Jill Marie Jones Says Fuck A Girlfriends!

Essence has recently interviewed Jill Marie Jones aka Toni Childs to find out what really went down and why she left Girlfriends. For those of us that watch the show, when Toni left, the show pretty much should have ended with her. Honestly, its like Sex in the City without Samantha. Yeah, you care about Carrie but how much of Carrie can you take? You need Samantha to add the spice and the fun. How much of Joan can one take? For one, I can't look at her eyes for too long or my own eyes get big and dry and for 2, Toni was the show. It's just that simple. Well Jill Marie Jones didn't care who would miss Toni. She was ready to spread her wings after six years and she did. Granted, she's only spread her wings to a liquor commercial (Baileys on ice please), a part in Jessica Simpson's strait to DVD 1/2 price off Major Movie Star movie and another strait to DVD movie that won't nobody ever watch (Does anybody even go to Blockbuster anymore?). She is currently filming a movie with Ice Cube and KeKe Palmer so that might actually make it to the theaters. Point is, she really didn't have any other reason to leave except...well, she felt like it. Deal with it. Essence.com: Do you miss being a part of "Girlfriends"? J.M.J: I do miss Girlfriends. I don’t know if people know this, but Girlfriends was only my third audition. I booked my first audition for City Guys, a Saturday morning show. My second audition I didn’t book and then Girlfriends was my third, so you have to understand that I still very green to this industry and there was the whole film world that I didn’t know. So when I left Girlfriends after six years, there was just so much I wanted to know and do. I’ve just been having a ball having opportunities to do movies. It’s just been great. Essence.com: Were you unable to pursue a film career while on the show? J.M.J.: You have to understand when you do a television show that you go to work every day and come home and sleep in your own bed, which is great. It’s like having a regular 9-to-5. But you’re on hiatus for about two-and-a-half to three months in the summer. In order to do a film you would really have to book a job and shoot it in those few months. And because most television shows are in Los Angeles, it limits you. Already I’ve been to Louisiana twice to shoot two different films. I love the consistency of television, but it keeps you in Los Angeles and away from traveling to do other projects. Essence.com: Nothing wrong with spreading your wings, which brings me to your departure from Girlfriends. Tracee Ellis Ross said in an interview that the reason you didn’t return was because the cast did not receive the huge raise they were expecting. Is that true? J.M.J.: First of all, let me tell you why I left. I left because I wanted to do movies. My contract was up after my sixth season and people forget that just like the network can choose whether or not to renew your contract, I can also choose and evaluate whether or not I want to come back. My actor’s chair that has Girlfriends and my name on it, you know the director’s chair? Well, on the very last day of my sixth season, I told them to grab my chair and put it in my car for me. So why would I take my chair if I thought I was coming back? Believe you me, I would tell you. I’ve never made a decision based on money. I was on the show for six years and I think that’s a good run. There’s so much more I want to do in my career and so much more I want to know and learn, but my departure definitely had nothing to do with money. Essence.com: So were you aware that this was the explanation given for your departure?J.M.J: Someone sent that article to me a long time ago when it first came out, and you know, I love Tracee, I love Golden, I love Persia, I love Reggie. I really do feel like I was in the University of Girlfriends. I learned so much from them. I mean, where I started on Girlfriends and where I ended up is like night and day and that’s because of the great cast I had to learn from. It’s difficult when something has been set up for six years and then something changes. I didn’t get upset about the comment. It’s all good. Essence.com: Well, the second part of Tracee’s quote expressed her sadness that after six years of working together you didn’t share your decision to leave with the cast. Is that true? J.M.J: I’ll be completely honest: I just didn’t really. I wish I had a better answer or could tell you that I even thought about it. Maybe it was a lapse of judgment, maybe I should have called—I didn’t really think about it. When my call came in to say, ‘We’re going to pick up Girlfriends for another season, does Jill want to come back?’ My management and I were like, ‘Thank you, but no thank you.’ So maybe I should have made phone calls, but I didn’t really think about it. When the cast first came back for their seventh season, I sent them all—individually, every single person of Girlfriends—a big bouquet of flowers. I didn’t leave Girlfriends because I was upset or wanted more money. It really wasn’t that deep. It’s so disappointing that because I wanted to dream bigger or experience something new, it received all this hoopla and drama around it. I really just wanted to do movies. It really was just that simple. To read the rest of the interview click: Look mama, I'm on DVD!