Actress LisaRaye stunned her colleagues on the FoxSoul streaming show “Cocktails with Queens” last month when their birthday surprise of her sister Da Brat appearing on the show went left.
The actress, who is known for her role on “Players Club,” celebrated her 53rd birthday Sept. 23. Her sister, Atlanta rapper Da Brat, made a surprise appearance on her talk show, which she co-hosts with singer Syleena Johnson, media personality Claudia Jordan and actress Vivica A. Fox. What started as a sweet tribute to the Chicago natives' childhood ended with the actress becoming irate with Da Brat and seemingly peeved with her co-hosts' efforts.
Credit: Via Facebook
Credit: Via Facebook
At one point during the birthday episode of the livestream show, LisaRaye was crying and speaking directly to her sister about not speaking to her for months. When Fox, who is a friend to both sisters, attempted to get LisaRaye to warm up to the birthday wishes, the reaction was livid.
“I don’t give a (expletive) what y’all saying at all,” the actress squawked at her colleagues.
“Y’all don’t know (expletive) at all. She do. You do. You do,” she directed toward Da Brat.
She later explained why she was frustrated by the interaction, and she’s now apologized for her behavior.
“It’s bigger than just, oh, you moved on with your life because she been grown for a very long time,” she said. “What I want to apologize to each and every one of you all for is that this is not the kind of show, that was not the kind of show that we do, and that is not how we interact with each other. I don’t ever want that to happen again. I apologize to each and every one of you queens because you guys are my friends and my support system.”
What happened during the birthday show?
A 17-minute clip from the show began circulating after the show aired last week. In the video, each of the hosts appears remotely from their homes, but Jordan quickly introduces Da Brat in a surprise addition to the program. LisaRaye’s face immediately shows shock and emotion. After the cast and Da Brat began singing “Happy Birthday" to the actress, whose real name is LisaRaye McCoy, the actress begins crying.
The hosts appear surprised at the “All of Us” star’s reaction to her sister, and Da Brat is asked whether the tearful response surprised her. The rapper, whose real name is Shawntae Harris, said she expected some disappointment from her sister because the sisters had “a little space" in their relationship. The rapper admitted she had not seen her sister since before the COVID-19 outbreak. Her comments were met with more emotions from LisaRaye.
“Punk, you know how much I love you. You know how much you mean to me,” Da Brat told her sister. “You know since I was a child you’ve always been there. You always gave me good advice.”
As Da Brat continues reminiscing about their family memories, she also notes that she needed space from her sister, whom she described as judgmental. LisaRaye breaks from her tears in the interview to say that she is happy for her sister, who recently announced that she is bisexual and happily in a relationship.
“I will say this, I am happy for you. I am glad that you are living in your truth. ... For you to be so happy and so vibrant, that is a blessing.”
That warm response was immediately followed by a pointed comment from LisaRaye: “I appreciate you coming out and verbally saying happy birthday to me in this kind of way, because I (expletive) sho' ain’t heard from you in months.”
The birthday surprise gone awry drew lots of memes and comments from Twitter after the clip went viral.
Some supported LisaRaye’s response; others felt the reaction to the good-intentioned birthday wish was unwarranted even if the sisters had not spoken in months.
The full clip of the birthday surprise and dismantling of it can be found here.
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