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“A lot of people were trying to take control of my narrative and tell my story, so that’s why I even agreed to do the documentary in the first place.”
Talking in entrance of a packed crowd at Los Angeles’ TCL Chinese language Theatre on Wednesday, Megan Thee Stallion made her biographical imaginative and prescient clear. At her movie’s premiere, she defined why she had dared to place her life story on the large display screen at simply 29 years outdated.
“Let me just tell my truth and lay it out on the table, because y’all don’t respect shit else but raw and honesty,” she stated. “I was trying to be a cookie-cutter celebrity for y’all, but it didn’t work out… so y’all are about to experience Megan Pete for the first time.”
Within the documentary, Megan Thee Stallion peels again the curtain of her glamorous rapper persona to inform a candid story of ambition, sorrow and triumph. It’s uncooked, intimate and heartfelt.
“Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words,” a memoir-style documentary directed by Nneka Onuorah, presents what its Amazon MGM Studios description calls “unprecedented access” to the multifaceted Houston native, who hustled to achieve hip-hop success in only a few years after her rapper momager, the late Holly “Holly-Wood” Thomas, planted the seed throughout her childhood. The movie, which premiered on Prime Video on Oct. 31, follows Megan “on the road to stardom as she tenaciously navigates fame, grief, pressure, and success,” based on the blurb, and makes use of artistic animation for instance what cameras didn’t catch.
For the previous few years, we’ve witnessed in actual time what Megan has achieved and endured. However between the Grammy wins, No. 1 information and significant acclaim, she additionally suffered nice loss.
In March 2019, Megan’s mom died immediately from a mind tumor. She misplaced her great-grandmother simply weeks later. The next yr, Megan was embroiled in a high-profile scandal after her ex-friend, rapper Tory Lanez, shot her after a pool social gathering and tried to persuade the world he didn’t. He was convicted in December 2022 and sentenced to 10 years in jail, a heart-wrenching second captured within the documentary.
However between that point and the capturing, critics ridiculed Megan on-line and claimed she had both lied about being shot or was attempting to “bring a Black man down.” Hateful social media feedback and a frenzy of misinformation unfold by bloggers and podcasters despatched the rapper on a downward spiral that pressured her to seek out refuge at a psychological well being retreat earlier than Lanez’s trial, based on the documentary. However she fought again, reclaiming her story.
A day earlier than her documentary debuted, Megan sued blogger Milagro Gramz for allegedly participating in a years-long cyber smear marketing campaign that unfold “falsehoods” in regards to the capturing. In an announcement, the rapper stated: “It’s time to hold bloggers accountable for years of harassment, cyberbullying and the publication of misinformation about my personal and professional life… It’s unacceptable behavior and these individuals need to understand there will be repercussions for recklessly posting lies and defamatory falsehoods.”
The lawsuit and Megan’s documentary present how she has sought to set the document straight on her story. Director Onuorah says the rapper tasked her with capturing the essence of her spirit so folks may lastly perceive her perspective.
HuffPost spoke to Onuorah about her strategy to Megan’s documentary, filming her most weak moments behind closed doorways, and the way the rap star aimed to regain her energy within the face of her detractors.
Artist documentaries involving the artist can simply grow to be self-importance tasks that gloss over nuance, however this documentary seems like an exception. Whose concept was it to be so candid and clear in telling Megan’s story?
Nneka Onuorah: Effectively, I believe we each wished to be candid and clear on this movie. That’s what we made it for. This movie wasn’t a fluff piece, and it additionally wasn’t a movie the place anybody was telling anybody the way it must be made. I acquired to make the movie that I noticed on this case, and it was about actually getting a portrait of what it’s prefer to go from a disempowered state to an empowered state and the way you should use your individual inside energy to work by all of the shadows and doubts of your self to grow to be your highest, strongest, most open self. I believe exhibiting a feminist manifesto is actually what this was to be an instance of. Megan Thee Stallion simply occurs to be the topic of the movie, however in case you took [her] out of it, that is one thing that girls and Black ladies expertise on a regular basis. We expertise grief and down instances within the midst of our highs, so how will we navigate that dichotomy when it comes at you in life? That’s why we use anime to assist assist that story.
Discuss in regards to the significance of distinguishing between Megan Pete and Megan Thee Stallion on this documentary.
Onuorah: They each signify two various things. Megan Thee Stallion is the last word feminist icon, energy and energy as we see it within the outdoors world. Megan Pete is only a stunning younger girl underneath 30 attempting to navigate her life with out her mommy and daddy. That could be a very private factor that many individuals may expertise and relate to. It was essential to point out how these two issues could possibly be true in a single Black lady’s physique. How we navigate each of these, generally Megan Pete must lean on Megan Thee Stallion. However what’s occurring when all people’s tearing Megan Thee Stallion down? Megan Pete wants herself. And so I actually wished to have the ability to present that juxtaposition of the 2 of their lives and the way these two components may assist one another. How energy and vulnerability come collectively to make us our most empowered, stunning selves, and I believe Megan confirmed that precise instance.
