Actress, Tasha Smith, has impacted our world of entertainment for many years now. Former Empire fans know her as “Carol,” “Cookie Lyon’s” (Taraji P. Henson) reformed drug-addicted sister. Tyler Perry fans know her for a wide range of characters in films such as Why Did I Get Married, Why Did I Get Married Too, Daddy’s Little Girls and in the TV sitcom, Tyler Perry’s For Better Or Worse.
There is one thing that many didn’t know about the incredible talent that is Ms. Tasha Smith — prior to her big screen, movie star days, she was a stripper. In addition to that, she’s had a few life struggles before she was able to live her dream of becoming an actress/director. But it was her days as a dancer, that she discussed during her prior interview with The Breakfast Club. Tasha was there promoting the TV one biopic she directed, titled When Love Kills, a true story about Falicia Blakely, a former stripper currently serving life in prison. Check out the many details Tasha revealed about her own life below (scroll to bottom for video).
Tasha Smith On Why Stripping Ain’t For Everybody & Why She Wouldn’t Strip Today
Tasha Smith: “There are some women that can probably handle that lifestyle and not get caught up, like you look at Amber Rose, you look at Black Chyna, they did pretty well for themselves right? But every women, I feel, can’t go into that world and really handle the mental pressure that they may have in that world. And to me, Felicia Blakely was one of those women. She was young, she was looking for a way top make some money…. Hey, I used to be a stripper, okay, so I understand. I don’t know if y’all knew that…anyway…it was before iPhones, LOL.”
The Breakfast Club: What was your stripper name?
TS: “Brandy. And guess what the song was I went up to? “Push It.” LOL. […] And I’m telling you honestly I wouldn’t have made if I had to strip today….because women are doing tricks. […] We weren’t doing all those acrobatic strippers back in the day. You know, all you had to have was booty and titties and I was making money ’cause I had that.”
On Why She Refused To Strip In Black Clubs
Tasha continued to have everyone in the room crackin’ up with this confession about her stripper days…
TS: “I would not dance in Black clubs. I wasn’t dancing for you Negroes…I was not doing it okay? I was like ‘You gotta work too hard in the Black club, in the White club all I gotta do is take my top off, they see these titties, I’m PAID! LOL.
So Why Did Tasha Smith Strip?
Then Tasha hit a serious note about what drove her to become an exotic dancer and why strippers, like Falicia Blakely, didn’t end up as lucky in the end…
TS: “Back in the day I was so broke, I was doing stand up comedy…back in the day you didn’t really make a lot of money doing stand-up. […] Sometimes you might make 15, 20 bucks…it wasn’t a lot of money. Also so for me, I needed to survive. For me, I needed to support my comedy career, my acting career.[…] Most of the comics I know, didn’t even know I was stripping. I would go from the comedy club, to the strip club, do a quick 3-4 hour set…go back to the strip club. […] So it was just a way that I was just surviving. But I got out of the club.”
“But I remember as a young girl- vulnerable, needing love, needed acceptance, needing to survive, I know my path could have been different. Like, I ended up here, doing this, directing, living my dream…Falicia Blakely ended up serving life in jail. You follow me? She was so young, she made some wrong decisions.”
Tasha then went on to caution young women that they need to be sure they can handle the fast pace lifestyle that comes with the life of an exotic dancer.
Watch Tasha Smith & Cast Interview On The Breakfast Club
Peep what else Tasha and actors, Lance Gross, Lil’ Mama, and Tami Roman, had to say about their roles in the then-new TV biopic in the video above (Tasha talks about her stripper era at the 7:12 mark).
