Halle Berry takes the cover of the NY Times Sunday Style Magazine, to promote her co-starring role in the upcoming epic film Cloud Atlas, out later this week. It’s a whopper of a movie with no less than six plotlines spanning space and time and connecting the characters in some kind of existential web. The film is either a bloated pretentious mess or an ambitious uplifting experience, judging by advance reviews, which give it a positive 79% on Rotten Tomatoes. (Here’s a link to the trailer.)
In her NYT profile, Halle plays the still-humble starlet who triumphed over a difficult circumstances and a troubled childhood. That may be her experience, but it all sounds a bit hackneyed given her current position in life. This is Halle at her finest, trying to convince us that she’s this admirable figure, just trying to make her way in Hollywood and forge a better life for her child. She comes across somewhat well in the Times’ profile, because her quotes aren’t standing on their own and the piece is largely sympathetic. Still, I rolled my eyes a few times. Halle is laying it on thick here. Here’s some of what she said, with more at the source:
On the paparazzi
it’s not O.K. that they’re doing terrible things to my daughter. One night, after they chased us, it took me two hours just to get her calmed down enough to get to sleep.On if Cloud Atlas is a “comeback” for her
“I never went anywhere. I just seized the chance to be in an extraordinary film with an extraordinary cast, exploring an idea that’s relevant to everyone.”She’s asked ‘Why have you made such bad choices in men?’
“My picker’s broken,” she says with a laugh. “God just wanted to mix up my life. Maybe he was thinking, ‘This girl can’t get everything! I’m going to give her a broken picker.’ ” She says it’s fixed now.Something vague about how she’s insecure
“Just because they see my face doesn’t mean they see me. A person’s self-esteem has nothing to do with how she looks. If it’s true that I’m beautiful,” she adds, “I’m proof of that.
“Self-esteem comes from who you have in your life. How you were raised. What you struggled with as a child.”Her struggles as a mixed race child
After her mother showed up for the first time at her all-black elementary school, Berry was shunned. “Kids said I was adopted,” she says. “Overnight, I didn’t fit in anymore.” When the family moved to the suburbs in search of a better education for Berry and her sister, she was suddenly the lone black child in a nearly all-white school. People left Oreo cookies in her locker. When she was elected prom queen, the school principal accused her of stuffing the ballot box and suggested she and the white runner-up flip a coin to see who got to be queen. Berry won the toss.On proving herself
“I always had to prove myself through my actions,” she says. “Be a cheerleader. Be class president. Be the editor of the newspaper. It gave me a way to show who I was without being angry or violent. By the time I left school, I had a lot of tenacity. I’d turned things around.”On how her mom helped her with her identity
When she was 16, her mother stood with her in front of a mirror and asked what she saw. “My mother helped me identify myself the way the world would identify me,” Berry says. “Bloodlines didn’t matter as much as how I would be perceived” — as beautiful but also as a black woman in a world in which the images of beautiful, successful black women were notably absent.How a black counselor became her mentor
“My mother tried hard,” Berry says. “But there was no substitute for having a black woman I could identify with, who could teach me about being black.”A black school counselor named Yvonne Sims entered her life in fifth grade. She remains one of Berry’s closest friends. “Yvonne taught me not to let the criticism affect me. She inspired me to be the best and gave me a model of a great black woman.”
On being biracial
We speak of her own experience, but also that of President Obama. She hasn’t met him, but she attended the inauguration and feels a connection to another dark-skinned child of an absent black father, raised by a white mother. “Being biracial is sort of like being in a secret society,” she says. “Most people I know of that mix have a real ability to be in a room with anyone, black or white.”Winning the Oscar didn’t change much for her
“I come from humble beginnings,” she says. “I always felt like the underdog. Behind the eight ball. I learned not to be too high on the hog. Even that night I won the Oscar, I had a fundamental knowing, it was just a moment in time. Driving home that night, back to my house, I felt like Cinderella. I said, ‘When this night is over, I’m going back to who I was.’ And I did.”Why she’s trying to move to France
“I can’t grow my daughter in L.A.,” she tells me. “You take a little child who is just trying to learn about the world and have all these people with cameras chasing after her, calling things out to her about her mother. It’s starting to make her feel special and different. I want her to feel special and different, but not for the reason of being my child.”What she’d do if she wasn’t famous
“I’d go to the market with my daughter,” she says. “Go to Santa Monica Pier and take her on a ride. Nothing special. Just live some normal life for once.”
