Tisha Campbell Talks 40-Year Friendships, Body Image, Surviving Hollywood & Finding Herself Again

The InnerMission Podcast ❤️

In this intimate episode, Tisha Campbell joins host Danielle to discuss her profound journey through fame, health struggles, and motherhood.

Key takeaways

• Tisha Campbell discusses her new memoir, 'The A Word', which details her journey through her son's autism diagnosis.
• She shares the physical toll of sarcoidosis, explaining how steroid treatments led to significant weight gain.

Main topics

• Friendship and Loyalty
• Body Image and Health

Notable quotes

An artist is someone who understands that they's here to serve others. A celebrity believes that they're here to be served.

Conclusion

The episode provides a moving look at resilience, encouraging listener

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:00) I'm here with an icon. So am I. He never looked for the accolades because we were always told we would never get them. Speaker 2 (0:13) And I was like, can we? It Speaker 1 (0:16) was Speaker 2 (0:17) like. Speaker 1 (0:18) Tisha, you know that's not gonna happen. An artist is someone who understands that they're here to serve others. Come on. A celebrity believes that they're here to be served. Speaker 2 (0:28) Ooh! One dating rule you had in your 20s that you completely would throw out now. Speaker 1 (0:34) Dating. Period. I'm good. There's always something beautiful that comes out of something that may look like it's a bad thing. Speaker 2 (0:46) Little shop. Yeah. Little shop of hearts. Little shop. Little shop of terror. Speaker 1 (0:57) Hello. Danielle, Speaker 2 (0:59) it's Tisha. Campbell. Oh, you made it, girl. I'm so excited. Girl, you Speaker 1 (1:07) better. You got me in my pajamas. You got your pajamas? Yeah, girl, I got Speaker 2 (1:12) my Speaker 1 (1:12) pajamas on. Speaker 2 (1:14) I'm ready for you. All right, come on. Bye. You coming? I can't believe that you are in my home. Speaker 1 (1:33) Tisha, keep it job, Campbell. Now do you go by Danielle or Danny? You can call Speaker 2 (1:39) me Danny. Okay, Speaker 1 (1:40) okay, okay. Yeah, yeah. Like you can feel the Speaker 2 (1:42) energy when you're like, please don't. Why you calling me? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You know what I mean? But like, yes. I got you. We locked in. But I'm going Speaker 1 (1:48) to do Danielle. You can call me. Speaker 2 (1:49) In the Speaker 1 (1:49) beginning. Okay. Then we can go, well, girl, you Danny now, girl. Right. Okay. So we were talking about my space and how Speaker 2 (1:57) I was telling you how I just couldn't believe that I had gotten to a point where I'm putting up my own posters. This little country girl from South Carolina. Speaker 1 (2:04) Oh, you from South Carolina. Yes. Miss Jersey. Oh, yes. That girl did her research, y'all. You already know I did. I'm Speaker 2 (2:11) going Speaker 1 (2:11) to do this Speaker 2 (2:12) right. I'm going to do this right. So, but I was telling you about like, I look at myself. I don't look at myself as like the F word. Famous. Famous. Right. And that's always been a challenge for me because at the end of the day, that's how the world looks at me. Fame Speaker 1 (2:27) comes and goes. Talk to me. Yes. So I always talk about this. I never call myself a celebrity. Speaker 2 (2:36) Okay. I Speaker 1 (2:37) look at myself as an artist and there's a difference that most people don't really get. Like an artist is someone who understands that they're here to serve others. Come on. A celebrity. believes that they're here to be served. Ooh, we Speaker 2 (2:53) got five minutes here. Speaker 1 (2:57) No, it's true. We ain't even got five minutes in. I have chills. No, it's the truth. As an artist, you understand your assignment. And so people would always say, why are you so nice to everybody? I was like, because with my artistry, I'm saying hi first. That's right. So if I'm greeting you first, why wouldn't I at least try to oblige? Now, I do. The only time that I don't like it. Yeah. is in the bathroom, please, can I please wash my hands? Right, right, right. Wipe my ass? Right, right. Can I do