girl from South Central, Los Angeles… not to be confused. I’m not from Hollywood… And I thought that because I came on the scene on ‘Top Model,’ you saw how rough around the edges I was. You saw that I was not a refined girl — though they let me be a cover girl. I thought when I went on ‘Housewives,’ [they’d] realize that I was 15 years of this chick. I’m very her. I’m so her. I love it. And so I thought that they wanted the same me, but I’m also a mother now. I also have been through life. Its ups [and] its downs. Its very down-downs. And now, I’m trying to do the best that I can with what I have. And I think they wanted something from me on the show that wasn’t authentic. I think when Atlanta gets to be filmed in its truest authenticity — its truest authenticity, which is that every Black woman is different. Everyone wakes up different.”
Marcille also discussed her role as Marilyn Deville in the series “All the Queen’s Men.” She said, “I think there is a piece of Marilyn… in all of us. And literally, as I look at each of the women, there is a piece of Marilyn. It’s a determination that was birthed in us through our lineage as Black women. I think it’s that woman thing that we have innately. And then it’s being in this world of noes… Don’t tell me ‘No’ because that ‘No’ is my next step on top to find that ‘Yes’ to show you why. I think that there’s that in everyone.”
5. Black Girl Commandments
Nearly every woman has experienced being ghosted romantically in one way or another. The girls shared their commandment on what to do when your man is looking more like Casper than Denzel Washington.
The universal rule in the “BGS” house is: “Thou shall only hit up thy lover three times before you call it quits!”