As everyone points out, Halle could move a couple hours outside of LA and achieve the same objective with Nahla as moving to France. It’s not about protecting her daughter from the paparazzi, but that’s her line and she’s sticking to it. So we’re supposed to believe that Halle had a rough childhood and now she’s this vulnerable figure besieged by paparazzi she can’t shake unless she leaves the country. I’m not even getting into the biracial stuff, as a white woman I feel somewhat unqualified to comment on that. It all ties in to Halle’s narrative, and I’ll leave it at that. Also, notice how Halle takes no personal responsibility for her previous relationships at all. She has a “bad picker,” it’s not about her role in any way, somehow the guys were defective.
Here’s a link to the NY Times’ slideshow with Halle in various states of ecstasy.
My giveadamn’s busted.
+1
HAHAHA OMG this made me crack up so bad
awesomely said!
so what I got from this interview is her talking about being biracial… who cares? lol
exactly, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz snoozeville!
Always the victim. She plays right to the media to get everyone to see her side and never being at vault for anything she does. Poor poor Nahla.
she is a beautiful mental mess
I can never get over how stunning this woman is. She is also crazy. My aunt always said crazy attracts crazy. Part of me do believe in the “broken picker” concept. I know some girls who just for the life of them cannot seem to pick the right kind of guys, most of these girls have issues too (no judgements) that attracts them to a certain kind of douche-bag I guess. The thing is a lot of said girls end up fixing their picker either through wisdom of age and experience or therapy. Halle has done neither.
Totally agree. With these statements as well:
“Also, notice how Halle takes no personal responsibility for her previous relationships at all. She has a “bad picker,” it’s not about her role in any way, somehow the guys were defective.”
The thing that annoys me most about her here is the “God did it” defense. Really? God is doing that? Okay.
When you choose badly over and over, it is a big indicator that the problem is on yourself. That you have unresolved issues, and you need tomface them and take action, not blaming all onto your choices. How easy is to do that? Blaming others?
Loira, I agree with you 100%. I had the same issue with relationships not working out, so I stopped dating for a bit until I figured out what was going on. Turns out I was picking the wrong kind of man for me. Now my taste in men has changed, and I am careful to avoid those who remind me of my previous boyfriends. I enjoy dating much more now with the men I choose to date.
Too bad Halle isn’t able to admit responsibility for anything she does or that happens to her.
She is taking some responsibility, she admits that she picks wrong. Halle tried to add humor to it by saying God gave her a “bad picker”. I think it’s still on the fritz because Olivier is no prize.
Her excuse for France – the truth is she has a French boyfriend who wants to move back.
At the time she grew up, she is speaking the truth on what it was like being biracial.
She does pick bad men. David Justice was such a big ………… around in Atlanta when she was away shooting movies. It’s funny how a lot of beautiful women in Hollywood end up single as they get older. Sharon Stone, Kim Basinger, Demi Moore, Kim Cattrall.
I expect Halle to go the same way after this marriage imploded and she’s in her fifties.
Exactly, Jayna. She’s pushing for France because that’s what Olivier wants, and it would also mean her child is out of her father’s reach.
I’d feel a little more sympathetic to her story if she had picked a different low-key place to live other than her bf’s home country.
@ Erinn …
And yet, every celebrity who has moved to France–and there are many–has said the move was made mainly because of the PAP rules and regulations.
And Gabriel Aubry is ‘not’ indigent … he can afford to travel. Though even if he ‘was’ indigent, a quarter of a million ‘court ordered’ dollars a year from Halle Berry is MORE than enough for him to fly back and forth to France, don’t you think?
@Emma the JP Lover
I don’t think the point is that Gabriel can afford to fly to France. I think the point is more why should he be made to fly to France in order to see his daughter?
It’s not as if Halle is a regular person like us and, say, is being transferred by her job to France. She didn’t talk about going to France until she hooked up with Olivier. Couple that with the fact that she never bothered to put Gabriel’s name on Nahla’s birth certificate and one can draw the conclusion that she just wants to cut Gabriel out of her child’s life and keep the girl all to herself.
