By Her Own Rules had the pleasure of speaking with
Racquel Bailey, the actress who’s Instagram post of the billboard she purchased pitching herself to work with
Tyler Perry went viral.
To the actresses dismay, however, Perry wasn’t very amused. On June 5 the producer shared the below image captioned with,”Auhhh…. soooooo…… here’s the deal. This is not the way to get my attention if you’re looking for a role in one of my shows. Please DON’T DO THIS, SAVE YOUR MONEY!! This is the third time that someone has done this. PLEASE STOP! To audition is FREE!! I’m sure you can use that money for a better purpose.”
But that wasn’t all. He continued with:
I love that you want to work with me, and I love that you invest in yourself. But when you do things like this it puts my team on high alert and makes me look at you sideways. I know the message that you want to send is a positive one, but this comes across as the opposite.
Again, the best way to work for me is to AUDITION and it’s FREE! We post breakdowns all the time for actors. JUST COME AND AUDITION.
And by the way, you were great in THE NIGHT OF! It was my favorite show a couple years ago. I ALREADY SAW YOU!! So just audition and keep your money!! Again, I appreciate your effort, but that’s not the way to work for me.
God bless you dreamer. I have no doubt you will make it one day!!
During our conversation with the actress, we discovered her reason for placing the ad and what’s ensued since.
What prompted you to purchase the billboard to grab Tyler Perry’s attention?
I was motivated by my faith and my family.
Why Tyler Perry? What is it about his work in particular that motivated you to want to work for him and be in one of his productions?
I have always been a fan of his work. His productions are productions that I could see myself apart of. because of my style of acting.
Were you disappointed when you initially saw his response to the billboard advising fellow actors not to take the same route?
At first, I was. I read it as everyone else did. Though I am an actress and getting criticism is a part of the job, And I have tough skin. I reread it and I understood where he was coming from. He is a director and I am an actor and it’s important that I listen. he also said he liked my acting so that made me feel great.
We’ve discovered that you have in fact landed a role in one of Perry’s films, can you share more about that? What is it and when will it be released?
I booked a role in his new show Sista on BET, it airs on Oct 23. I am very excited to have worked with him and to be apart of this great show. Hopefully, I can continue a working relationship with the TP family.
Tell us a little about yourself. How long have you been an actress?
I have been acting since I was little, so around 17 years. My background is in Theatre so I grew up doing a lot of plays.
Would you consider this your big break?
I don’t know if I believe in a big break. I believe everything is an opportunity for the next opportunity. And each opportunity gets bigger and bigger.
Would you do it again? Another director/filmmaker?
No, I wouldn’t. The goal for the billboards was to get Tyler Perry’s attention. And since I have done that I don’t need to do it again.
What’s next for you? Anything else you’d like to share?
I don’t know exactly what is next for me but what I do know it will be great!
Bailey has appeared in HBO’s ‘The Night Of” and BET’s ‘Sistas.’ For more about the actress and what she’s up to you may follow her online and visit her website:
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