Jacque Reid

Everything the multi-media front woman, Jacque Reid, touches turns to gold. The fabulous southern belle has a decade and a half in the television journalism industry and a career that’s unparalleled.

She’s graced the halls of NBC and CBS, anchored for CNN and BET news, co-hosted the D.L. Hughley and Tom Joyner morning shows, engineered Jacque Reid Media and built supreme celebrity status networking power all while looking effortlessly fab.

She’s certainly not your typical drab anchorwoman. In fact she’s always flawlessly clad. Her voguish ensembles gracefully outline her petite frame and she doesn’t miss a beat make-up or hair wise either.

So it didn’t surprise us when we hard she’d recently been casted on VH1’s hot new reality show “Let’s Talk About Pep” featuring Sandra “Pepa” Denton formerly of Salt & Pepa. The show, which airs Jan 11, has been dubbed an urban "Sex and The City" providing real life advice to sexy, single women. We had a chance to sit down with Jacque to discuss her perspective on the show and how she feels about letting the public in on some very private matters.

Shanelle Matthews: You are easily one of the most recognized black journalists on television today and also a fresh feminine face in what some would call a man’s profession. What, if any, pressure does that put on you?

Jacque Reid: Well, I don’t know if I would call it pressure but it makes me feel responsible about the things I do and the way I represent myself, more so because of my Christianity. The fact that I am a Christian makes me want to carry myself in a certain kind of respectable manner - more credible, more reliable and just a good role model.

SM: You’ve been newswoman, producer, radio show host, entrepreneur and worn a number of other hats. What pushed you to want to venture into reality television?

JR: Some good friends of mine, Sheryl and Sandy aka Salt and Pepa. We all go to Bible study together and they asked me if I would do it. I thought about it. I love many reality shows, but not all. I am not a fan of reality shows that show black women in a negative light. I met with the producers and gave it some thought. I went into journalist mode and did my homework. I was still nervous when we were shooting the pilot but I went forward with it. After I signed the contract and I saw the pilot I saw that the producers kept their word and set out to do a classier reality show, something that was more about issues. About four women who were close friends who were trying to deal with the craziness of dating.

SM: After watching the trailer for the show, I’m both excited and anxious to watch the series in its entirety. What can we expect from you on this season of “Lets Talk About Pep?”

JR: People always ask what "Sex and the City" character would I be? I guess I am a combination of Charlotte and Miranda. I am definitely the one at the table that’s saying please stop cursing. I am not overly nice but I am the proper, southern, traditional, not going to kiss a man on the first date girl and aint no man sucking my toes on the first date. My friends will tell you “That’s who she is!” It really is me.

SM: You speak openly about some personal issues in your blog and on your website, but do you have any concerns about your fans and the media being privy to parts of your personal life that may air on the show?

JR: No, because again I feel like it is an extension to what I already do as a journalist. We have an issue that we end up exploring and then we have a story. That’s what I love about the show; it is a way of giving people who are going through it a few ways to look at it and people who may not be going through it more understanding about it.

SM: In the trailer you mention your plight to have children, and that because you’re single your OB/GYN suggested asking an ex-boyfriend to consider donating his sperm and fathering a child for you. Is this a reality for you?

JR: That’s what I am dealing with right now in my life. You know, your clock is ticking and you don’t have a man you don’t know what to do but you aren’t going through this alone.



SM: I have to ask, is it true that you’ve really never had an orgasm?

JR: People try to make you feel like you’re a leper. I don’t feel like it’s anything to be ashamed of. I got to keep it moving. I know that there are other women out there who are dealing with the same thing.

SM: Do you have any expectations of the show?

JR: I don’t know if I have any expectations in that sense. I just hope that it’s a show that people can relate to and have fun with and be entertained and uplifted by - especially for women who are dating. It can be depressing and a down right drag. I want them to know they’re not going through this alone, and laugh at themselves, like we laugh at ourselves.

SM: So, you are single, right?

JR: Yes, unfortunately. I went on a date last night - disaster. People think because your known that your - Creme Magazine

Jacque Reid is a well-known and highly-regarded journalist. This Atlanta native honed her skills as an anchor on CNN Headline News and BET Nightly News, co-hosted radio programs with Steve Harvey and Tom Joyner, was a correspondent for Larry King and has interviewed both President Clinton and President Obama. She’s serious; but, she also knows how to let her hair down. This month, the veteran reporter takes a stab at reality television, co-starring in the VH-1 show, Let’s Talk About Pep, which follows Sandy “Pepa” Denton (of Salt-N-Pepa fame) and her three girlfriends as they strive for love and success in New York. Reid gave us the skinny on her most difficult celebrity interview, having sex on the first date and her challenge to our home town news queen.