@Boxy Lady, who wrote: “It’s not as if Halle is a regular person like us and, say, is being transferred by her job to France. She didn’t talk about going to France until she hooked up with Olivier. Couple that with the fact that she never bothered to put Gabriel’s name on Nahla’s birth certificate and one can draw the conclusion that she just wants to cut Gabriel out of her child’s life and keep the girl all to herself.”
So you’re saying that Halle should be held to a different standard than say, your stay at home next door neighbor (and thousands of women like her) who divorces her husband, gets a decent settlement, then falls in love and moves to the East coast, West coast, China/Canada/England/Italy/Africa/wherever with her man and her ex-husband’s three kids in order to move on with her life?
Seriously??
Thousands of women do that every day without anyone dissing them for ‘not’ putting their ex-husband/boyfriend’s happiness before their own, and the possibility of giving their kids a stable life again. No one disses them for the healthy ‘normal’ need to get on with their lives.
Stone, Basinger, etc., are financially independent so why would they put up with a man at this stage of their lives? I think beautiful women sometimes are much sicker of men than “regular” ones.
Sharon Stone has a much younger boyfriend (although we can speculate as to how genuine their relationship is) and Catrall is rarely without male company. I hardly think either of these women is ‘alone’.
I’ve always hated halle with short hair…
I think she looks better with short hair than long. She’s one of those women who can really pull it off because it flatters her bone structure.
That being said, she’s a beautful woman with some not-so-pretty personality traits. At 46, she’s not as well-adjusted as she thinks. She’s still blaming others (including God) instead of holding herself accountable for her mistakes.
I’m biracial so I can I comment on the biracial stuff. I imagine if you have both sides of the family around when you are a child that it is easier to identify with both sides of the equation. In my case it is different due to the fact I have never met black my sperm donor or the African-American side of the family. My dad adopted me at age 3 when he married my mom and he’s white. But at the same time, I really have a hard time with the way she structured her comments. Mind you, Halle is 20 years older than me. I think it sounds idiotic that she had to be taught to be black. I never was “taught” anything I’ve survived. I was bullied a bit by some black classmates growing up for not being “black enough” but I didn’t want to be black like them. My parents were pretty hands off and provided I wasn’t doing anything unsafe I pretty much was allowed to figure it all out for myself. I guess I found out what it means to be black by reading biographies of strong black leaders like MLK Jr, Malcolm X and Rosa Parks among many others. That and I always preferred Delta Blues over rap music. Robert Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Willie Johnson, that sort of music.
I really don’t like her comment on being able to be in a room with both types of people. I mean, even if you aren’t biracial, what is stopping everyone from being in the same room? Her talk of being bi-racial makes her sound completely ignorant.
Imagine being me, black and adopted by white parents 😉 and I agree with you, I have never been taught to be black, and also I’ve had the whitewashed comments thrown at me.
LeeLoo – totally agree, that part of the interview really made me angry. My 29 year old niece is bi-racial and the only trouble she’s had was in high school when some of the black girls told her she didn’t “talk black enough” (she’s very smart and articulate, and doesn’t like to use slang, either black or white). Other than that she doesn’t identify or side with either black or white, she is just a wonderful young woman who accepts everyone, no matter what race.
Halle was raised in a different time….now a days obviously it’s not so much of a big deal to be biracial, but back then it was.
It really bugs me how biracial people are made to side or are pigeonholed. It really bugs the help out of me how this one drop rule has never really left many people’s attitudes. Tiger Woods is half thai but he is just “the black golfer” and obama “the black president”. It must suck for the caucasian parent. I wonder how Halle’s mother feels about her self-identification and how she makes her “blackness” such a big deal?
My kids are half caucasian half asian and I will teach them to value both sides of their background and be proud of both. I know people will probably try to pigeonhole them as they get older but I hope they won’t let race define them. I wish we were all a bit more colourblind.
Anmelt, the “One drop rule” was created by White America and I think it’s important to remember the history behind it and why biracial (black and white) are looked at as just ‘black’.
I asked earlier if society as whole would accept people like Halle as white because to me (I’m not American) it seems as if do many White Americans do not view biracial (black and white) people as half white, but simply just black.
Perhaps if white Americans also embraced biracial people as part white there wouldn’t be a need for them to only refer to themselves as black.
The acceptance must come from both sides. It seems it’s mostly African Americans who accept them into their community, but what about the white community?
See, I believe it goes both ways and from my view I cannot see that white America is accepting biracials as part white at all, they’re still that “other” even though they are 50% white.
