Actress Bailey Tippen, who stars as Sylvie in Tyler Perry’s “Beauty in Black,” is opening up about the explosive Season 3 finale.
Her character, Sylvie, faced backlash for her controversial choices, including her fiery showdown with the show’s villain, Jules, played by Charles Malik Whitfield.
Tippen, however, says she stands firmly behind her character despite strong viewer reactions.
“I wouldn’t change anything,” Tippen exclusively told Atlanta Black Star in an interview, before doubling down.
“I wouldn’t change anything. Tyler Perry, he’s great at creating intriguing characters in storylines and moving the plot forward.”
All eight episodes of Season 3 dropped Aug. 27. Due to high ratings, Netflix reversed course on “Beauty in Black, renewing the global hit drama for a fourth season after initially planning to end it with Season 3.
In fact, Tippen was just as in the dark as viewers. She tells ABS that the script surprised her, but the team filmed the finale multiple ways. This left her and the cast unsure how the story would end until they saw the final cut.
“There’s so many ways that we shoot projects, and we don’t really get to know until the final cut,” she explained.
The ambiguous outcome of Jules’ final confrontation with Sylvie left viewers with many questions.
Some wondered whether Kimmie’s younger sister (Taylor Polidore Williams) survived or if Perry intentionally left a door open for a future return. As the cliffhanger remains unresolved, Tippen is open to the possibilities.
“I don’t want to confirm or deny anything, but I can just say Season 4 is being written right now, so we’ll just have to wait and see,” she teased.
The nonstop drama of “Beauty in Black” offered Tippen familiar ground. She first stepped into the Netflix hit after wrapping 50 Cent’s “BMF” series on Starz.
However, the filming pace starkly contrasted the 50 Cent-produced crime series with Perry’s studio model.
Standard network and cable dramas typically take weeks to film. Yet Perry’s production team filmed all of Season 3 in just six days.
“So BMF, that was the Starz production, and the way they shoot is just completely different from Tyler Perry,” Tippen shared. “You know, Tyler Perry moves really quick to honor everyone’s time, and it’s very big on efficiency. So, you know, sometimes you only get one to two takes. And let’s say, for other productions, you might get a few more takes and even more directions that they can spin in.”
The “Route 187” star, who credits Beyoncé with inspiring her career, is “excited” by fans’ investment in her role.
However, she has one reminder for “Beauty in Black” fans who leave negative comments on her social media.
“Yeah, they are definitely strong,” she said of the Sylvie critics. “The world is seeing me through the lens of the character, and that’s a whole storyline. It’s not reality TV, guys.”
Catch up on Perry’s “Beauty in Black” on Netflix and watch the full interview with Bailey Tippen here.
