Girlfriends fans will probably remember actor Cee Cee Michaela. Michaela was a popular cast member of the hit series created by Mara Brock Akil before abruptly leaving in the middle of the second season. Why Cee Cee Michaela left Girlfriends? She said it ultimately came down to faith reasons.
Cee Cee Michaela was a big part of the earlier seasons of ‘Girlfriends’
On Girlfriends, Michaela played Yvonne, a feisty police officer who was one of William’s girlfriends. William, of course, dated several people throughout the show’s eight-season run, but Yvonne was one of his first big loves.
They even got engaged, but their relationship began to decline as Yvonne started realizing that William would always put his mother before her and their relationship. They ultimately broke up on their wedding day, with Yvonne leaving William at the altar.
Why did Cee Cee Michaela leave ‘Girlfriends?’
As Michaela told the Christian Broadcasting Network, as she grew closer to God, she realized Girlfriends was no longer a fit for her.
“I heard it so clearly from God. I woke up, and the Holy Spirit said it was my last day,” she explained. “I’m like, oh the show is closing, and he said it wasn’t closing, but this will be your last day. I need you to come and work for me. I’m like, oh no. What is my agent going to say? What do you mean? He said, watch, I am even going to make it easy for you.”
When she arrived to work that day and looked over her script, she learned she would have to act in a way that conflicted with her religious beliefs.
“Literally by the time I got to page three or four, my character at that time, which was Yvonne, it was so not her, not her usual stick,” said Michaela. “She is usually strong and funny, and she seemed weaker to me. She was doing things that she wouldn’t normally do, and there were some sexual actions and things and words that they had written.”
A conversation she had with producers didn’t result in the outcome she wanted
After looking over the script, Michaela said she went to producers to air some of her concerns. She was allegedly told the script would remain the way it was, forcing her to quit the show.
“I said I totally understand that you have a job to do here, and this is Girlfriends, and this is what has to be done, so I understand,” she went on. “So I want you to understand the God that I serve and who my father is, and his name is Jesus Christ and at this time since it cannot be changed and it is going against what I believe as a Christian, then I am going to have to walk away from the show.”
“Basically, I walked right off that set, and it took me fifteen minutes to pack everything up, and the gates of Paramount closed, and I have never been back,” Michaela added.
Cee Cee Michaela now
Michaela went on to say that she “walked right off of the set and really straight into my ministry, GodzGirl Network.” She also created a wellness brand called Zuleana, according to her website.
From the looks of it, it seems she has totally moved on from Hollywood, but it’s clear from her Instagram, which features a variety of posts about Girlfriends, that she still treasures her experiences on the show.
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