“….. I didn’t want to be black like them.” What does that mean? It sounds like an insult.
If it is insulting let it be insulting to those I am speaking about. They were very disruptive students always looking for a fight even in Jr High. These girls beat me up on a couple of occasions (they were sisters, only a year apart from one another). And yes, they were African American. I didn’t want to be like them, I’m not going to apologize for saying it that way. They were my first real exposure to other black kids and it was not a pleasant experience. That being said, I understand as an adult that these were individuals and had little or nothing to do with their race.
In response to I’m Going to Guam! who said: “I cannot see that white America is accepting biracials as part white at all, they’re still that “other” even though they are 50% white.”
What exactly is “White America?” I am white, and i am American, but no one can speak for me but me. I currently live in France where here it is a national passtime to criticize and talk about “les américains, les américains…” How do they know anything about the Americans other than what the media chooses to show and support, or other than what the Hollywood media machine pumps out on an hourly basis?
When Barrack Obama was elected president, i cried my eyes out in relief and rejoicing. I believed that finally, our country could heal from its racist past. This was the Dream that MLK spoke of, and here it was, before me, in my lifetime, halleleuiah!
The problem is that not everyone is ready to heal from this past. There are those who need to lick their wounds as a way to identify with their roots. Look how we Americans talk about 9-11, saying “never forget.” It’s the same as the Holocaust, whose people swear to “never forget.”
It’s the same with honoring ones Roots. Part of not forgetting is remembering your heritage. Ok, i’ll give you that. But when it comes down to giving precedence to one half of your genetic makeup as more significant or important, herein lies yet another example of prejudice. And i’m sorry to not totally agree with you, but here in what you call White America, i have seen it often go the other way, where, in order to be considered more artistic, hardcore or worthy, it was better to capitalize on the dark juicy soul than the plain white toast.
I am so proud of our African Americans, i am proud of our Americans, too, and yes, even the White America that voted for Obama. The rest of the world tries to put us in a box, but that’s just because they have no idea of the freedom that we enjoy, in our spirits, in our minds…
I’m not saying that the stereotype that you adhere to doesn’t exist, it surely does. But there is so much more if you’d only look for it. We Americans need to unite to become stronger, it’s true, i’ll be the first to say it. And we need to include our Native American brothers and sisters as well, they above all, should not be forgotten…
Not every man is your friend, but every man is your teacher. Relax and respect. It’s just too easy i guess.
I am black and went to a predominately white high school. My black college friends say I talk proper…what the hell does that mean. I talk like I have sense and not like a hoodrat. People can be so ignorant.
@Mel2 – that has happened to me too so many times. Apparently speaking properly qualifies one as ‘not being black enough’ or ‘acting white’. SMH
Yep, it’s happened to me too. If it is somehow a crime that I speak correct English even though I’m biracial by all means then put me in jail.
Actually, that attitude is not uncommon among other ethnic groups in the US. My very pale fellow children used to give me a hard time because 1) I used “big words” (e.g., during a game I referred to abiding by the rules, not realizing that “abide” was a “big word” and would instantly label me as even more of an outsider) and 2) I spoke with some traces of an accent from a different region of the country where I had been born and more importantly where my parents had been raised. It’s part of the general antagonism toward any hint of academically useful skills and anyone who is different in any way. In some groups, such as African Americans, you have the added flavoring of resentment against any hint of “trying to be x” where x is whatever group that has been on top relative to the group in question.
Speaking the mainstream academically acceptable dialect isn’t actually “talking white”, as just listening a little to European Americans will prove (they mostly speak differently from the academic dialect also). But tv is a major influence today, and I would say that tv blacks have a much narrower range of allowed accents and speech patterns than real blacks. Sometimes I’ve seen kid actors start out with an accent that is reasonable for their area of the country and then they gradually slide into an acceptable “black accent”. It’s like the old days when every Irish cop in movies, tv, or cartoons had to have an Irish brogue even though the overwhelming majority of Irish Americans like me no longer had that accent.
Believe me, there are many black people that do not feel comfortable around whites, we just learn to deal with it. But, I guess if you are bi-racial and born less than 30 years ago, you have no idea.
Interview just proves that even beautiful women can be batsh-t crazy.
She is a gorgeous woman but I think a raging bitch too.
What a lovely thing to say about the father of your child.
Then again, it’s just another insult in a long line of them.
