Is Deja based on a real person? V Stiviano's friend on 'Clipped' is the only sane voice on show
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'Clipped', a six-episodic miniseries, is based on true events unfolded in 2014 when Donald Sterling faced public backlash and ban from NBA after his controversial audio clip was leaked.
Gina Welch's creation features a stellar cast to depict the people who were involved or affected by the scandal. Laurence Fishburne appears as Doc Rivers, Ed O'Neill plays Donald Sterling, Jacki Weaver assumes the role of Shelly Sterling, and Cleopatra Coleman features as V Stiviano in the Hulu series.
Amid the stack of real-life-based characters, Deja is a fictional addition to the show.
Who is Deja in 'Clipped'?
Deja, played by Yvonna Pearson, is a young black woman in Hulu's 'Clipped'. A former VJ by profession, she has been V Stiviano's best friend for years.
While the series doesn't delve deeper into Deja's character, we come to a realization that she is the only sane person around Stiviano, acting as her anchor when needed.
As Stiviano thinks that her best friend is jealous of her fame, Deja breaks her delusion, saying, "You're not the good kind of famous."
Why does Deja blast at V Stiviano in 'Clipped' Episode 3?
Stiviano, living in a bubble with her newfound wealth and fame, gets an earful from Deja in 'Clipped' Episode 3.
Deja has enjoyed some luxuries off Sterling's money and she isn't too proud of it.
Her identity as a black woman is more important to her and she only wants Stiviano to come out and say that Sterling is racist.
Deja even accuses Stiviano of leaking the tape, which the latter denies.
Witnessing that Stiviano doesn't understand the gravitas of the situation, Deja warns her that her fame is temporary and the Sterlings will eventually come after her.
She says that ultimately the person in whose hands power rests wins.
Deja isn't a real person from Stiviano's life. This character has been formed as an amalgamation of different people to underline the different perspectives surrounding the scandal.
What does Gina Welch say about Deja in 'Clipped'?
Explaining the need to combine real-life details with fictionalized elements, Gina Welch told Yahoo Canada that "it's about internalizing the characters' points of view and voices, and you have to try to tell a deeper story, beyond reenactment. So in order to do that we created composite characters, like V's friend Deja, like Shelley's friend Justine to help access what was going on inside of each of these characters."
Deja probably introduced Stiviano to this world of quick fame and money. Along the way, Stiviano lost balance and drifted to a point from where even Deja couldn't pull her.
It is characters like Deja that enable us to get inside the minds of the people (especially African Americans) impacted by this scandal.
How to stream 'Clipped'?
'Clipped', based on the ESPN 30 for 30 podcast 'The Sterling Affairs', premiered on Hulu on June 4, 2024. Three episodes have been released so far, while the remaining three will drop weekly till July 2.
'Clipped' is available to stream on Hulu.
'Clipped' trailer