Nia Long decided to set the record straight after being asked if she chose to pursue the 2000 film “Big Momma’s House,” with actor Martin Lawrence over the action film “Charlie’s Angels.”
In an interview with Kevin Polory for Yahoo! Entertainment, the 52-year-old called his question “the biggest fattest lie” before stating the real reason why she decided to portray Sherry Price in the David T. Friendly and Michael Greene’s comedy film series production.
“Charlie’s Angels did not want me because they said I looked too sophisticated and too old next to Drew Barrymore,” she said.
Long, who is five years older than Barrymore, continued to explain that the role she auditioned for, Alex Munday, ended up going to actress Lucy Liu, who happens to be two years older than her.
“Listen, I thought Lucy Liu was great in that role. When I went back and looked at it I was like ‘Woah, she’s really doing some stunts. I don’t know if I was quite ready for that,’ ” Long said.
The “Love Jones” star continued to express that as she looks back on the situation, she believes “Big Momma’s House” ended up being the right opportunity for her.
“You can’t do everything, and every opportunity isn’t for you and as much as it would’ve been fun to play that character, I think ‘Big Momma’s House’ was probably more fun for me.”
Long is often praised for her timeless beauty, so hearing this news came as a surprise to many fans.
“Umm what crack was the casting director on?”
Several fans on Instagram suspected that there was a deeper meaning behind Long being passed up on the role, assuming it was because she was “too black.”
“They could’ve kept that lie… just say she was too BLACK for that damn role”
“More like she was too dark because Lucy Liu got cast and she’s older than Nia”
The outcome for Long when it comes to “Charlie’s Angels” did not stop her bag. In addition to the “Big Momma’s House” series, the actress went on to star in the sequel and other films such as “Are We There Yet” with Ice Cube, “The Single Mom’s Club” with Tyler Perry and two more “The Best Man” adaptations.
Even now, Long continues to be booked and busy as she prepares for two new films, “Missing” with actress Storm Reid and “You People” with comedian Eddie Murphy and actress Lauren London.
Long recently turned heads at the red carpet premiere of Netflix’s “You People” after fans spotted her holding hands with Omarion. While the newly single mother of two quickly shut down rumors about a possible romance with him, fans began connecting her to Terrance Howard after they were seen getting into a $650,000 purple McLaren 720S together in Dubai.
Some of Long’s supporters even expressed that her ex-fiancé, Ime Udoka, should feel salty for allowing Long to slip out of his hands following news in September 2022 that revealed the Boston Celtics coach cheated on his fiancé of seven years with the team’s service manager.
Since Udoka’s scandal, Long seemingly has been living her best single life as she continues to be the best mom to her two children, 22-year-old Massai Zhivago Dorsey II; whom she shares with actor Massai Z. Dorsey, and 11-year-old Kez Sunday Udoka, whom she shares with Udoka.