I did agree that any child should be special for who they are, not who they were born to.
‘God just wanted to mix up my life’ – no I think God was trying to telling you you’re a mess, but you just won’t listen, will you?
Yes. And notice that not even her bad choices in men are her fault? Perfect Halle doesn’t pick the wrong men because she is an ignorant, shallow egomaniac–God does it to her! God is trying to punish perfect Halle for being too perfect.
She makes me sick.
+1 Right, God cares who Halle picks!
Why is it every man seems to say the exact same thing about her. Everyone has a bad relationship but the common thread is Halle. Maybe the men aren’t the problem all the time. I pity that poor child having such a vindictive narcissistic mother.
I tried reading the book but it gave me a headache. I’ll see the movie cause Tom Hanks is in it.
OK, I need some feedback on this book/movie. Lainey loves the book (as does Hiddleston for that matter) but then others have said the same as you – that they broke something trying to understand it. Then critics at the festivals said the movie was astonishing but all the people I know who saw it at the festivals said they wish they could get those hours back.
I am trying to decide if I should read the book (the LA Times says it doesn’t matter if you see the movie or not, you still won’t understand the book). I would love any opinions that are out there.
And no, I have nothing better to do than put this much thought into whether or not I shall read Cloud Atlas.
ps – sorry for jacking the thread.
One more time…..Halle, move to Quebec Canada.
Also, I’m not going to be hard on her because I can imagine it being hard to deal with both sexism and racism, especially in Hollywood.
Something doesn’t match up in her story. Either other students didn’t accept her because she was biracial (hence no friends, just bullies), OR she was voted elected prom queen. So which is it? People bullied her for her colour but thought she should be prom queen?
I can imagine the girls probably were jealous of her and bullied her and the boys voted for her.
perhaps nothing matches up because she is a big fat liar and crazy and sooooooooo very boring—- and her “mixed race” victim whoa-is-me comments are nauseating … all kids no matter what race go through a bit of rough patches during some point in school years.
So True, this is so true!
Halle Berry is a racist C***! I swear give me a break I wonder how she treats her poor WHITE mother since her mother wasn’t black she had to go look up to a black woman instead of her own mother beacuse who’s gonna know you better your own MOTHER or someone who has the same skin color as you. Halle Berry disgusts me.
Wow. Calm down Nancy.
She never said she didn’t look up to her mother, sheesh. I’m pretty sure she does.
She was just in need of a black female role model since she had none around to guide her and teach her about the experiences of being treated like a black woman, yes, even though she is technically half.
Would you accept it if she called herself a white woman? Since technically she IS half white.
Would the greater society accept and treat her as a white woman? No? Then you have no room to talk or judge.
UMMMmmm…Nancy has every right to talk or judge. That’s what celebrity gossip sites are about. That’s what we do here–we talk, we judge, we share our opinions. You don’t get to tell people what there is “room” for here Guam. The blog owners take care of that for all of us.
Did you not read what I just wrote? Why am I even asking since you clearly didn’t.
….but she isn’t exclusively black or white. She’s mixed race or bi-racial if one is being pedantic.
And she is still a racist person for propagating these attitudes on her daughter.
The world today is a completely different place from her experience growing up. pity she doesn’t see it.
Geez, calm your knickers.
Wow, you clearly do NOT understand what racism really is. Everyone wants, or maybe feels like they need, someone like them to look up to. Not because they are better or superior to someone else, but because they can sympathize.
All this moving to France to have a “normal” life is complete bull. There’s loads of famous folks whose kids we don’t see who live in America. Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly hardly ever get papped because they chose to live in Vermont away from the Hollyweird lifestyle. You hardly ever see Christian Bale’s kid. Has anyone ever seen Jason Schwartzman out with his family?? And he friggin lives in LA!
Pepe’ LaPew called; he wants his country back.
Her comments that dealt with her being bi-racial and her daughter have ALWAYS rubbed me the wrong way; really dislike this woman.
