You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don't take, and singer Jordin Sparks put that philosophy into action at the end of January.
Halle Berry has been a household name in Hollywood for the last few decades, and now in the middle of her life, she's loudly advocating for increased representation and awareness around women's health and women's experiences, especially what happens to a woman's body during perimenopause and menopause.
Not only has she advocated for women's health, but she's also been very unapologetic about aging women maintaining a romantic life, dating, and simply aging in general.
During the launch of her company Respin, which offers "science-backed programs" and products to support women going through menopause, Berry pointed out:
"Sadly, people said to me, ‘Are you sure you want to talk about that? Do you want to align yourself with menopause? Do you worry how that will affect your career?’"
"And I said, ‘No.' That’s exactly why I should be talking about it, because there’s nothing wrong with me being in my mid-life."
"There’s nothing wrong with being 58, and you have to stop telling me there’s something wrong with me. And I’m going to prove to you that it’s not. And so, women, we have to work together to de-stigmatize this time of life and change culture."
That said, it makes sense that a fellow artist would reach out to someone like Berry while working on a project that highlights perimenopause, menopause, and changing hormones in women.
At the beginning of February, singer Jordin Sparks posted on Instagram the cover page of the screenplay she co-authored called Quiet Storm, while seeking support from powerful women in Hollywood.
Sparks captioned the photo:
"Calling all female executives, studios, and heads of development:"
"‘QUIET STORM’ is a screenplay written by my fantastically talented writing partner [Stephanie Novel] and myself. It’s been a labor of love over the past five years!"
"We have received some lovely feedback, coverage, and are yearning for as much as we can get! I’m coming to you guys so we can leave no stone unturned and pursue every avenue, lane, opportunity afforded to us!"
Sparks then said that the dream was for the screenplay to be "read by every female-run studio out there," including Jennifer Garner, Jessica Biel, Reese Witherspoon, and others.
You can see the Instagram post here:
At the end of January, Sparks decided to shoot her shot and she tweeted directed at Halle Berry in front of the whole X community.
Sparks tweeted:
"Hiiii, [Halle Berry]! I sent you a dm because I wrote a screenplay about hormones and menopause, and I know you'd be the right person to talk to about it! Hope you're having a great day!"
Though Berry is obviously an advocate for menopause, some immediately side-eyed Sparks for her approach.
Some also found the tweet to be more backhanded and ageist than an attempt at building community.
But some applauded Sparks for doing a brave thing.
The next day, Sparks responded to all of the feedback with a tweet brimming with positivity.
"Always ask, even if it scares you a little!"
"We’ve heard worse things than the word 'no.' It builds resilience and confidence."
"If you can’t take being told 'no,' you are going to have a tough time building character, courage, and taking a shot at what you want!"
"'Do or do not. There is no try.'"
Then just two days after that, Sparks tweeted something that seemed very promising:
"Ommmmggggggggg [praise hands emoji] [shocked emoji]"
It's unclear right now what Sparks' final tweet was in reference to, but with how quickly this conversation has developed, we'll likely have an update soon. Hopefully, everyone who has theorized that Halle Berry got back to her is correct.
But even if they're not, Sparks still did a very brave thing, and if she hadn't reached out, she wouldn't have given Berry a chance to respond.
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