We're gonna girl talk now, if that's okay?
Yes please, let's do that.
All right, we're gonna girl talk
with Andra Day, here we go.
Okay, typical girl questions/everybody wants to know.
Have you figured out what you're wearing?
Do you like it?
Do you feel good about it?
Yes, I have actually I know exactly
what I'm wearing.
(laughs)
I'm so excited about it.
I feel great about it.
I mean, can I say, am I supposed to say
do we say that?
Well is it Prada?
I don't know, I can't,
I don't know if I could say
but I'm saving Prada
for another event that.
(laughs)
We're hoping for but the Golden Globes
on Sunday I'm wearing actually a Channel dress.
Oh,
(Drew clapping)
Channel that I call Channeliqa.
(laughs)
How are you feeling?
Like, do you want to prepare a speech?
Do you wanna like wing it?
Are you a jinxer?
Are you, how are you approaching it?
I'm definitely more of a winging it
kind of person I like to just speak
whatever the kind of spirit speaks
in the moment, you know?
But the other part of it is
I wanna make sure I don't miss anybody.
So I'm probably gonna like write every name out.
Cause that's really, all I wanna do
is just get up there and just say thank you
to everybody who poured into me
so heavily for this role.
I was lucky enough to get a Golden Globe
for Grey Gardens and I forgot to thank Jessica Lange,
(laughs)
because I basically blacked out.
Yeah.
Cause like-
So you recommend me writing the names down definitely.
(laughs)
It was only one person, one.
(laughing continues)
I freaked out.
I think I was just trying not to vomit.
Yeah. I think that the main thing.
(laughs)
Are you going, do you have a date?
Oh, I mean, my date to the Golden Globes will be my mama.
(laughs)
So she's the best thing, you know what I mean?
She's just like well we have fun.
We know each other really well.
She keeps me nice and grounded,
my dad as well too.
So my family will be with me for that.
So that's the, it's the one like though I'm sad.
We can't be in person for the Globes.
The one thing about kind of virtually
doing it is I can have everybody with me.
So that's the lesson being know.
I can't think of anyone
who deserves every good thing that
is coming your way because you built it,
you earned it.
And I love the song Rise Up
and in it is such a perfect song
in itself for all of the recognition.
It garnered and warranted because of what it represents
but in it is such a beautiful thing to listen
to compared to when you sing Billy.
Yeah, yes there is-
And I'm so glad it's out there
as a comparison because you channel her in ways.
I'm sure people did not think possible
but it is possible.
thank you, thank you so much.
And I mean, and thank you to her, right?
Cause it was her singing such a horrible song.
And that that's one thing that I always tell people
when I was on set the thing that changed the most
for me listening to Strange Fruit, was it, you know
before I was trying to honor Billy
singing Strange Fruit right?
You know and honor her legacy and on honor,
but on set, being her, it was like
every time people would clap for the song
they'll be like, it's such a beautiful song.
It would like make me angry.
'Cause I'm like, how can you say a song,
about the burning flesh of my ancestors
and the twisted mouth and the blood
on the leaves and blood at the root,
it's a horrible song and it's the launching
is a horrific sight, but it was her singing
that terrible song that really opened it up
for me to be able to sing a song like Rise Up.
I just, as a someone who grew up
in storytelling and filmmaking
what you and Lee Daniels and all
of your fellow crew and cast members crafted
to support the Strange Fruit moment
was the perfect buildup and honoring
and understanding and earning that moment.
And the trajectory of the film
is sheer structural perfection.
It's unbelievable.
Wow I'm gonna blush.
That means the world.
I wish Lee could hear this.
I'm literally probably gonna call him
as soon as I get off of here.
'Cause I that's, I think what he wants people
to understand and with what we were doing
he didn't want to do a straight ahead biopic.
You know what I mean?
He wanted to tell the truth of her story in art
as a beautiful time capsule where
you could still experience black excellence
and black opulence and what he was so inspired
by it and Lady Sings the Blues
and then to also get the truth
of how the government went after her
for being a change maker and being the civil rights leader.
So it's just like understood it
and articulated it so perfectly
in a way that just makes me love you even more.
I love you so much, I am just rooting for you
for every reason in the world, thank you,
Andra Day, the United States vs Billie holiday
is available on Hulu tomorrow.
This is the premier.
(upbeat music)