I agree @Jena. I just get a sense that she is the one with the problem with race. She gave an interview where she stated that she believes in the one drop theory and that her daughter is black because she is her mother. Completely 100% excluding anything the father contributed. I understand that people who are bi-racial might grow up with some identity issues (by issues I don’t mean messed up). I tend to think that how one identifies probably comes from how you are perceived by society. I have heard from many bi-racial people and even minorities who are not biracial but were adopted by a different race say they never knew they were “black” or “Asian” until they went to school and everyone told them what they were. My daughter is mixed and I don’t identify her as either race and we embrace both sides of the family. I want her to grow up confident, intelligent and caring and no race has a patent on that. I think ideally we want to get to a place where race isn’t an issue and I think one day we will get there. I think she is losing her court battle and is back-stepping. I thought it was about safety? Now it seems more about wanting to raise her daughter in a more family-friendly environment away from LA.
Good on you TG! I always felt like Halle shunned one half of herself when it suited her; never mind letting her daughter deciding what she wants to identify with on her own.
One sign of having narcissistic personality disorder is blaming everyone else around you for your short-comings and not accepting even a teeny bit of responsibility at making bad choices in life. Narcissists also have a “me against the world” attitude where every ordinary struggle becomes something monumental – they make mountains out of molehills.
News flash Halle – everyone struggles. Everyone has been bullied at some point in childhood, whether you’re black, white, green or polka-dotted. Everyone has had relationship problems. For once show a bit of understanding, humility and compassion about other people, (especially the father of your daughter).
Halle does not have narcissistic personality disorder. You’ve got your disorders mixed up. Narcissists are calm, cool and collected, not traditionally “crazy”. And they are not typically repeated victims of infidelity or abuse. They inflict.
She probably has borderline personality disorder.
Oh God are we really giving people mental health diagnosis now….Seriously, you guys are taking this Halle hate thing waaaaay too far.
Actually, people with Narcissistic Personality Disorder can absolutely “bring the crazy.” Antagonism is one of the pathological traits that must exist in order to diagnose someone with NPD according to the proposed revisions to the DSM-V. Failure to treat or acknowledge the narcissist as the special snowflake that they are can often cause extreme emotional displays. I have a patient with NPD and believe me, she is histrionic to the 12th degree. And they can be just as much victims of infidelity and abuse as anyone else.
The DSM-IV-TR says:
DSM-IV-TR 301.81(in Axis II Cluster B)
A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:
1.Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)
2.Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
3.Believes that he or she is “special” and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)
4.Requires excessive admiration
5.Has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations
6.Is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends
7.Lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others
8.Is often envious of others or believes others are envious of him or her
9.Shows arrogant, haughty behavior or attitudes.
The patient also has to satisfy the traits of the general personality diorder, which include:
1.An enduring pattern of psychological experience and behavior that differs prominently from cultural expectations, as shown in two or more of: cognition (i.e. perceiving and interpreting the self, other people or events); affect (i.e. the range, intensity, lability, and appropriateness of emotional response); interpersonal functioning; or impulse control.
2. The pattern must appear inflexible and pervasive across a wide range of situations, and lead to clinically significant distress or impairment in important areas of functioning.
3. The pattern must be stable and long-lasting, have started as early as at least adolescence or early adulthood.
4. The pattern must not be better accounted for as a manifestation of another mental disorder, or to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g. drug or medication) or a general medical condition (e.g. head trauma). (copied from my electronic DSM-IV)
Since she’s not my patient, I wouldn’t label her with any personality disorder. It would be irresponsible.
@Gabby – my sister was diagnosed with it and she would go batshit crazy and throw grown-up tantrums when she didn’t get her way. I speak from unfortunate experience on the subject.
@paranormal girl – thanks for the detailed info corroborating my statement.
I didn’t intend to make a diagnosis for Halle, only to suggest that this could be part of her issues, or maybe she’s simply got a huge ego.
You’re welcome, Jaded.
@Gabby, who wrote: “Halle does not have narcissistic personality disorder. You’ve got your disorders mixed up. Narcissists are calm, cool and collected, not traditionally “crazy”. And they are not typically repeated victims of infidelity or abuse. They inflict.
She probably has borderline personality disorder.”
Geez … or maybe she just has ‘Daddy’ issues like she says, because her father was a no good MF who left when she and her sister were very young. Halle has said for years that she tends to pick men like her father. She has also said her mother swears that Halle can move to a new city and manage to pick the very worst man living there to begin a relationship with.
A LOT of women–black and white–have these issues.
Jennifer Aniston has said again and again that she sabotages her relationships because of ‘her’ Daddy AND Mommy issues … she doesn’t believe marriage will last because her father left her mother. She has poor self-esteem and needs constant validation because her mother told her she wasn’t attractive. She only visited her mother once after the woman had a stroke and then flew to NYC so people wouldn’t wonder why she wasn’t visiting her Mom. Do any of you call ‘her’ a Drama Queen or Bat crazy???
