Billboard Music Award-winning singer and reality star Keyshia Cole has experienced considerable pushback after the revelation she is making a biopic film about her life, a project that will prominently depict her late mother, Frankie Lons. Popular for her sassy personality and her outlandish antics, Lons transitioned in July 2021 from a drug overdose at the age of 61.
The Jasmine Brand was the first to report Cole’s plans to produce the film for Lifetime, the cable station under the A&E Network, which also includes channels like A&E, History, fyi, and Viceland. The chart-topper started filming at the end of 2022.
Actress Debbi Morgan posted on Instagram she would be starring in the film as Cole’s mom, posting a flick of a scene of Morgan in character as Lons talking to Cole. Morgan captioned the shot “On the set with Keyshia Cole playing her mama Frankie.”
News about the movie spread like wildfire, and while many bloggers and social media critics weighed in on the appropriateness of Cole making the film so soon after Lons’ death, there was one Twitter statement that the “Love” chart-topper did not let slide.
“I said it! As soon as @KeyshiaCole momma died she was going to used that opportunity as she always does and make it work for her. Now she is making a movie about Frankie she always degrading them for her benefit,” one of Twitter user remarked.
Cole clapped back, “Degrading my mother. ? I wanted the best for my mom. You prefer my story not be my story? At times I have too. But my truth is my truth. I just live mine loud. (while some suffer in silence. But This will come wit all that I do, So speak YOUR TRUTH, but yours ain’t mine.”
The singer then doubled back and said, “And I’m addition to that I have recorded a record that will be in the movie dedicated to my mother. (You all may or may not like it) but….. This movie was healing in some ways for me, so very appreciative of having this happen.”
While she was alive, Cole had a challenging relationship with her mother, including helping her mother through a crack cocaine addiction, asking about who her father was, and coming to terms with the benefits of her being placed in adoption and raised by a loving family. All of this was documented in the singer’s revolutionary documentary “Keyshia Cole: The Way it Is,” which debuted on BET in 2006, and the show’s 2009 spinoff “Frankie and Neffe,” also featuring Cole’s half-sister Neffeteria Pugh.
In one episode Cole talked with her mother publicly about what her death would do to her, and Lons charged her to stay strong and mourn for her but move on with decisions that would be best for her.
In the clip, Cole said in the emotional conversation, “I couldn’t imagine my kids having to fend for themselves without my protection. Even though I am a grown woman you should still want to be there.”
“You’ll always have my protection as a mother, spiritually,” Lons comforted through her own tears. “And nothing can touch a mother’s love, Keyshia.”
Cole asked her mother what if she is unable to find her, and Lons cut her off, saying, “Well, that devil is from the rotten pits of hell. Don’t you let him ever put that in your mind, because I’m gonna be always where you can find me. Even when God called me, a mother’s love will always protect you no matter what.”
Lons used the momentum from these shows to become an influencer and sometime radio personality, however, her addiction often blocked many of the advantages being a pioneering reality star might have offered. One of her last major television appearances was on “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.”
Despite constant efforts to help Lons stay sober, Lons died on July 18, 2021. At the time of her transitioning, Cole shared with fans “WORSE PAIN EVER ….. TO SEE MY MAMA IN A BODY BAG ON HER BIRTHDAY! MY HEART SO F-CKIN BROKE!”
Months after her death, Cole penned a deeply touching tribute to her mother (that has since been deleted). She wrote, “Some people already spoke to me for the last time and they don’t even know it. Be thankful for your parents And treat your loved ones correctly.”
She concluded her reflection by saying, “No respect for people who have no respect for their parents … Have a great Monday!”
