Actress Angela Means, who famously played Felicia in the hit 1995 film Friday, recently shared that people called her “dirty b***h” because of her role.
According to reports, Means revealed her wild experience via an emotional interview with Comedy Hype on Aug. 15.
“To this day, I’ll see people say, ‘Bye, you dirty b***h, you f**ked up b***h, dumb b***h,'” she said about Friday viewers who don’t seem to understand how to differentiate acting from real life.
Means added that Felicia’s mistreatment in the film haunted her since its release nearly 30 years ago. The character was an unkempt drug addict that appeared to mooch off of main characters Craig–played by Ice Cube–and Smokey–played by Chris Tucker.
“Why was there so much hate for such an obviously beautiful woman? Why would no one defend her? I’ve asked this question for 30 years,” the veteran actress told Comedy Hype.
“Maybe people were tired of her,” she said, holding back tears. “Why would people be so unkind and so dismissive?”
The now-58-year-old actress noted that she put a lot of work and thought into Felicia’s story, and she determined to portray the character in the best light possible.
“I wish I still had Felicia’s bio,” she mentioned, adding that she “wrote a very intense bio on her” to fully understand what influenced Felicia’s life.
Means further explained that while she commended Friday‘s creators for producing a classic African American film, she was disappointed in what happened to her character. She then tearfully highlighted that Felicia “fell through the cracks” and was mistreated by a “bully.”
On the bright side, the Michigan native said she wasn’t surprised about landing the role, as she was prepared to take on Hollywood at the time.
“I was not surprised when I landed the role. It didn’t come as a shock…when I got a call for that audition, I was like, ‘this is hard’ [but] this is it.”