that, please? So yeah, that's the most disgusting. Or... When my kids was younger, I couldn't Speaker 2 (3:38) keep Speaker 1 (3:38) my eyes on them. So I would, you know, I might not be as, you know, open to having a conversation or taking a picture. But for the most part, I say hi first. Yeah, I'm the same way. We reached out first. If we're reaching out first, we understand that this is our job. Our job is to serve others. It's so Speaker 2 (3:57) true. I love that. I'm the same way. Like, I have a six-year-old. Yes, a Speaker 1 (4:02) girl. Her name is Speaker 2 (4:03) Freya. I Speaker 1 (4:04) like that name. Speaker 2 (4:05) Yeah, because I wanted her to always know that she is free. Speaker 1 (4:08) That's right. Speaker 2 (4:08) Yes. And so I'm the same way. If I'm with Freya, like I want to make sure that I can keep my eyes on her. You know, she's Speaker 1 (4:15) my main focus. And I want her to Speaker 2 (4:16) understand that she is number one. Speaker 1 (4:18) Right. And that this is just a job. That's right. So with my kids, let me tell you, I never let them see any of my work. I know. I just never put it in their Speaker 2 (4:27) face. When they were younger. When they were younger. Yes. I Speaker 1 (4:30) never let them see any of my work. I never brought them to red carpets. Okay. Because, you know, with people yelling your name, Tisha, Tisha, Tisha, I didn't want them to think I was better than anybody else, that what I did was just a job. It's just a vocation. So... When did you start having them? Well... How did they know? Uh-oh, it's a story. Okay, no, it is. So Nala Wayans, Keena's daughter... was babysitting my youngest son, Zeke, when he was about three. Right? And when I came home, they were both streaming to Martinshaw. I was like, what are you doing? And he goes, hi, Gina. And he's been calling me Gina ever since. He don't call me mommy. Oh, my God. He has never. If he calls me mommy, something's wrong. Oh. So he calls me Gina. Oh, my God. So I just answer because I'm tired. Speaker 2 (5:17) You must Speaker 1 (5:18) love Speaker 2 (5:18) it, Speaker 1 (5:18) don't you? I just Speaker 2 (5:20) be answering. It must put a smile on your face though. He Speaker 1 (5:24) does. Cause he says it's so, like he's so endearing. Which son is this though? This is the youngest. This is Ezekiel. Okay. So then there's Zen, who's the oldest. He's 25. He just turned 25. And then Ezekiel is about to turn 17. Hey Speaker 2 (5:37) Zen and Ezekiel. I have to say hey to Zen because I think he's a fan of Peacemaker. Girl, let me tell you, this Speaker 1 (5:48) boy had me watching y'all. Speaker 1 (5:52) Oh my God, he loves it. You must've saw the post. I saw it, I reposted it. He made me learn to dance and everything. Speaker 2 (6:02) Girl, they had my black ass doing that dance. But Speaker 1 (6:05) listen, listen, listen, listen, listen. I'm trying to figure out one thing. Oh, Speaker 2 (6:09) God. I'm nervous. My Speaker 1 (6:10) son has no... You're good. You made that stuff look sexy. Can I curse? Yes, you can. I actually made that shit look sexy. But my son, who has, when I tell you no rhythm, he's going to really think I'm doing something with my career. That I'm actually sitting here talking to you. Cool points. Cool points. Listen, after we're done, or during, we could put him on the phone. We should. Yes, so that he could see your face. But he loves Peacemaker. I... posted him dancing. But here was the really weird part. Like my son, now I'm a good mother and I talk about my kids behind their back like a good mother should. So he don't have no rhythm. None. Zip. Zero. He can't even snap. He can't clap. But he could do that dance. That made me concerned. Well, the dance, technically Speaker 2 (7:00) you didn't need no rhythm for the dance. Girl, that was the problem because when we was doing this peacemaker right right right and i had started to do the too much facial expression and james yes james gunn the creator was like uh danielle stop with the facial expression Speaker 1 (7:25) Okay. Oh, my gosh. But I love that he Speaker 2 (7:28) watches the show. He Speaker 1 (7:30) loves Speaker 2 (7:30) you. And