Halle is a drama queen plus a bitch. I think Ms. perfect makes too much of herself. Also I believe she is the problem when it comes to men. All of them have been abusers according to her.
“Self-esteem comes from who you have in your life. How you were raised. What you struggled with as a child.” For Nahla’s sake, I hope she finds her theory is wrong.
“Yvonne taught me not to let the criticism affect me. She inspired me to be the best and gave me a model of a great black woman.” I wonder what Yvonne has to say about her and her model of best and great for black women these days.
This woman refuses to accept her responsibility and choices for her life and how it affects her child. It’s like she’s training Nahla to be the next Lilo. I wonder if this is what Dina was like..
Most of black America and the Caribbean have some European genetic charistics although many of us will not discuss. To the rest who seems to drone on about it;(especially Halle) “You are not special; I wish you had a different childhood but please spare one the whinging. Just fu#king get on with it”.
Sorry it should read ” Characteristics”
She has one parent who is white and another parent who is black…that is not what “most Black Americans” have at all.
She is biracial.
So to compare that to Black/African Americans is silly, yes, many have mixed ancestry but that is not unique to African Americans since many White Americans also have mixed ancestry and besides, that is still not the same as having one parent of a different “race”.
I will re-iteriate she is not special. I find her interesting when she is a fantastic actress; otherwise I do not have time for her whinging. She is not special; most normal people will be confronted with challenges; the idea is to “get on with it”.
Your opinion is just that – yours.
She doesn’t even look “black” to me.
Ah, so this is what a post-racial society looks like.
Why the quotes around black? And what do you mean she doesn’t look black?
If she wants to be away from the paparazzi, she should just move to Idaho or Texas or GA. No LA or NYC because that’s where they stay at…hello?!?!?!
We all know why you REALLY want to go to France, though. So quit frontin’.
Ugh, that Lanvin jacket is sick (the last photo with the studded jacket and red T-shirt). If I won the lottery, that would be one of the things to buy.
Ms Berry was raised in the sixties, seventies right? I can’t get on her about her experience.
I want that jacket!! I’m afraid to ask how much it costs…
There are 49 other states she can move to. Plenty of famous celebrities with kids which we never hear anything about live normal lives, so I find her excuse pretty lame.
Interesting, that bit about her principal suspecting she stuffed the ballot box to win the prom queen vote. Either the principal was a raging racist (which seems to what Berry wants us to believe) or even as a teen Berry’s integrity was being called into question.
As usual, she comes across as a nutty bitch. Glad to hear her “picker” is fixed. Well, until this relationship blows up on her that is. Then I imagine she’ll depict herself as a full blown victim again and accuse him of being a racist bastard, amongst other things.
When was this? 70s? 80s? It’s not that hard to believe actually. Many were racist and didn’t try to hide it very much back then it seems.
Why doubt she’s experienced racism?
I most certainly did not say I doubted Berry has experienced racism, I merely questioned whether or not this particular scenario was fueled by racism (while acknowledging the fact the principal could have been a raging racist). So chill.. and understand what you’re reading before you spazz off.
@Guam …
I believe she graduated in 1986, but I’m not sure if this is for the Junior or Senior Prom.
We have to understand that in 1985 Halle was the winner of the Miss Teen All-American Pageant, then she was crowned Miss Ohio in 1986, then she was the runner up in the Miss USA Beauty Pageant. It’s not hard to believe some people may have secretly voted for her. I mean, aside from her beauty pageants Halle was a cheerleader and Student Body President.
I don’t doubt that she’s experienced racism either, and from her comments, Skuddles doesn’t doubt it either. But Skuddles makes an excellent point, Halle accused Aubry of “making racial slurs.” Since the court found no evidence of this, and an evaluation determined that he was an important part of Nahla’s life and shouldn’t be cut out of it, it seems as though Halle decided to make those accusations as part of her bid to cut out her sperm donor from their child’s life. It was a low-class move from someone who is mentally immature, possibly unstable, and lousy at relationships. Plus the accusation itself was ridiculous – why would Aubry make racial slurs when his own daughter was of mixed ethnicities?
If she was both an elected student body president and a cheerleader but still thinks of herself as being bullied… High school sure changed between my graduation and hers!!!!
