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Viola Davis is opening up about her upcoming role as Michelle Obama in Showtime series, The First Lady.

The 55-year-old actress was cast as the wife of the 44th President in the upcoming show that is described as “a revelatory reframing of American leadership, told through the lens of the women at the heart of the White House.”

Previously, Michelle reacted to the news of Viola‘s casting, saying that she feels “that I’m not worthy…Anything Viola does, she does it with passion and vigor, and I know she will do no less for this role.”

During an appearance on The Tonight Show, Viola says that taking the role was part of “temporary insanity. I lost my damn mind for about five minutes, and I made a decision I can’t take back.”

Then, she also returned the praise Michelle gave to her.

“The woman is a damn goddess. Everybody knows her. Everybody feels like they want to protect her. Here’s the thing: I’m just going to do the best I can,” Viola adds, and revealed that she has spoken to Michelle for many hours about portraying her on screen.

“It’s terrifying,” Viola said. “Here’s the thing — Sometimes, someone doesn’t live up to whatever image you have of them in your head. But when they do live up to the image, it’s quite frightening.”

See the full list of actresses who will be playing First Ladies in The First Lady here…

Viola Davis has Michelle Obama‘s stamp of approval!

In a new interview, the 57-year-old former First Lady shared her thoughts on the 55-year-old Oscar-winner playing her in the upcoming Showtime series The First Lady, gushing that that Viola “is the greatest.”

“I feel that I’m not worthy,” Michelle shared with Entertainment Tonight. “I wish I could be better to live up to the character that Viola has to play, but it’s exciting.”

Michelle added, “Anything Viola does, she does it with passion and vigor, and I know she will do no less for this role.”

Viola will be playing Michelle opposite O-T Fagbenle, who will be playing former President Barack Obama in the series.

Showtime describes The First Lady, which will be directed and executive produced by Susanne Bier, as “a revelatory reframing of American leadership, told through the lens of the women at the heart of the White House.”

“In the East Wing of the White House, many of history’s most impactful and world-changing decisions have been hidden from view, made by America’s charismatic, complex and dynamic First Ladies,” Showtime says. “This series will peel back the curtain on the personal and political lives of three unique, enigmatic women, tracing their journeys to Washington through an enlightening intimacy.”

See what other A-list stars will also be appearing in The First Lady!

The 2021 Oscar nominations were announced bright and early this morning and there were some major milestones on the list!

First, be sure to check out the full list of the nominations if you haven’t already seen it!

We’re breaking down some of the major milestones right here. Firstly, this is the most nonwhite actors who have ever been nominated for acting awards with a total of nine. The last record was at seven nominations. Those nominated this year include Yuh-Jung Youn, “Minari,” Daniel Kaluuya, “Judas and the Black Messiah,” Leslie Odom, Jr., “One Night in Miami,” LaKeith Stanfield, “Judas and the Black Messiah,” Riz Ahmed, “Sound of Metal,” Chadwick Boseman, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” Steven Yeun, “Minari,” Viola Davis, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” and Andra Day, “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.”

In addition, Viola Davis has become the most nominated Black actress in the history of the Academy Awards with a total of four over the course of her amazing career.

In the Best Directing category, Chloé Zhao and Emerald Fennell made history as the first time the Academy has nominated two women at the same time. They are the sixth and seventh women ever nominated in this category. In addition, Chloé has become the first woman of color to be nominated for Best Director at the Oscars

In the Best Actor category, there were two major historic nominations! Riz Ahmed, who is nominated for The Sound of Metal, became the first Muslim actor to be nominated in the prestigious category. Steven Yeun became the first Asian American actor to receive a best actor nomination for his amazing work in Minari.

Congratulations to all of the nominees!

Viola Davis is speaking out after the loss of Cicely Tyson, who played her mother on the ABC series How to Get Away with Murder.

The Oscar-winning actresses also worked together in the 2011 movie The Help, in which Cicely played the role of Constantine Bates, the maid who raised Emma Stone‘s character and was fired after an incident when her daughter showed up at her place of work.

“I’m devastated. My heart is just broken,” Viola wrote on her Instagram account.

She continued, “I loved you so much!! You were everything to me! You made me feel loved and seen and valued in a world where there is still a cloak of invisibility for us dark chocolate girls. You gave me permission to dream….because it was only in my dreams that I could see the possibilities in myself.”

Click inside to read the rest of Viola Davis’ tribute for Cicely Tyson… More Here! »

Viola Davis is opening up about what her daughter, Genesis, has put on her Christmas list this year.

The 55-year-old Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom star revealed to Jimmy Kimmel on his late night talk show this week that Genesis actually had some high hopes this year with her gifts.

However, Viola had to shoot down a lot of the items that were listed.

“She had things on that list where I had to say, ‘Let me tell you something, OK, Genesis? I don’t care how much money you think mommy has, 98 percent of the stuff on this list you’re not gonna get,’” she shared.

Viola recalled telling her nine-year-old that “‘You’re not getting that iPhone. You’re not getting that camera with the tripod on it. You’re not getting half the stuff on this list.”

“‘That’s the kind of mommy I am. Do you know how much that iPhone cost? $365 — do you have $365? Because I’m not spending that on a phone’,” she says.

Also this week, Viola opened up about the moment she learned of co-star Chadwick Boseman‘s death and said she “broke down”.

Read her full story here…

Chadwick Boseman‘s final movie Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is now streaming and his co-star Viola Davis is opening up both about his death and his legacy.

The late actor passed away in August at the age of 43 following a private, four-year battle with colon cancer.

Viola talked about the moment she learned of Chadwick‘s death while talking to Yahoo about the movie.

“I broke down when I heard he passed,” she said. “Lord knows we all would’ve wanted him to live another 50 years. We all want longevity. But I can’t see his life tragically at all. … Because I felt like he was always living in the moment, squeezing out every bit of life. What it makes me think is, it’s not the quantity, it’s the quality.”

“What I hold onto with Chad is that he lived his life his way,” she added. “I would say his professional life as absolutely paralleled his personal life, that’s my guess, in terms of how he lived with the utmost integrity.”

Read details about what will happened with the upcoming Black Panther sequel.

Viola Davis is speaking out more about knowing her worth and getting equal pay in her brand new cover story with InStyle magazine.

The 55-year-old Oscar winner has spoken out about pay disparity in the past and shared more thoughts on it during her interview, comparing it to eating a full meal instead of just the leftovers.

“I want and I expect to get the same filet mignon that white actresses get,” Viola shared. “Cooked at the exact temperature. You cannot throw me a bone with a really nice little piece of meat still on it and expect that’s good enough for me.”

She goes on, “I love my collard greens and all of that, and I know we were given the leftovers. I know how to cook that, but I want a filet mignon.”

Viola added, “The differences in pay and the lack of access to opportunities are huge. I fully expect changes. I’m trying to lift my hopes up. Even if it takes a little bit of vodka. If we don’t move forward together, then we don’t move forward.”

Earlier this year, one of Viola‘s previous interview was going viral again for its relevancy. See what she said here…