BY: Walker
Published 4 years ago
Andra Day revealed in a new interview that she dealt with some personal struggles while filming the biopic “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.”
via: NME
The actress made her big screen debut in Lee Daniels’ biopic The United States vs. Billie Holiday, and has since spoken about why she was determined to not be sexualized in the film.
“I didn’t want any element of sexualization. I had come out of something in my own life — dealing with porn addiction, sex addiction,” Day told InStyle in a new interview.
“I’m being very, very candid with you because I’m not the only one. But I knew I wanted all of that very much gone.”
Day explained that she wanted to keep the focus on the music, despite Holliday’s notorious objectification in the music industry from the 1930s to the 1950s.
“I feel now, after playing Billie, that I’m honoring her, and the strength that is femininity,” Day continued.
“I’m definitely in a healthier place to enjoy that because I’m outside of the addiction, if you will. So, yeah, it’s been really fun, because it’s been very new for me.”
Andra Day earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her role in the film. The award eventually went to Frances McDormand, star of Nomadland.
Day also credited Holiday, who died in 1959, for helping her view herself in a different light, saying, “She opened me up to valuing myself in a way that I hadn’t fully before.”