“Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words” (2024) is a documentary about Megan Jovon Ruth Pete’s rise to fame and the slings and arrows that she had to withstand to retain her sense of self and humanity. Her journey illustrates how to stay on top without getting torn down and succumbing to the machine that regularly destroys its women stars. Black lesbian director Nneka Onuoraj, who hails from Queens, New York, is behind the camera to tell Pete’s story.
Pete is a Houston native who turned into a global hip hop sensation and movie star, who is not even thirty yet. “Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words” never reveals basic details about Pete such as where she got her stage name. Apparently when she was a teen, people called her a stallion because she is tall and thicc (not a spelling error, but a term of art for her body type, which could also be called Amazonian, Raphaelite or goddess), which is not uncommon in the South. It does not refer to her long thick black hair, which is constantly tended to backstage. There is no mention of her other alter egos like “Tina Snow.”
In the beginning of “Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words,” Pete films herself on her phone in a confessional style without makeup and dressed as if she is going to the gym. Later it segues to her stretching backstage before there is a montage of clips from videos and concerts with a voiceover of criticism for the overt sexuality in her lyrics and performances or coverage of her after Canadian (smh) rapper Tory Lanez (who? I’m not being shady. I am old and do not know him. Does he have an instantly recognizable song that an old head would know), government name Daystar (like the Christian network?) Peterson, shot her. This coverage offers context regarding how her fans adore her and how she uses her larger-than-life persona to protect herself. Onuoraj uses animation to chart this transformation as a child to an adult translating Megan Thee Stallion into a comic book superhero, which makes sense since she would make a perfect Nubia or color bending Wonder Woman. During exclusive interviews with Onuoraj, whose voice can be heard posing questions, the camera shoots Pete from the side. Though still glammed up, from that angle, she looks younger, emotional and vulnerable, which is hard to watch if it inadvertently gives anyone the satisfaction of enjoying her pain. Somehow when she walks around showing skin in performer mode, she appears as if she is an invulnerable titan, but on that sofa, she looks alone as if she just needs a hug.
The drawback of authorized documentaries is that the filmmaker is too close to the subject to understand how to make the subject accessible to outsiders. Onuoraj tries by rewinding to Pete’s college graduation before further rewinding to her childhood in 2000 then telling the story in chronological order with montages of family photos, home videos, YouTube videos, archival promotional interviews, rehearsals, early club performances, social media posts from Pete, fans and music media and entertainment personalities and exclusive behind the scenes studio and backstage footage. Her mother and manager, Holly Thomas, who was a gangster rapper, shot the freestyle videos and appears in this footage. Unlike accounts of nightmarish stage moms, the mother daughter relationship was still nurturing and professional. Unlike average moms, she did not try to smother her daughter’s image and put more clothes on her. Thomas made Pete more herself instead of a preconceived version of who her mother hoped that she would be. Onuoraj uses screencasting techniques to put comments in the frame to inject the average person’s reaction to pivotal events in Pete’s life.
If you are unfamiliar with Pete’s music, “Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words” may not be a surefire way to familiarize yourself with her work since Onuoraj just throws you in the deep end of the pool. You will probably get a little lost about a half hour into the film. It is a film for the fans who want to spend more time in Pete’s presence and get an exclusive behind the scenes peek at her routine and insight into her thoughts during certain turning points in her life. If you are unfamiliar with the controversies surrounding her, you may not care or wonder why certain matters were even a thing, but a good portion of the documentary tackles it, which is unusual for an authorized biographical documentary. Usually documentaries white wash its star’s biography like “Piece by Piece” (2024) so to devote this much time to the events leading up to and following Peterson’s attack is actually unusual and countercultural, which makes the film fresh, but for anyone who cares more about Pete than the case, it may be hard to stay invested especially since it requires more context than provided to understand the fuss. The whole thing seems open and shut and will hopefully one day be an almost forgotten footnote in Pete’s life like Chris Brown in Rihanna’s. Because of the role that it played in Pete’s psychological and public life, it is relevant, but unexpected for anyone who is coming to the documentary who only knows and cares about Megan Thee Stallion.
For newcomers, when Kelsey is introduced, the reaction may be “who” right along with Peterson. “Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words” assumes incorrectly that every viewer knows these people, and the details surrounding the attack. Kelsey, whom the film does not explicitly reveal as Kelsey Harris, Pete’s former assistant, held herself out as Pete’s best friend. Pete bonded with Peterson over the loss of their mothers. The film never makes it clear that Harris was dating Peterson, but it is implied. Pete admits that she slept with Peterson, which is apparently a big deal because she did not disclose that in her first interview about the incident with Gayle King. While there was an argument leading up to the shooting, there are no details about what the argument was about. Pete admits to changing her story quite a bit to protect Peterson, but when doctors said that she had bullet fragments in her foot, she had to admit what happened. Peterson defenders, which include Harris, would go so far as to say that Pete never got shot, but recording from a phone conversation between Harris and Peterson proves otherwise.