944: You were born and raised in Atlanta and attended Clark Atlanta University. How did this city prepare you for success?
Jacque Reid: I am known for developing strong chemistry with the people that I interview. I feel my ability to disarm and relate to various types of celebrities, politicians or just everyday people is attributed to growing up in Atlanta. I have a strong sense of self-respect that comes from seeing men in my hometown treat women like ladies.

944: You have interviewed everyone from Bill Clinton to Beyoncé. Who has been your most interesting? Your most difficult?
JR: My most interesting interview was probably Barack Obama the night after he gave that amazing speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. When Barack Obama walked in the room, he just owned it. He was very humble and honest. His answers were not rehearsed like many politicians that I have interviewed. My most difficult was Don King. It was also in 2004 after King announced he was supporting the Republican Party. He was determined to talk over the interview and turn it into a commercial for himself. I fought to keep control and made him answer my questions honestly. It was exhausting.

944: You’ve transitioned from covering celebs to becoming one. Was that a challenge in any way?
JR: Well, I don’t consider myself a celebrity, but I get that people recognize me. It actually embarrasses me when people make a big fuss, but it also makes me proud that people appreciate my work.

944: Why have you decided to delve into reality television?
JR: Cheryl (Salt) and her sister, Kim James, actually asked me if I would be a part of the show. They said my personality would be perfect. I knew they wouldn’t steer me wrong, but I still had reservations. When you watch the show, you will see I open up about some very personal issues. And most of all, our show is about women that are friends who get along. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a disagreement, but this show does not focus on how we don’t get along.

944: How do you fit into the group of women?
JR: I’m the one who wouldn’t dream of having sex on the first date … or the first six months of dating, in most cases. I am also the only one without children, and that is a huge issue for me.

944: Were you worried about hurting your credibility as a journalist with the reality show?
JR: I don’t think branching out hurts my credibility at all. It just gives me more experiences to draw from. Plus, I am careful about how I carry myself in everything that I do.

944: Would you ever move back to Atlanta?
JR: I am trying to move back right now. I am looking for a way to live in Atlanta and New York and just go back and forth. I just have to find the right job in Atlanta. Maybe Monica Pearson and I can do something together! That would be amazing for me, but I would have to step up my hair game! - 944.com

As co-host of the D.L. Hughley morning show on WRKS (98.7 FM) and former co-host of the Steve Harvey morning show on WBLS (107.5 FM), Jacque Reid has been holding public conversations for years.

So VH1 viewers may already have some sense of Reid when they see her in the latest of her media projects, a new reality show called "Let's Talk About Pep."

Scheduled to launch Monday at 10:30, the show is built around Pepa from Salt-N-Pepa. But it also has an ensemble cast that's already being informally promoted as "the brown girls' version of 'Sex and the City.'"

Besides Pep and Reid, that includes their friends Kittie and Joumana, who was married to NBA star Jason Kidd.

Reid says the "Sex and the City" comparison is a fair starting point, but not necessarily more.

"I see some comparison," she says. "It's about the four of us being friends.

"But we aren't trying to re-create that situation. We're women of color, very different personalities. We're all single, all dating, all trying to find what we can do to complete our lives in the city."

What she likes about this particular reality show, and what frankly surprised her a little, is that she says it feels real.

"Before we started, I had a lot of concern," she says. "You hear about producers trying to get you to say things, or distorting what you said so it comes out differently than you meant it.

"I had lunch with one of the 'Real Housewives' of New York to talk about that, and her experience. I talked with Kandi from the Atlanta 'Housewives.' I'm friends with Omarosa, and she told me, 'Sometimes, they make me look bitchier than I really am.'

"But from what I've seen of 'Pep' so far, there's none of that. They don't tell you what to say."

The wonder for some is that Reid would have time for a project like this, since a morning radio show alone is a full-time job.

"Radio is definitely work," she says. "A daily show can be a grind. But I love doing it. Working with D.L. is a real opportunity. It's always fun while you're on the air."

Reid's TV news résumé includes CNN, BET and TV One, for which she will host a show called "Women of the White House," focusing on the Obama administration.

Her favorite TV gig was co-hosting a half-dozen episodes of "The View," and sure, she'd like to have her own show at some point.

"But it would have to be done in a way that makes sense for me," she adds. "I'd have to be able to talk seriously about the issues I'm passionate about, particularly ones involving women of color."

For more of what Reid has to say, tune in to VH1 Monday or WRKS every day.
- NY Daily News