Andra Day, welcome to The Daily Social Distancing Show.
(laughs) Yeah. That's what it is, isn't it?
Uh, I enjoy it just as much as the regular Daily Show, so good.
Oh, thank you very much. I appreciate that, I really do.
And, uh, before we get any further, let's start
with the congratulations that are in order.
Two Golden Globe nominations, which is huge,
for your work on the new Billie Holiday movie.
And what's really impressive
about it is not just the nominations.
This is your debut acting role.
I mean, what a way to start.
Yeah, yeah, definitely what a way to start. (laughs)
And it was almost a way to end while I was on set. (laughs)
I was like, this might have... this might have taken me out.
I might have had to retire after this.
But, no, I mean, now I'm definitely more balanced,
and I feel kind of
at a healthier place, but, um, yeah, it was...
I mean, I didn't want to do it at first, but I'm really glad
that I did and I didn't sort of,
I guess, self-sabotage my way out of it.
Uh, 'cause it's an honor
to be a part of Billie's story and legacy
and to help bring the truth
about her life to the public eye.
Billie Holiday, people might know as the musician,
but what makes this film special is,
you show us Billie Holiday as the civil rights icon,
as this woman who is fighting against the system
that is trying to shut her down.
Tell me a little bit more about that story
and the part of her life
that a lot of people really don't know about.
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, to put it frankly,
it's the part of her life
that people were never supposed to know about.
People need to understand
that the reason they know Billie Holiday
as this sort of tragic drug addict, but like a great
jazz singer is because that was the narrative that was fed
to us as a people.
And, uh, but what they really need to know is
that she was sort of the genesis.
She was the great godmother of civil rights.
She was the first martyr in the war on drugs.
And she was singing "Strange Fruit,"
a song about lynching in America, racial tension...
-Mm-hmm. -in defiance of the government.
And she was integrating audiences.
You know, she was a fighter, and-and doing it all on her own.
We did not have the civil rights movement
as we know it today, and we would not have had it
if it wasn't for her sacrifice, so she is a hero.
She's a hero because she went up against
arguably the most powerful force in the world
at one time, and maybe even now: the United States government.
You know? It's a really scary story.
Talk me through your role and what it was like for you
to play this woman who, on one hand,
is this amazing icon who's performing and...
and really enthralling audiences,
and on the other hand, a woman who is dealing with her fears,
her insecurities and the dark world
that she is a part of, whether she likes it or not.
Yeah, absolutely. And I love that you said that just now--
whether she's a part of it or not--
because one of the things I always...
I-I-I hear all the time is, you know,
Billie Holiday was a very complicated figure,
and I'm like, there was nothing complicated
about a black queer woman trying to live free.
What's complicated is her circumstances.
She's in the '30s, the '40s and the '50s.
The entire government is using all of their force
and as you said, one of the most powerful forces
and one of the most powerful figures,
not just J. Edgar Hoover, right?
One of probably the most diabolical and divisive.
But, you know, him, Harry J. Anslinger,
the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, you know,
the entire U.S government coming after her
for singing a song about racial terror.
Uh, and that she lost her father to Jim Crow, right?
And she was raped at ten and was punished
for being raped by a 40-year-old man.
She was sent into a brothel, was raised in a brothel.
You know that drugs were pumped into her community,
and she used that as a way to deal with the trauma of living.
So there was nothing complex about her.
She was beautiful and fascinating.
She was in very complex circumstances.
And so it made me appreciate her and love her,
and it was... there was a sense of urgency,
-you know, this... -Right.
Performing this role and singing,
you know, when I was on your show,
and when I was doing it in the past,
it was to pay homage to Billie and to pay homage to our people
and to just bring this song into a new era.
But on set, it was very different,
and it was the first time I sang the song and realized,
this is not a beautiful song, this is an ugly song,
-it's a horrific song-- -Mm-hmm.
the bulging eyes, the twisted mouth,
the burning flesh-- and I had a need for people
in the audience to stop enjoying it.
-I didn't want them clapping, I didn't... -Right.
This is an ugly song. Go do something.
Because I might die after singing this tonight.
And so it was definitely...
transforming, really.
You could have taken the easy route
in playing the role that you did, but you didn't.
I mean, you lost almost, what, 40 pounds to play this role?
You-you also took on some of Billie's, uh, vices.
You know, you started smoking. You don't smoke.
You know, you surrounded yourself
with people who are struggling with drugs as well
to understand addiction, to start to...
to sort of understand what she was going through.
What was the hardest part of inhabiting that side
of Billie Holiday's world?
Uh, I mean, the hardest part, listen, it took a toll
on my family, right, 'cause the reality is,
when you're going through this and you're preparing for it,
you're not going through it by yourself,
so on my family, on my... on my company, you know,
on my staff, on my band, you know, everybody.
You know, yes, studying addiction, lost weight,
took up the drinking and the smoking,
and, um, and other things as well, too.
I don't typically cuss, and I'm not--
for me, I've made a personal vow to be abstinent
for the last, like, seven, almost seven years.
So that's not a side that I engage in, either,
and so, uh, you know, it was definitely...
challenging, but I think the hardest part,
when I look back on it now, was coming out of it.
-Mm-hmm. -You know, I... I lived as another human being
for three years of my life, and trying to figure out
who I am in this season of my life
-Wow. -has been really... really, really difficult, and...
I remember a moment, actually, on set.
You know, Lee would ask me, he says--
we were doing a song, "All of Me"--
and he said, "Throw Billie away. Now just give me Andra,
give me..." And I tried, and I...
We got it recorded in the movie, of course,
but I-I genuinely was breaking down
from what you see in the film in that moment,
because I had to look at him and just...
I felt like I let him down, 'cause I was like,
"Lee, I don't know who the (bleep) I am."
Sorry, I don't know if I'm supposed to cussing on you.
That has not gone away yet. (laughs)
But, um, I... so I'm trying to get,
you know, a footing in my life now
and think about who I am, but, you know, God is great.
And patience, I'll get there, definitely.
Well, I'll tell you this, you've done an amazing job
at telling the story.
Um, it's no surprise that you were nominated.
I wish you the best of luck, and, uh, I can't wait to see
what you take on after this is all done
and after you've found the new Andra
for the next chapter of your life.
Yeah, hopefully she's great. I don't know, you know?
I'll let you know when I...
(laughs): We'll see how it goes. Thank you so much.
-Thank you so much, Andra. Take care. -See you soon.