Onuoraj’s decision to wait to reveal certain details until later in the film may make “Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words” as much of a target as Pete for seeming initially evasive. It would have been preferable to lead with all the unsavory details instead of mimicking how events were revealed in real time. Pete correctly says it is irrelevant, but by making a creative choice to center it in her biography, she should completely take over the narrative, and any wise lawyer leads with the worst part of the story to take the wind out of attackers’ sails. Being open about her off stage sex life would turn off people who were already against her and would not result in further losses. If a filmmaker was less close with Pete, they would recognize that every time Pete exclaims that she does not understand why Harris would take Peterson’s side, everyone is thinking about the elephant in the room. Here is where Barbara Walters needs to be resurrected because pushing Pete to explain why she would sleep with her best friend’s guy, if he was that, would just clear the air and show how absurd it is for a guy to shoot his affair partner with his girlfriend present. It is not a real defense in any universe. Being coy about the story is just frustrating, especially to a person who does not know about the incident, and once known, does not care about an item that should at most be a line in a newspaper about crimes for the night, but since they are there, may as well get all the tea. Bring back “Red Table Talk.” Good filmmakers do not necessarily equate to having good interviewing skills, and three generations of Pinkett women would get the job done.
When the manosphere vocally demonized Pete to discredit her and free Peterson, the criminal act got elevated as an emblematic playbook of how people denigrate women and use their sexuality to paint them as villains. There is even a man with a mic wearing a baseball hat and a sweatshirt with a bald eagle on it, which would seem like another day in the office for a right-wing podcaster, but these are urban media figures. While it is a stale playbook, apparently it still works and is a microcosm of what is happening on the national stage: protect bad men by magnifying perceived flaws of strong, free women. It feels fortuitous that “Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words” shows the same clip of Pete in concert shouting, “My body. My choice” especially with post-election, post-SCOTUS Dobbs v. Jackson decision, male trolls taunting women with the slogan, “Your body. My choice.” Make no mistake. This attack on Pete is part of a broader, national misogynistic campaign against women, which includes women as its foot soldiers. Innocence is not the issue because when in a music video, Peterson styles himself like a cannibal who is chopping up Pete, it should have immediately alienated all his supporters because Black people are not in favor of serial killer shit. The documentary may be downplaying Pete’s vocal activism, and philanthropy which shows a level of integrity that she does not use her good deeds to bolster her image and give more credibility to her in comparison to Peterson, who gets props from P Diddy and Chris Brown……With the benefit of hindsight, Onuoraj’s decision seems downright prophetic, especially considering this movie was probably finished before the charges against P Diddy were announced.
After seeing how the media tortured and destroyed the mental health of icons like Britney Spears, it is not a given that Pete will rise above it. “Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words” is at its best when Onuoraj shows Pete’s routine on tour. It is unfortunate that there is little indication the individuals’ identities who support Pete, but they appear to be properly protective. As a man is going through her schedule, he encourages her to decline invitations so she can get rest. A Black woman gives pep talks. A French fitter encourages her to take breaks, “It’s normal.” Her manager, T. Farris of Roc Nation, sits on a couch and bolsters her confidence in the face of hate. No “Smile 2” (2024) here although the film primarily follows her when she is working, not home, with glimpses of her interacting with family in public. It is terrific to see so many people serve her. Not since Simone Biles has such a megastar prioritized her mental health publicly, and Pete describes her challenges with wrestling with PTSD.
“Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words” missed an opportunity to explain how Pete is an independent artist in charge of the course of her career and is venturing into television and movies with an amazing debut in “Dicks” (2023), a film adaptation of an off-Broadway musical, which is how I know her along with her social media presence; however including it may make it seem like an informercial promoting her work instead of a personal account.
“Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words” is for the fans who are deep in the lore. Newcomers may find it difficult to stay invested if they are not interested in Peterson or Harris. As Mariah Carey would say, “I do not know her.” If it gives Pete any solace, there are tons of people who do not associate her with the lowest point in her life so even if it feels as if everyone is judging her, we are not. For survivors of violent acts, it could be triggering but also cathartic to see how someone as amazing as Pete could go through the same wringer. Keep on healing.
