Member-only story
An Interview With: Alfre Woodard
Before you reach the body of my interview with the legendary Alfre Woodard, I have a disclaimer to add. I had the privilege of speaking with Ms. Woodard, about the new BET series The Porter (which she both executive produces and stars in), sometime during the third week of May. This interview was scheduled to be published, by an online outlet, at the end of May. It is now nearly October. I am terribly ashamed of my lapse in communication with my editor, and while there is no excuse, I do wish to tender an explanation. I’ve written elsewhere about how the pandemic has exacerbated my severe depression to an almost intolerable pitch. I spent the entire summer weeping, oversleeping, praying for anything — even death — to take away the pain. I lived an antipodal life under the same roof with my boyfriend: heading to bed as he was making his morning coffee, waking at around teatime and scrounging for breakfast as he got off work, staying up till 4 AM, rinse, repeat. Nothing, not adjusted meds, not more therapy sessions, not even my beloved dog, seemed to ameliorate the pain I felt. Like someone succumbing to hypothermia, I found it easier, and less painful, to simply feed the depression rather than fight it. An interview with talent should never have been a casualty because of my mental health, but it was. I will regret this delay in submitting my copy to my editor for the rest of my life, and I’m especially horrified…
