Porscha Coleman owns the role of an involved and understanding aunt, both in her real life and on Netflix for Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!.
She divulged some of those stories about growing up exclusively with TheThings. Now, she embraces the fun of embarrassing her own nieces while still showing them the ropes of life.
Connecting To Sasha On 'DSEM'
How did you connect to Sasha’s experience (played by Kyla-Drew), remembering when you wanted to communicate certain things to your parents?
"I think my thought process came from, I know this because I have four nieces. One is twenty-two and the other is thirteen. I literally know what it's like to be the auntie who's really cool. She's going to take her nieces to the park, take her to the concerts."
That hands-on quality time spent with her family heavily influenced Coleman's character Chelsea on Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!. She's a career-driven woman who helps guide Jaime Foxx's character to figure out how to raise a daughter on his own.
"But when it comes time to get serious, when she needs advice I'm there for them and they're all girls. So, stepping into the role of auntie on TV was easy."
"She is that kind of aunt where she wants to give her words of encouragement and her time. She's there to be the voice of reason whenever her niece wants to sit there and talk. She's not overdoing it and I like that.
Introducing Her Niece To Corbin Bleu
Coleman appreciates that her role as Kyla-Drew's onscreen auntie keeps the metaphorical helicopter on the ground and out of her parenting advice. However, she still goes all out for her nieces.
She told us all about the time she made her niece's life by introducing her to High School Musical's Corbin Bleu.
"This was when 'High School Musical' was at its peak, right. I knew Corbin Bleu, he was a friend of mine...They lived not too far away and I was like I'm going to get the cool auntie of the year award!"
Ya, that definitely scored her bragging rights and a moment that neither of them will forget. She kept the surprise under wraps and told her niece to dress cute and drove her out to a rehearsal in Burbank. They were working together on a Disney project at the time.
"She was like this," Coleman reenacted a shellshocked HSM fan who couldn't get believe that she was getting a behind-the-scenes pass to a Corbin Bleu dance rehearsal. She then came to the rescue with some supportive shoulder nudges and encouraged her to chat with Corbin.
Lil' Jon Celebrates Her Mom's Birthday
Have you ever had any 'Mom Stop Embarrassing Me' moments or has she always been cool?
"No absolutely! I used to do a lot of videos as a dancer, she would come with me to a lot of the sets. One time we were on a set and Lil' Jon, the funny Mr. Lil' Jon himself, right? It was my mother's birthday."
"Lil' Jon was like, 'Oh, what? Okay! It's your momma's birthday," those who know his signature line are undoubtedly hearing that in his voice, "He had this bottle of this crazy alcohol and was like, 'Take a shot!' He was like giving her shots. I have a photo of Lil' Jon holding a bottle, leaning her back."
We officially need an invite to hang out with the Coleman family. Porscha's love and appreciation for her mom are reflected in how often they spend time together on her new projects.
"Everybody knows her. Sometimes they'll ask me how she's doing before me and I'm like, 'Yes she's doing fine.'
All jokes aside, her mom's likability and confidence shone throughout her teenage years. We know what it was like to get rosy-cheeked about our parents when they were only livening up school events or car rides.
Any embarrassing teenager stories?
"Ya, I got grounded once that was super embarrassing. I didn't come to the principal's office in time. I was just being a kid I was like, you know, it's lunchtime. You wanna see all the boys."
"I didn't come and she came after school like, 'Where you at? What were you doing?' right in front of your friends...When you're getting walked out in front of your friends it's just like oh God, that's so embarrassing!"
Fans can tune into Dad Stop Embarrassing Me! on April 14th. It's filled to the brim with relatable moments of raising a teenager as a group unit and making hilarious mistakes along the way.