NEWSAndra Day Opens Up About Overcoming Sex, Porn Addiction Before Filming 'The United States Vs. Billie Holiday'
Opening up! Andra Day discussed her battle with sex and porn addiction while promoting The United States vs. Billie Holiday.
The 36-year-old appeared on the June cover of InStyle and gave a very candid interview. "I didn't want any element of sexualization. I had come out of something in my own life — dealing with porn addiction, sex addiction," Day explained. "I'm being very, very candid with you because I'm not the only one. But I knew I wanted all of that very much gone."
Although Holiday was at times sexualized during her career, Day wanted to focus more on the music. "I feel now, after playing Billie, that I'm honoring her, and the strength that is femininity," Day said of the role. "I'm definitely in a healthier place to enjoy that because I'm outside of the addiction, if you will. So, yeah, it's been really fun, because it's been very new for me."
Day lost 40 pounds for the role and has since had "people ask me, 'Do you feel prettier now that you've lost weight?' I was like, 'Hell, no! I liked being juicy! I was cool.'"
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"But I do like the way [the weight loss] feels on my body, I like the way it feels on my joints. You do notice a difference. Besides, to me, there is no such thing as a classic beauty. Beauty takes on so many different forms, in different times and depending on the nation. It's just about being confident, loving yourself, and understanding your value," she added.
Day now has a new sense of confidence that "has to do with Billie." She explained, "It was almost like she said, 'Sis, we're going to have to close this, because I have to survive.' She opened me up to value myself in a way that I hadn't fully before."
As for the future, Day is happy to be a part of "a season for beautiful Black girl love and unity."
"Somebody was trying to tell me the other day, 'Just make sure you don't get typecast, because you don't want to always be playing the powerful Black woman,'" she continued. "I was like, 'Yeah, I do. I also am one.'"
Day earned an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama for The United States vs. Billie Holiday. She is currently working on a secret project that she is co-directing and co-producing.
