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Viola Davis was on Access Live, she’s promoting her partnership with Merck as she narrated a diabetes documentary for them called A Touch of Sugar. She started out talking about jumping out of a plane, which she did about a month ago. You can see a video of that below from her Instagram. She said she feels like a boss since she did that and also that it gave her swagger!
Do you have a bucket list? What else is on it?
A lot, but I feel like I hit one of them and I feel like a boss because of it. I have a swagger about me because I jumped out of a plane. How many people can say that? It was the closest I’m ever going to get to flying.What about swimming with sharks?
That’s not going to happen.What does your daughter Genesis say about you skydiving?
My daughter says ‘Mommy I don’t know why you’d want to do something like that. But, just in case, I want your money, I want your wigs, I want your makeup.’On her family history of diabetes
I have two sisters who have type 2 diabetes. I have an aunt who died from diabetes after having both her legs amputated and a paternal grandmother who succumbed to the disease. I was diagnosed about a year and a half ago with prediabetes. It is so pervasive in this country. [There’s] a shroud of silence around it. I wanted to narrate this film to destigmatize it.Since sharing my story, so many people have come up to me sharing their testimony with diabetes.
What would you tell your young self?
I would tell her that she was beautiful. I miss that. I miss people telling me that I was worthy. You touched on something about connection and about how we need to love each other more. I could not be where I am right now without help. A tribe of people who constantly threw me a rope and carried me every step of the way. There’s no going it alone.
Viola asked Kit Hoover and Scott Evans, the awesome Access Live co-hosts, if they’ve jumped out of planes and they both said they had. Kit said she “hated every second of it” and that you can’t breathe when you do it!
The last time I truly felt like that was when I learned to ride a motorcycle almost seven years ago. There’s that scary feeling like your life is in danger unless you get your sh-t together and focus. I’m afraid of both heights and small enclosed places like caves, but I wonder if I could jump out of a plane. After you conquer your biggest fears there’s got to be some of that swagger to it, like if you can do this you can do anything. Sometimes I feel that way about hard exercise too, like it prepares me for dealing with sh-t.
As for being diagnosed with prediabetes, Viola said you have to be a warrior for your health and that it’s about self care. Also she said that reflecting on her childhood “reminds me that you can dream big and God delivers.” I love seeing her interviews! You can watch that below.
Here’s the interview!
The woman to Viola’s left is her sister, Deloris Davis Grant, and I believe the other two women are her niece and another sister, their names are Annabella Grant and Dianne Davis-Wright. Viola is one of six children, she has four sisters and a brother.
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Now I want silver shoes:
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Good for her!! That is literally on my never-list. The idea of jumping out of a plane terrifies me. Although I do like flying, Ive sit copilot in puddle jumpers and it was great to see just clouds in front …. but free falling is a no. She’s much braver than me!
I did a parachute jump once and I was so nervous that when I was walking up to the plane before the jump, I walked right into the wing and walloped my head off it. Thankfully I had a helmet on.
The jump was equally terrifying and exhilarating and I’d love to do another one. Good for Viola.
I’ve only jumped once, but it was pretty fantastic! The plane was so small and uncomfortable I was quite glad to get out at 13,000 feet. 😁
You definitely feel like a badass afterwards, I still can’t believe I did it. Flying is by far my biggest fear, but I volunteered to be the first one out and got to ride by the open door on the way up, lol. It’s an amazing experience and I highly recommend it. It does feel like you can’t breathe for a minute but it’s mostly from fear and adrenaline, and the wind barreling down your throat, but once that shoot opens it’s the most peaceful breath you’ll ever take;)
As for diabetes yes it needs to be discussed more, it’s a scary disease and many people are so dismissive of it for some reason, I don’t understand why.
The thing about diabetes is that if you have a strong family history then it is often a question of when not if. The stigma around diabetes is part of what keeps people from seeking help. I’m glad Viola chose to talk about it.
300 jumps here! Viola – my sky sister- is so right – It is very empowering as a woman to participate in an extreme sport that is male dominated. It gave me lots of self confidence and I met my two best female friends in skydiving.
Skydiving is scary and unnatural, ever fiber of your being is telling you NOT TO JUMP. But when you fall out the door, the world stops! You are IN the moment. Once you get down, it is a proud experience to conquer that type of fear and to have enjoyed it as well! It is bad ass!
I learned the gear, the canopy skills and can pack my own parachute. I can stay calm under intense pressure. You feel like you have superhero powers. Highly recommend everyone jump tandem at least once in their life and if they love it – learn to fly!
My gramp was a jumpmaster WW2 vet. We’re Canadian so he was RCAF – but he was stationed with an Australian squadron and a New Zealand Squadron as well as the RAF during the war (he’d picked up a real mix of accents during that time) He was a rear gunner with bomber command during D-Day operations. And I HATE flying. I am terrified of it, and he always found it funny because planes are just NOTHING like they were when he was in the air force, and you typically aren’t dealing with nazi fighter planes when you go on vacation.
But he had to coax a LOT of people out of the plane during training. I wouldn’t be surprised if he pushed a few out (given the era). I know I couldn’t do it. It’s one of those things that MAYBE I’ll try to talk myself into one day – because I know it’d be SUCH a high feeling invincible once it was over. But there’s a lot of time to think about all the things that could go wrong, and that’s what would stop me haha. And I’d probably end up like Peggy Hill from King of the Hill with the kind of luck I have.
I didn’t think it was awesome at all. I did it once.
It was a job requirement.
Not long ago this young Soldier at Ft. Benning, GA did his first jump tandem; his leader was on his back.
The Instructor died from a heart attack on the way down and this poor Soldier had to get himself AND his Instructor down on his first jump.
That sucks.
Swimming with sharks? No thanks. I’ve been around sharks and we’ve made
an agreement, “Stay off my land and I won’t get in your water.” and the sharks said, “Dang it!”
Never trust a shark.
I’m not doing that bungee jumping thing either.
Do these people have death wishes?
I’m older than many of you and the only thing left on my bucket list is one of those Chef Table things at a famous restaurant!
That would be amazing.
You need a lot of money and a lot of time and the Chef brings you whatever is best and freshest for HOURS. Kind of like in Last Holiday with Queen L.