How Javicia Leslie Pulled Off Surprising Her Mom on ‘The Jennifer Hudson Show’
February 16, 2023
Javicia Leslie pulled a good-natured prank on her own mother on national TV!
The “Batwoman” star appeared on “The Jennifer Hudson Show,” totally surprising her mom in the audience who had no idea her daughter was going to be a guest!
“My mom is a huge Jennifer Hudson fan, like HUGE!” Javicia told JHud. She explained that her mother is visiting her in Los Angeles, and she said she wanted to get tickets to go see “The Jennifer Hudson Show.”
Since Javicia works for Warner Bros., she was able to score some tickets for her and her mom to attend a taping. But after she got them, the actress actually got invited to appear as a guest on the show!
“I’m not gonna tell her that I’m gonna be on the show!” she recalled thinking. “I want her to still think that we’re going to the show [as guests].”
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View StoryThat morning, she texted her mom that she didn’t think she would be able to attend the taping after all, blaming her delay on traffic.
“Let me tell you — she made this so difficult, y’all!” said Javicia. “First of all, she rode up to my house while I was in hair and makeup. I’m like, ‘What are you doing here?!’ So now I gotta come up with a lie.”
“I am so shocked!” Mama Leslie told JHud from her seat in the studio audience. “I texted her and said, ‘Where are you? We’re trying to save her seat!’”
Javicia is the first Black woman to play the role of Batwoman, and it was a role she never thought she had a chance of getting.
“It was such an honor,” she told JHud of playing wearing the iconic cowl. “I grew up on comics. I’m actually a comic fiend… I love DC, Batman, all of that.
“The funny thing is, when I saw the role come out, I said, ‘Well, they’re not gonna hire a Black woman to play Batwoman,” recalled Javicia. “But sure, I’ll just audition anyway. It was in the middle of the pandemic, so why not?”
She was shocked when she got the call that she was going to be tested for the role — and even more surprised when she found out she was offered the part! “My manager calls me and she says, ‘May I speak to [Batwoman’s name] Ryan Wilder?’”
The actress has played a range of roles over the course of her career, and she says the role she gets recognized for tells her a lot about the person.
“If you know me from ‘God Friended Me,’ okay, you wholesome,” she said. “If you know me from ‘Batwoman,’ okay, you like comics or action. If you know me from ‘Family Business,’ you nasty!”
“The Jennifer Hudson Show” airs weekdays. Here’s when to watch in your area.
