Andra Day Battled Porn and Sex Addiction During Filming for Award-Winning Performance

Andra Day is confessing a personal hurdle she overcame and how it played into her role in the film The United States vs. Billie Holiday. The actress recently spoke about what she wanted to bring to her character Billie Holiday — a role she lost 40 pounds for — and how her personal struggle with a porn addiction played into that. “I didn’t want any element of sexualization,” she said according to Entertainment Tonight.

“I had come out of something in my own life — dealing with porn addiction, sex addiction. I’m being very, very candid with you because I’m not the only one. But I knew I wanted all of that very much gone,” she added. Her performance earned her a Best Actress Golden Globe as she played the legendary jazz singer. “I feel now, after playing Billie, that I’m honoring her, and the strength that is femininity,” she continued. “I’m definitely in a healthier place to enjoy that because I’m outside of the addiction if you will. So yeah, it’s been really fun, because it’s been very new for me.”

When the 36-year-old was asked about her weight loss and if it’s given her more confidence and feels prettier, she admitted that she loved her size before her role; she added, “I liked being juicy!” “I’ve had people ask me, ‘Do you feel prettier now that you’ve lost weight?’ I was like, ‘Hell no! I liked being juicy! I was cool,’” she said. However, while she was perfectly fine with her size, she did confess that the way her body feels is the biggest difference she’s noticed and does enjoy that part.

“But I do like the way [the weight loss] feels on my body, I like the way it feels on my joints. You do notice a difference,” she explained before adding what she defines as beauty. “Besides, to me, there is no such thing as a classic beauty. Beauty takes on so many different forms, in different times and depending on the nation. It’s just about being confident, loving yourself, and understanding your value.” In fact, her role as Holiday is what opened her eyes to this kind of beauty and even encouraged her to value herself in a way she’s never done before.

“And it has to do with Billie,” she said. “It was almost like she said, ‘Sis, we’re going to have to close this because I have to survive.’ She opened me up to valuing myself in a way in a way that I hadn’t fully before.”