Within the documentary, Megan talks about being closed off after the capturing as a result of she didn’t know who to belief. How was she while you first met her? And the way did you construct that belief that allowed you to movie a few of her most weak moments?
Onuorah: After I first met her… she was all the time type, however she was trepidatious, and so at some point, I simply needed to have a straight dialog together with her. I used to be like, “Meg, we can’t keep showing up to things, and you’re not filming. What are your fears? Walk me through what you’re concerned about.” And so I actually modified the artistic [directive] to be: Something [regarding] Megan Pete, I’m gonna movie myself [without the rest of the team]. I’ve acquired to construct that belief in that relationship as a filmmaker to artists so that you just really feel like you’ve gotten a protected house. My staff that I employed would movie Megan Thee Stallion. But when [she was] in [her] residence, in anywhere that it’s a must to be Megan Pete, it might simply be me and her. So I created the belief that means by actually listening to her. Typically, you simply want folks to take heed to you to ensure that them to know you, and I believe she knew I had a deep understanding of her at that time.
With this documentary, we weren’t burdened with a bunch of talking-head interviews like typical artist documentaries. Most of what we hear comes instantly from Megan’s mouth. What was the intention behind that call?
Onuorah: I believe taking an observational perspective, with some questioning, permits not just for intimacy however so that you can see the particular person. You’re not listening to folks’s story by all these different voices — as a result of they’re filtering it by their voice. On this case, Megan’s story [needed] to be on the forefront, so I wanted to work together together with her. I wanted to review all the things about how she operates, what makes her unhappy, what makes her excited, and that observational perspective permits you to have the ability to then put that on display screen. And that’s psychology.
I exploit a whole lot of the strategies from college to determine methods to navigate this documentary, particularly Carl Jung’s “shadow self” work, and likewise with feminist work, like Audre Lorde’s [“Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power”]. The mix of these two is actually an inspiration to my strategy to this doc. And I all the time attempt to determine methods to break conference. I don’t like doing typical issues, so a whole lot of my work adjustments the narrative of that. And so this was [me] persevering with to push the boundaries of how documentaries are made.
One thing else that stood out was how the documentary highlighted the misinformation unfold about Megan’s capturing and confirmed a whole lot of critics who have been vocal about not believing her. Why was it necessary to point out that opposition in distinction to Megan telling her aspect of the story?
Onuorah: To grasp the interior conflicts, it’s a must to additionally perceive the exterior conflicts which might be pushing these inside conflicts into fruition. Additionally, to inform a well-rounded story, I felt prefer it was necessary to see what Megan was experiencing from the within of her life, but additionally to see what the noise was on social media (outdoors). I believe compiling these social media moments collectively ought to have the ability to present us how damaging and the way a lot we will tear down folks on social media. I wished us, as a era proper now, to see how highly effective this device of social media is and the way a lot it has an affect on psychological well being. We have to be accountable for the issues that we are saying on-line as a result of they do have an effect on folks. Whether or not it’s a celeb or a non-celebrity, it’s deeply impactful.
In your opinion, what function ought to movie star documentaries serve these days?
Onuorah: They need to actually [help] folks see the larger image of [anyone] going by something, however to the max. Like I stated, Megan Thee Stallion may have been anybody going by this expertise, and it might be relatable. It simply so occurs that she’s on a public scale, so it permits us to develop on how many individuals wanna watch this expertise. I believe this movie has modified the way in which that movie star docs could possibly be made. Lots of people have made them as fluff items or [because] “my album’s coming out.” This was not about any of that. This was uncooked storytelling. These have been actual issues that have been occurring that she needed to navigate. I would like folks to keep in mind that. If you’re on-line speaking about folks, particularly celebrities, it might appear to be they’re a determine, however they’re human beings. And so that you’re degrading a human being while you do issues like that. So I hope [with this documentary], we expect twice or 3 times about how we deal with folks and what we are saying about folks on-line.
If Megan’s critics even watch the documentary, do you suppose they’ll change their tune about who they suppose she is? Do these opinions even matter to you or her?
Onuorah: I don’t suppose opinions matter to us. The documentary was a win when Megan Pete felt blissful and empowered in herself. Every little thing else is simply all people observing and watching and seeing what you’ll be able to be taught from it. I believe folks will get a distinct aspect of Megan, a extra intimate aspect of her, and get to know her. It’s been so optimistic on-line. Individuals say, “Wow, I didn’t know this about Megan,” or “It’s been great getting to know her through this film.” So I’m excited for her, ’trigger persons are lastly seeing her for who she is.
“Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words” is streaming now on Prime Video.
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