I love that he got you on the show. We definitely got to hit Zen up. Yes, we do. We do. Okay. So, me and you have totally went left. We did. Let me get Speaker 1 (7:38) you on right. Okay. Where we at? Speaker 2 (7:39) So, whenever I have a guest on, the first question I always ask them, Speaker 1 (7:43) the Speaker 2 (7:44) origin of their name. Tisha Campbell, how did you get your name? Speaker 1 (7:49) Which one? Tisha? Yes. All right. I was... My mother's right outside this door, too. She named me after her. Should we bring her in? We should, because she named me after a poodle. What? A poodle. I'm named after a poodle. Tisha. And then, you know, it's spelled T-I-S-H-A. So some people call me Tisha, some people call me Tisha. You Speaker 2 (8:16) know Speaker 1 (8:16) that's my Speaker 2 (8:16) best, well, you don't know this. That's my best friend's name. Tisha? Tisha. How's she spell it? T-I-S-H-A. Look at her. Yep. And we've been friends since four. Shut up. So I'm telling you, it's something. Speaker 1 (8:27) I know. It's a connection. But I answer to anything. Tisha, Tisha, T-shirt, Tisha. No, you don't. All shit. My name's spelled backwards. All of it. Speaker 2 (8:38) This comedy that is coming from you right now. Speaker 1 (8:43) I just answered, but my grandmother used to call me Tisha. Now, I wasn't correcting her. Speaker 2 (8:47) Uh-huh. Speaker 1 (8:48) Uh-uh. You can't. No, I'm not going Speaker 2 (8:50) to Speaker 1 (8:50) call me Tish. Yup, yes, ma'am. I'm not going to correct her, so I answered it. Okay, so a poodle. A poodle. And Speaker 2 (8:58) what about your last name? Do you know any of them? Campbell, Speaker 1 (9:00) actually, my real name should be Etheridge. Nobody knows this, right? This is the first time I've ever talked about it. So my father was adopted after my grandmother split with her husband, my grandfather. They split, and then she married, we married a Campbell from the Bahamas. Fancy. Speaker 2 (9:22) Yes. Speaker 1 (9:22) So, yeah, my dad just took the name and he's Clifton Etheridge Campbell. Speaker 2 (9:28) Oh, wow. So, yeah. Speaker 1 (9:30) Do Speaker 2 (9:30) you have a middle name? Speaker 1 (9:31) I do. Michelle. Ooh, that's sexy. Tisha Michelle. Speaker 2 (9:36) I Speaker 1 (9:37) live. Yeah, I like Tisha Michelle. Speaker 2 (9:39) That is nice. Speaker 1 (9:40) Nice. I like it too. Speaker 2 (9:42) First of all. The fact that you I've heard from another interview you've been paying bills since she was five I was I Speaker 1 (9:48) was I I recognized how poor we really were I'm from North, New Jersey. Mm-hmm And so I recognized a long time ago. I was really in tuned. Um, well, I guess you know syrup sandwiches and many sandwiches would do that for you, but I Wanted to help my family members. So I think you know, I always say I came into this business really for not to be famous, not for the money for myself, I came here to help. To serve. To serve. Yeah. And so... So you Speaker 2 (10:22) knew Speaker 1 (10:22) that from an early age. From about... I started singing when I was three and acting when I was seven. So around five years old, I begged my mother to enter me into this talent contest. Out to me. Right? And it was all adults. And she was, you know, leery. And I said, but the second prize is a color television. I really want, we didn't have a color television that worked. So I really wanted my mom to enter me. And she did. And I didn't win the second prize. I didn't win the television. I won a car, the first prize. And I was mad. Because I'm fine. Right, and you can't drive. What you going to do with the car? What am I going to do with the car? And so then, but then I saw my dad running to the stage, jumping up and down and cheering. I saw my mother running to the stage and she's crying. And I saw my brother eating my Cheetos. I was going to kill him later. But it made me realize that, oh, we didn't have a car either. Wow. So I could help. Yeah. And that was the moment. that made me go, okay, I'm going to help my family. Yeah. Yeah. Speaker 2 (11:29) You Speaker 1 (11:29) have Speaker 2 (11:29) service from seven years old. Five. Five. Yeah. Then