What Tina Turner Really Thought Of Angela Bassett's Portrayal Of Her In What's Love Got To Do With I

Publish date: 2024-05-30

Tina Turner's marriage to Ike Turner was an extremely abusive one. This is one thing Turner herself used to be very open about all through her lifetime. Her struggle, eventual escape, and survival is a story which continues to encourage many.

In 1993, a film in accordance with Turner's existence, What's Love Got To Do With It, was released. The movie starred Angela Bassett as Turner and Laurence Fishburne as Ike. The film was a huge success, but Turner wasn't fond of its portrayal of her.

Despite this, Turner used to be very fond of Bassett's efficiency. Following Turner's death, Bassett shared Turner's ultimate phrases to her.

Tina Left Her Marriage To Ike Turner With Nothing But Her Professional Name

Turner's marriage to Ike Turner used to be an especially abusive one. In her 2018 memoir "My Love Story," Turner referred to as their courting "a mockery" of partnership.

"My relationship with Ike was doomed the day he figured out I was going to be his moneymaker," Turner wrote. "He needed to control me, economically and psychologically, so I could never leave him."

Turner used a particular instance when writing about the abuse inside their relationship. Turner wrote concerning the time Ike coerced her into converting her title from Anna Mae Bullock to Tina Turner.

"I said I didn’t want to change my name," she wrote. "First, he was verbally abusive. Then, he picked up a wooden shoe stretcher. Ike knew what he was doing. If you play guitar, you never use your fists in a fight. He used the shoe stretcher to strike me in the head—always the head."

Related: Tina Turner Left The US For A Private Escape Worth $76 Million Off The Map, But What Did Her Neighbors Think About Her?

She persisted, "I was so shocked I started to cry. Ike ordered me to get on the bed. I hated him at that moment. The very last thing I wanted to do was make love, if you could call it that. When he finished, I laid there with a swollen head, thinking, ‘You’re pregnant and you have no place to go. You really have gotten yourself into something now.’"

Turner later attempted suicide via taking a whole bottle of prescription napping drugs. She survived and later divorced Ike. During their divorce complaints, Ike didn't need to leave Turner anything else. He owned the whole lot, including the rights to her skilled title.

In the tip, Turner decided to let Ike have everything but her professional name.

Tina Said The Movie 'What's Love Got To Do With It' Wasn't Entirely Accurate

The film What's Love Got To Do With It used to be launched in 1993. Bassett's portrayal of Turner earned her important reward or even an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Fishburne additionally received a Best Actor nomination at the Oscars for his portrayal of Ike.

What's Love Got To Do With It was in keeping with Turner's own autobiography "I, Tina." However, Turner herself would later reveal a lot of the film's content material was no longer an accurate portrayal of how the events happened. She said that Tina: The Tina Turner Musical was once a extra truthful account of what came about.

"I watched a little bit of it, but I didn't finish it because that was not how things went," Turner told Oprah Winfrey in 2018. "Oprah, I didn't realize they would change the details so much. The musical is how things actually were."

Related: Why Tina Turner And Elton John Absolutely Hated Each Other: The Truth About Their Endless Feud

In addition to the accuracy of the film's content, Turner wasn't happy with the movie's portrayal of her as a sufferer. She would talk about this with Vanity Fair and added that she didn't like talking about the domestic abuse that came about in her marriage to Ike.

"Okay so if I was a victim, fine," Turner mentioned. "Maybe I was a victim for a short while. But give me credit for thinking the whole time I was there. See, I do have pride."

Angela Bassett Shares What Tina Turner Told Her About Her Performance In The Film

Bassett used to be named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People in 2022. Turner penned the accompanying passage paying tribute to Bassett. Turner wrote that she used to be to start with skeptical of the movie, however that modified when she saw Bassett.

"Angela, the first time we met, you didn't look, sound, or move like me — hat came later after you worked so hard to make it happen. But even then, I could see that the young woman standing before me had strength, determination, and big, big dreams, just like me," Turner wrote.

"'She's perfect,' I said, and I was right," Turner endured. "That's your gift, becoming your character with conviction, truth, dignity, and grace, even when it's painful, and takes everything you have and more. It's not just acting, it's being."

Following Turner's demise in 2023, Bassett took to Instagram and shared her memories of the rock legend.

"Through her courage in telling her story, her commitment to stay the course in her life, no matter the sacrifice, and her determination to carve out a space in rock and roll for herself and for others who look like her, Tina Turner showed others who lived in fear what a beautiful future filled with love, compassion and freedom should look like," Bassett wrote.

Related: This Was How Fans Reacted To Tina Turner Selling Her Catalog For $50 Million

Bassett also shared Turner's complimentary ultimate phrases to her regarding her performance in the movie.

"Her final words to me — for me — were, 'You never mimicked me. Instead, you reached deep into your soul, found your inner Tina, and showed her to the world.' I shall hold these words close to my heart for the rest of my days. I am honored to have known Tina Turner," she wrote.

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