In the upcoming James Brown biopic Get On Up, actress-singer Jill Scott gives a memorable performance as Brown’s voluptuous second wife, Deidre “Deedee” Jenkins. In playing Jenkins, Scott taps into both a tortured vulnerability and a smoldering sex appeal, and she spoke about how much playing Deedee taught her about love — and about the conflict in being in an abusive relationship with someone that you care for so deeply.
“I’m a voyeur,” Scott shares. “I really enjoy watching people and getting to know people’s idiosyncrasies and all that.
“My mother was in an abusive relationship early in our life and she took us away from that,” the Philadelphia native explained. “So I understood why to leave; I couldn’t quite understand why to stay. I’ve been able to learn some things about that particular kind of woman — the level of love. Some would easily say it’s foolishness to stay with someone who’s abusive to you, but what I’ve learned about DeeDee is that there is a love that’s greater and wider and more powerful than anything I yet understand in this life. I will always take that with me.”
The vivacious singer has been through her fair share of heartache, and while she’s never dealt with abuse, she does want to get to a better understanding of devotion and love.
“Do I want to be in an abusive relationship? Of course not! But do I want to understand better as I go on in this life? Absolutely. And DeeDee still loves James,” she adds with a smile. “I think I do, too.”
As far as Brown’s music, Scott has never forgotten the first time The Godfather of Soul’s music impacted her as a youngster.
“I remember being on 22nd and Lehigh Avenue and someone was playing ‘I’m Black and I’m Proud,'” Scott recalled. “I’m pretty sure I was in elementary school, but I remember this guy at the stoplight and the music was blaring and something in me stood up a little higher. I puffed my chest out hearing that song. That was my first James Brown feeling that I truly remember.”