About the Oreos – in my experience, that’s an insult by blacks against other blacks (“black on the outside, white on the inside”). Really makes no sense coming from the white students when she was the only black student. She must have meant that happened in the all-black school, although the story makes it sound otherwise. Unless her long-term memory is as faulty as her short-term memory.
Or, it’s the truth because kids can be stupid, jealous, and racist — bullies aren’t known for their insult rhetoric, they just go for whatever hurts.
[quote]“God just wanted to mix up my life. Maybe he was thinking, ‘This girl can’t get everything! I’m going to give her a broken picker.’ ” She says it’s fixed now.[quote]
O.o
Ah? Well let’s see what happens when the Olivier Martinez breakup is announced.
And what is it with people using the name of God in vain only to indulge themselves? Geebus…
I know the Oreo cookies were supposed to be mean. But damn, I love Oreos. I probably would have walked down the hallway, chowing down and showing everyone how I didn’t give a damn.
Hydrox would be much more of an insult.
*snort of laughter* You guys crack me up!
She seems to live her life in a state of denial.
I’m not understanding why she has a problem with being biracial. I wouldn’t have known she was biracial. I’ve got biracial members of my family that you can really see that they are biracial. Halle looks like some of the members of my family that are 100% African American. I really think she has an identity problem.
She’s bonkers but she’s absolutely right about the racism aspect. If you think people talk horrible trash about Gay people today you should have seen the nonsense out of people’s mouths back in the 70’s and 80’s concerning Blacks and Mexicans.You would not have believed it unless you read or saw it personally. Racism happened then and it happens now.
Ask the people who were actually there.
Halle would have no self-esteem and a bad attitude if her skin was blue with pink sprinkles. I feel sorry for her daughter. Hopefully Gabriel is a strong man.
Woah, I’m actually starting to understand what Halle is talking about after reading this comment section.
We have White Americans in a state of denial “Racism, what racism” and “Well,she’s crazy so she’s probably making the racist stuff up and the audacity of her thinking ANYONE let alone someone white would be jealous of her!? She’s totally lying!”.
We have biracial people talking about how “She should get over it cause when I was a biracial kid I had no problems!” Who cares if she’s talking about her growing up in the 70s 80s, her experience isn’t mine so therefor she’s a liar! And crazy! Did I say crazy?
And then we have the black folks talking about how “She’s not special!! We’re ALL mixed and FYI she doesn’t look mixed, she looks like my black family members…”
Sheeshuzzz….My goodness. I am not American but I get what Halle is talking about now.
Wow.
Well you’ve certainly got some rather rigid generalizations going on there Guam. White Americans, biracial people, and black people – you’ve managed to pigeon hole them all, tsk tsk.
By the way, I’m not American, and I still think Berry is nuts. Surely you’re aware of her well-documented, emotionally unstable behavior for years now, and her habit of flinging vicious accusations at her ex’s? Or are you new to this planet?
@Guam-“We have biracial people talking about how “She should get over it cause when I was a biracial kid I had no problems!” Who cares if she’s talking about her growing up in the 70s 80s, her experience isn’t mine so therefor she’s a liar!”
But aren’t you essentially saying the same thing by dismissing these people’s comments and personal experiences? Or are you just choosing to believe Halle’s story over others because it fits into your preconceived image of the US as a supremely racist country? The truth is that some biracial people experienced racism and some did not.
Also, I really wish you wouldn’t base your opinion about the state of racism in another country that is not your own, on comments made on a celeb blog.
It seems a bit silly, if you ask me. Racism does not belong to the US exclusively. Not sure where you live but I can bet you dollars for donuts that unless you live in fairy tale, make-believe world, your country has seen its share of racism as well.
Halle can’t seem to catch a break at this site.
Halle and I are of the same age. I get her comments re: being biracial. The millenials (sp) of today are growing up in a different world. Just because the world presents a different face to them doesn’t negate the messages society sent to her and to us born of that age and prior to that.
If nothing else, respect her experience and not try to superimpose yours on hers.
Rock on, Halle!
I have always liked Halle.
She keeps to herself mostly and while she does have some wild man stories, who cares?
She seems like a private woman who just wants to enjoy the simple things in life. Her daughter (and baby daddy and fiance) are all beautiful.
Looking at the first pic, the eyes say it all.