Mary J Blige stars in the forthcoming Broadway adaptation Rock of Ages, featuring alongside Tom Cruise, in the role of a strip club singer, Justice Charlier who belts out hits such as Journey's 'Any Way You Want It' and 'Shadows of the Night' by Pat Benatar. The singer spoke to Reuters about pouring her own personal experience into her on-screen character.
"We have a lot in common. She was a protector of young women in that environment. She saw herself in Sherrie and wanted Sherrie to be better than her. And not be stuck in a place like a strip club," Blige told the news agency. "The back story I gave Justice was that some man took the power from her when she was younger. And they kept taking it from her to the point that she ended up in place like (a strip club) to take the power back from them. A lot of that is Mary (herself)."
Blige also explained how important it is to her to give something back and help others where she can. She recently lent a song to the forthcoming documentary 'The Invisible War,' which is about the rape of women in the US military and said "I was like, that's fine because people are hurting. It was a way of giving back. When you're lending your voice, you're saving a life. I think the more you have, the more you're supposed to give. It would be real selfish of people like myself not to give, not to want to help someone." Rock of Ages opens this week in cinemas.