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move forward in the way she thought she wanted her career to move forward. It was at the peak of her career, so it was a really big risk for her to take. Neil Bogart, and the whole team at Casablanca [Records], at that time where really like family to her. It was a really difficult time for her because she was so close to them. Thankfully, we have all mended bridges and she was able to mend bridges with them as well. We are on great terms with them at this point. I will say that my mom had a lot of forgiveness and a lot of love for people involved in her life. Allison: Why do you think she described the music business as “being raped over and over again?” Brooklyn: I think when you are an artist, you are naturally sensitive. You’re in tune with the world in a way that maybe not everybody is. I think that is what makes you aware and able to articulate things in a way that maybe most people don’t. The music business is a business. It can be cutthroat and be about money and power, and all the things that drive an industry. A lot of times it is at odds with the sensitivity of an artist and their need to grow. I think that was one of the biggest challenges during her time at Casablanca [Records]. It was that she wanted to be an artist in a different way than they wanted her to be. She wanted to grow and write more of her music, which she did, and be a little more in control of her own destiny. I think that is what she was articulating. Alison: There was another controversy that happened during her life. She became very passionate about giving her life over to Christ, she became a born-again Christian, and she made a comment about God making Adam and Eve and not Adam and Steve. Brooklyn: My mom did a lot of schtick on stage and it was part of an off-hand comment that was intended to be funny and it was not received that way. Allison: Okay. It was a bad attempt at a joke and wasn’t meant to be taken as her literal belief system… Brooklyn: No, and I think part of the reason why we talk a little bit about it in the film was that my parents didn’t address it [at the time], because the intent was not meant to be hurtful, but obviously many people were hurt by it. We wanted to acknowledge that, but the way that it snowballed and all the things that people said about her and how she felt about the LGBTQ+ community was the complete antithesis of who she was. I think that was where a lot of her internal conflict happened. My lived experience was not that controversy. We had so many people from that community as part of our daily lives and such a big part of her fanbase. So, I always experienced it as a lovefest and joy, and so it was tricky going back to that. I think as a family we wanted to acknowledge that it hurt people, but that was not who she was. We hope with the film as a whole, that it is about acknowledging and healing. That is why we thought it was important to include it. I also think times where changing and it all kind of got lumped together. People started talking and the rumor mill happened. She was kind of caught in a changing time about what you could say and what you couldn’t. Allison: I wonder how she would feel about the cancel culture of today… Brooklyn: It was a little bit of that. It is a little bit of what we are experiencing present day in terms of cancel culture, and I think she felt the brunt of that. She was always spiritual, but then as a Christian, it was assumed that