seven. Speaker 1 (11:34) Then seven I started acting. And I watched that Speaker 2 (11:36) short film that you did as a kid with the dancing. Oh my gosh. Oh Speaker 1 (11:41) my Speaker 2 (11:41) gosh. Speaker 1 (11:41) It's crazy. Your mother used to sing background for Mahalia? Yes, my mother was a gospel singer from when she was a little girl. They were three sisters called the Shockley Singers, and they used to sing behind background for Mahalia Jackson. Yeah. Yeah. Well, you know I played Mahalia Jackson for Lifetime. I Speaker 2 (12:02) know. Speaker 1 (12:02) And we Lifetime women, all right? Yes, Speaker 2 (12:04) okay. Speaker 1 (12:04) Because you've done so many projects with them. I do, I do. Yeah, when I Speaker 2 (12:08) heard that, I was like, what? Yeah, I'm Speaker 1 (12:10) actually doing one right now. I am currently working on a Lifetime film. It's very dear to my heart. It's called Still Here. Speaker 2 (12:19) And me and Speaker 1 (12:20) my writing partner, Dani Wright, Speaker 2 (12:23) we Speaker 1 (12:24) wrote it. Come on now. I wrote it and it's about, I know, it's about grief. Speaker 2 (12:31) And Speaker 1 (12:31) it was really great because the Lifetime execs were like, oh my God, this script is amazing. We're so excited. We're going to green light it. And you know how hard it is to green light stuff. Like we've been selling stuff since COVID. We sold like five projects during COVID, right? Wow, congratulations. We've been writing for so long, but we started out as writing partners for music. So we used Speaker 2 (12:53) to... The Still Here song? Is that like... No, Speaker 1 (12:55) that actually isn't. That was me and another artist, a producer that did that. But we just started writing during that time and we started sending all our stuff and getting it placed on all the Fox shows. So every single one of them has... us. That's amazing. And then during COVID, it was the first time in my life that I had nobody in my ear telling me what I could or could not do. And so I was like, I want to try other things. And she was like, well, let's just, you know, take some writing courses and let's write scripts. And we started writing and creating. And she became head of creative at my company. And then we built this company, You Go Girl Productions. And we were selling stuff. And sometimes things happen. An executive can leave or somebody selling another streaming platform. Speaker 1 (13:53) things can get stuck on the shelf. So when we, right after I finished doing Be Happy, Mary J. Blige's show on Lifetime, Dani and I were like, well, let's just write something for Lifetime and see if they like it. And we gave it to them about a month or two later and they called us like. We love this group. It's really different. It's different for me. Most people don't get to see me play these kind of roles at all because they look at me as the comedian. But I started out doing musical theater and drama. And Speaker 2 (14:25) so Speaker 1 (14:26) this is really heavy. It's a heavy subject matter. And it definitely is about grief. It's close to your heart. It is. And it came up. about because my cousin Eddie had just passed away and my aunt Sharon, losing a child is such a big thing. And I had a couple other friends who lost their children too. And so I wanted to write about that kind of how women in general, we lean on that strong black woman trope and it doesn't serve our nervous system. Not at all. At all. We're not allowed to... be sad or grieve or be angry or just to feel. Speaker 2 (15:08) And Speaker 1 (15:09) so I wanted to write about how in my own grief and the things that I've been through in my own life, how one still moves forward with holding that still close to your heart and on your shoulders. That's so exciting. Yeah, it's very exciting. It's the first production that got greenlit. Speaker 2 (15:31) I know. So I'm very excited about Speaker 1 (15:33) it. I know. Yeah. I'm really into writing really strong characters for people of color. Come on. Because we don't get to play these kind of roles. Yes. And when I'm on the set and we're working and the men in the crew are crying. Speaker 1