43-year-old graces the newest issue of Rolling Out magazine
.On being hesitant to join the Magic Mike XXL cast:
“I had some reservations because of my work in human trafficking,”
she confides. “I went into this role cynical. Oftentimes, we look at
sexual energy as an energy that should be used when having sex."
“What I realized in my human trafficking advocacy is that the sex
industry is going to exist. There is no way to eradicate this. The
clothing industry is going to exist. There is as much trafficking in the
clothing industry, in the chocolate industry, in the coffee bean
industry. Instead of focusing on eradication, I wanted to bring the idea
that no matter what someone is doing, they should be treated as a human
being. I wanted Rome to embody an energy, which shows that a woman can
have a sense of self-respect, dignity and demand that from whomever she
deals with in a sexually charged environment.” On what inspired her to advocate against human trafficking:
“It was my daughter [Willow]. She came to me and was like, there are
people in this country who are selling children my age for sex. I went
on the Internet and saw that it was true. She said, ‘I really want to
lend a voice to this.’ I said, ‘Well, let me help you be a buffer.’ It’s
how it all started.” On her role as Rome in the stripper flick:
“The role was actually written for a guy. It was originally written with
Jamie Foxx in mind. There were scheduling difficulties. I got on a
Skype call with Channing and Greg [Jacobs] who is the director of the
film. Channing said he wanted to change the role from a guy to a girl.
He really wanted to infuse a responsibility in this component of adult
entertainment. I was like, that’s a radical idea. That’s a wonderful
challenge. I am down for that,” shares the Baltimore native. On if she had fun filming the film:
“I did. To realize how much sexual energy can bring so much joy, it
opens up so many gateways to creativity … to the soul, without actually
engaging in ways we were told we should in sexually charged
environments. And, that was really surprising: to be able to look at all
these beautiful people and not think about sleeping with anybody. Just
basking in that energy was just joyous. We were on that set for hours
and no one was tired of being there and working. It was so much fun. It
was just a joy. It is really a beautiful communication. It’s awesome.
That’s what I learned. I really realized, maybe Channing’s right: maybe
there is a way to be entertained in this adult way responsibly.”
0 Comments