Naturi Naughton-Lewis recently shared that she wanted to direct episodes of Power but was not allowed.
Appearing on the third electrifying installment of PLLRS, held at Soho Works in Brooklyn, Naughton-Lewis, along with her husband, Two Lewis, a film producer and entertainment executive, shared how she was not permitted to sit in the director’s chair.
“I was on Power for six years, and then four years on Power Book II: Ghost. I did 10 years of a show that went on and on, and I begged to direct an episode and never got the opportunity. That felt very hurtful, and it was frustrating,” Naughton-Lewis told journalist Keith Nelson Jr.. “No one trusted me to do one episode. I had taken classes. I was showing people I can do it. I think that was where I felt like, ‘Jesus, I want to be more than just Tasha.”
Refusing to have her creativity stifled, the couple launched their own production company, Take Two Entertainment. They’ve already produced short film 333, which is in the American Black Film Festival, and The Color Book, which was in the Tribeca Film Festival. Additionally, they’re set to co-produce Duke & Roya, an off-Broadway play starring Insecure’s Jay Ellis.
Elsewhere in the conversation, Naughton-Lewis spoke about why she hasn’t released any new music since she co-founded 3LW. She went on to share some of the struggles she faced in the music industry.
“I was taken advantage of as a teenager. I was mistreated. I made no money. I worked my ass off and literally was broke. I had nothing. I could barely buy a car. My dad helped me buy my first car, a BMW 325i with the $10,000 I made over four years of being in a group called 3LW,” Naughton-Lewis said. “After selling 1.6 million records, I had $10,000. I was on financial aid in college. I did all the regular stuff, and people were like, ‘Wait, weren’t you just on TRL or 106 & Park?’ The music business broke my heart.”
