Tina Turner compliments Angela Bassett 30 years after the release of ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It?’ by stating, “You’re Still Outstanding.”
Angela Bassett was a young actress on the ascent in the early 1990s when she landed the role of Tina Turner in the iconic biopic What’s Love Got to Do with It. This role changed her life. Bassett received her first Oscar nomination for the role, portraying the “Proud Mary” singer in all of her complexities and eternally immortalising the rock ‘n’ roll queen’s story on film.
via: Vibe
In 2023, Bassett is one of the TIME 100 Most Influential Persons honorees, and Turner has written a heartfelt ode to the Oscar-nominated actress.
Someone will portray me in “What’s Love Got to Do with It?” “When production on the 1993 film began, I was a little sceptical,” the 83-year-old rock icon wrote. “First and foremost, who will they find to sing, dance, and behave like me? Then I glanced up, saw Angela, and began to smile immediately.”
She then spoke directly with the Black Panther actor. “Angela, when we first met, you didn’t appear, sound, or move like me; that came later, after you exerted so much effort to make it happen. But even then, I could see that the young woman standing before me shared my fortitude, determination, and enormous aspirations.
“I said, ‘She’s perfect,’ and I was correct,” the “Proud Mary” phenomenon wrote. “You never imitated me. You instead dug deep into your psyche, discovered your inner Tina, and revealed her to the world. This is your gift: embodying your character with conviction, honesty, dignity, and grace, even when it’s agonising and despite the fact that it requires everything you have and more. It is more than acting; it is being.”
Turner concluded, “We believe in you, whether you’re Tina Turner or the Queen of Wakanda, because you believe in yourself. You respect every woman you portray, just as you respected me. And you remain flawless.”
Beyoncé, Michael B. Jordan, Zoe Saldaa, Brittney Griner, Steve Lacy, Doja Cat, and Gina Prince-Bythewood are also among the most influential individuals on this year’s TIME100 list.