The stars of the upcoming TV One film sat down with ET’s Kevin Frazier.
Vivica A. Fox is proud of the upcoming TV One biopic that chronicles the life of the late Bobbi Kristina Brown.
Fox, who co-stars in Bobbi Kristina, sat down with ET to talk about the film and her friendship with Whitney Houston.
“I think a lot of people are thinking that we’re going to focus on things that are negative but we didn’t,” Fox told ET’s Kevin Frazier. “We absolutely approached this with love and respect.”
Directed by Taye Hodges, the biopic stars newcomer Joy Rovaris as Bobbi Kristina and Nadji Jeter as her boyfriend, Nick Gordon. Hassan Johnson plays Bobby Brown, and Demetria McKinney plays Whitney Houston. Fox signed on to play Pat Houston, the late superstar's sister-in-law and former manager.
The film details the final years of Houston’s life and how her death in 2012 led to her daughter’s downward spiral. Bobbi Kristina died three years after the death of her mother. She was 22.
“Her connection to her mom was so powerful and so strong that I think that once Whitney left, half of her or more left,” Rovaris said.
“Whitney would have her low moments," Rovaris noted. "Krissy would kind of step in and take care of her mom, and when Nick came along he would be there with her. I think for Krissy it was like ‘mom trusted him [Gordon], I don't have to worry about trying to find someone else I can trust. It was kind of convenient, I think.”
Jeter vowed to show a more “likable” side of Gordon, to give viewers an idea of why Whitney “had this weird love” for him. Whitney took Gordon in at age 12, and after her death, Bobbi Kristina was rarely seen without him by her side. The two eventually forged a romantic relationship.
For Jeter, playing the role was a "challenge” because Gordon is commonly seen as a “villain." “I got to know his background and really got into that mindset of who he really was and how Krissy saw him," Jeter explained. "It was a challenge but I got there."
“He was smart. His darker side didn't really show until after Whitney passed,” Rovaris added of Gordon. “He was family.”
Fox also revealed that she recently ran into Bobby Brown in New York, where the two embraced. “I said, ‘You good?’, and he said, ‘Yeah,’ and I said, ‘Alright’. You know we got nothing but love for you, and he said, ‘Alright,'” she recalled.
Brown tried stop the film from airing, but lost after a judge dismissed the case earlier this month.
“I have nothing but love and respect for the family and I want him to know that,“ Fox reiterated.
Even with the controversy, Fox hopes that the Houston and Brown families will "give the movie a chance."
“I knew Bobby, I knew Whitney, I knew Bobbi Kristina. I would never be involved with anything that would defame their legacy,” she pointed out. “Those are my friends.”
Bobbi Kristina airs on TV One on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
