You can go about it as cultural appreciation or cultural appropriation. You have to be very careful. Some things are really sacred and important to other cultures, so you have to be aware, politically, about those things before you just adopt them.

The reason why I chose not to do the Aaliyah movie had nothing to do with the haters or people telling me that I couldn't do it, I wasn't talented enough, or I wasn't black enough. It had absolutely nothing to do with that. The main reasons were that the production value wasn't there, there were complications with the music rights, and I just felt like it wasn't being handled delicately considering the situation.

We make memories every day and everywhere we go, it's just shenanigans. Something always happens. I think the secret to a really great friendship is just creating fun memories whenever you're with that person. Bella is a surprise every day. That's the best part of our friendship. She's very bubbly and bright, and I'm more mellow, so we are kind of like our characters in a sense. We fit together so well because whatever I lack she has and whatever she lacks I have.

Growing up, I was a sports girl. My mom is 6'4, so we always thought that the WMBA was going to be my path. But then I decided that I wanted to pursue acting. I grew up around the California Shakespeare Theater, and that's where I realized that my true love was in the performing arts.