NEW YORK (AP) — Meagan Good is in a season of harvest, reaping rewards from the onerous work she’s sowed all through her three-decade profession. For the “Harlem” star, gratitude is her mantra.
“As crazy as, not even just this last year, the last few years have been for me, this is the happiest I’ve been in a long time. And it’s pretty wonderful,” mentioned Good final week with tears welling in her eyes, feelings heightened as she considered her relationship with Jonathan Majors, her time on “Harlem” and the Los Angeles wildfires.“I’m just thankful for the journey and I’m thankful to be loved.”
A lot of that love has been offered by embattled actor Jonathan Majors, and the fluctuating journey contains their scrutinized relationship, main Tyler Perry’s “Divorce in the Black” movie and starring within the third and ultimate season of “Harlem,” premiering Thursday on Prime Video.
“It’s incredible that the people who have supported us and have watched the show have waited on us like ‘Game of Thrones,’” mentioned Good, who performs Camille, a Columbia College professor of intercourse and love. “It’s really cool to be a part of something so amazing that people love.”
The resilience of ‘Harlem’
“Harlem” has been a survivor, rising from the coronavirus pandemic and the Hollywood actors and writers strikes. The Tracy Oliver dramedy follows 4 girls of their 30s (Good, Grace Byers, Jerrie Johnson and Shoniqua Shandai) residing in Manhattan’s historic Black neighborhood as they navigate love, friendships and careers. Whereas the sequence didn’t attain the acclaim of Issa Rae’s “Insecure,” it earned a staunch fan base.
“If you really think about shows about New York, it’s almost like purposefully excluding Black people … so when we reflect on shows like ‘Friends’ or even ‘Sex and The City,’ I probably can count on one hand how many Black people I’ve seen in those shows. But in New York, it’s unavoidable because Black people have created the culture here, specifically in Harlem,” mentioned Johnson, who performs Tye, a queer courting app designer for LBGTQ+ individuals of colour.
“We loved our ‘Living Single,’ and that’s why we loved it because we love seeing these women meeting in this small little apartment to commune with each other … that’s why we have such a cult following because there was a hole in the market that Tracy brilliantly filled.”
Good, 43, mentioned the connection she shares along with her solid, crew and streaming platform is one she hadn’t skilled. “This definitely has been the best professional experience I’ve had in my entire career in terms of emotionally, mentally, professionally, spiritually.”
It’s an emphatic declaration by the previous baby star whose first main movie look got here in Ice Dice’s 1995 basic “Friday,” shined in “Eve’s Bayou” and have become a family identify to children on Nickelodeon’s “Cousin Skeeter” sequence.
Good on her relationship with Jonathan Majors and the price of fame
Adored for magnificence all through her comparatively drama-free profession, many followers questioned her relationship with Majors, the quickly rising star of “Creed III” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” It started towards the top of 2023 following the 35-year-old’s arrest for allegations of escalating incidents of bodily and verbal abuse towards ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari.
However the “Think Like a Man” and “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” actor mentioned her Christian religion and life classes ready her for the backlash.
“I think about being in my 20s and you see the Media Take Outs and it’s a hundred nice things and there’s like one or two bad things. And I would just internalize it and I would cry and it would hurt my feelings so much,” mentioned Good, who additionally cited criticism from fellow Christians about her apparel and movie decisions, false skin-bleaching allegations, and the top of her close to decade-long marriage with pastor and Hollywood govt DeVon Franklin as perseverance-builders. “I had been praying for maybe like five or six years, ’Lord, please deliver me from what people think about me. … But I will say the part of it that is still hard for me is to see them drag people I love.”
Majors was convicted of 1 misdemeanor assault cost and a harassment violation. He prevented jail time however was ordered to finish a yearlong counseling program. He additionally settled a civil swimsuit with Jabbari, however the ordeal almost extinguished his profession.
Good, who was by Majors’ facet at court docket dates and have become in engaged to him in November, is optimistic his profession will regenerate. (Sarcastically, Good starred in 50 Cent’s “21 Questions” hit music video wherein he proposes eventualities to a possible girlfriend to see if she’d stand by him, together with incarceration.)
“The idea that people are like, ’Well, she got paid,” mentioned Good, rolling her eyes at solutions it’s a publicity stunt — “it could be hurtful, but I just don’t care anymore. And that’s a good feeling.”
What’s subsequent for Good
Good, who aspires to star in an motion movie, has been open about her want to have kids and is specializing in her future with Majors, together with launching a well being and wellness model collectively.
Admirers and business colleagues consider Good deserves way more recognition.
“People have tried to pigeonhole her in a certain area that now she’s breaking free. I always tell her that this is her phoenix moment … the ashes actually being a metaphor for people’s expectations of her,” mentioned Johnson. “About 75% of my favorite movies that shaped my upbringing have Meagan Good in them … I’ve learned so much about transitioning into womanhood and adulthood through the characters that she’s played.”
Good, nonetheless, stresses her focus shouldn’t be on recognition or main awards, however reaching the hearts of individuals. She circles again to gratitude for a profession that has defied Hollywood odds.
“To have any appreciation is a gift,” mentioned Good. “I feel like my best is yet to come. And I feel like even now, I’m kind of just getting started.”
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Comply with Related Press leisure journalist Gary Gerard Hamilton at @GaryGHamilton on all his social media platforms.
