Ten years ago, an ambitious young woman named V. Stiviano leaked private conversations between herself and L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling to TMZ and chaos ensued. Sterling’s incredibly racist remarks — specifically that he didn’t want his assistant (and probable mistress) Stiviano to bring “Black people” to his games — resulted in him getting permanently banned from the NBA. It was an ugly chapter in basketball history that forced the sports’ fans, players, and coaches to confront the deep-rooted racism festering under the game’s surface.
However, something else happened when Stiviano leaked the tapes: she became something of a star. Tabloids were obsessed with the fame-hungry Stiviano, who initially posed for odd paparazzi shots. When the heat became too much, she resorted to wearing a visor that covered her entire face, but it only drew more attention. And a sit-down interview with iconic ABC journalist Barbara Walters resulted in one of the most baffling and viral clips of the last decade because Stiviano referred to herself as Sterling’s “right arm hand man” and his “silly rabbit.”
FX’s new limited series Clipped, based on the shit ESPN 30 for 30 podcast “The Sterling Affairs,” explores this scandalous saga. Ed O’Neill plays the notorious Donald Sterling, Jacki Weaver takes the role of his tenacious wife Shelly, and Laurence Fishburne plays the Clipper’s new, beleaguered coach, Doc Rivers. However, all eyes will probably be on Australian actress Cleopatra Coleman‘s turn as V. Stiviano.
When Decider caught up with Coleman during Winter 2024 TCA, she explained that she thought V. Stiviano represented the “American Dream.”
“What I love about her is that she doesn’t play by the rules. She has no regard for them,” Coleman said, before explaining that V. resisted living in the box that society had carved out for her as a lower class woman of color. “I love the fact that V. is like, ‘Well, actually I’m not going to be that person. I’m not gonna be poor. I’m not going to be powerless.’”
Over the course of our conversation, Coleman explained how otherworldly it was to recreate Stiviano’s Barbara Walters interview, why she hated her onscreen antagonistic relationship with fellow Aussie Jacki Weaver, and what Reese Witherspoon’s iconic Election character Tracy Flick and V. Stiviano have in common…
DECIDER: So I’m very curious, what was your knowledge of a relationship to V. Stiviano before being cast in the role?
CLEOPATRA COLEMAN: Yeah, this was 10 years ago, this April, and I had pretty much just moved to LA so I do remember it. I remember it and she was obviously of interest. She stood out from the scenario and obviously it was a really horrible situation as well, really heartbreaking in a lot of ways. But she really made herself known. So I definitely I remember her,
I remember her as well. One of the things that was really iconic about her in the moment was that visor. I’ve seen it in the first episode. What was it like to wear — not just the visor but her entire aesthetic — because it’s very specific of the time, of her personality. And did it give you any insight into how she wanted the world to perceive her?
Oh, yeah, absolutely. It was interesting. It was. A lot of her outfits were like more fashion and like she was going to a club rather than business. Like when she was assisting Donald and going by the Clippers offices and things like that, she would be wearing ripped jeans or like a short skirt and things like that. Stilettos, of course.
I think V. is someone who really insists upon her own value, regardless of whether or not her environment agrees with her. It’s something that I find actually very endearing about V: she always bets on herself. And I think her aesthetic absolutely reflects that. There’s also a kind of a purity to her ambition. Not in the sense that it’s necessarily, like, morally sound or anything. It’s more just, it’s simple. It’s almost childlike. She reminds me of like a Tracy Flick or someone like that in that way. And so I think the outfits and the way she presents herself also reflect that there’s something kind of inappropriate sometimes about it.
Speaking of which, still to this day, the clip of her with Barbara Walters is very viral. You know, she talks about being his “right arm hand—
“Right hand arm man.”
Exactly! “His silly rabbit.” Was that informative to you or was it something that you wanted to sort of overcome in terms of the performance?
It was definitely informative. I mean, let me tell you, that was a really, really interesting day. Because that was at the end of like a really, really intense block of filming for me because one of our cast members was ill and so we had to change the schedule and it was a lot of me. We did a seven day, no, a six day week at the end of this massive block. So we were all exhausted. I was almost delirious and we walked into this set. It was just like the Four Seasons. They had a fake camera crew and a real camera crew and it just felt… I’m wearing the white suit, you know. It just really felt very real. It was very immersive.
That scene was like one of those scenes. There’s always a scene in every shoot that you’re kind of like thinking about a lot. How’s it gonna go? And ultimately, you know, we’re making a show, not a documentary. Like it is based on real things. Everyone knows that interview. So I think with all of these things when we recreated the recording, when we recreated the interview, it was really about getting the essence and the tone instead of trying to mimic exactly. But yeah, that was, it was creatively really interesting.
What was it like working with Ed O’Neill on this? Because so many of your scenes are with him and that’s a very complex relationship.
Absolutely. I mean, I felt so safe with Ed, which is huge. I don’t think if I didn’t feel safe, I don’t think we would be able to get the results that we did, which I think are really, really great and speak to the relationship in a really authentic way. Ed is amazing. Ed is a legend. Obviously, he’s an amazing actor. He’s got the best stories, but he’s also a dad. He’s just like a really nice, kind, fun guy. I absolutely adore him and Jacki Weaver is also a legend. Her character is of course more combative towards me in every possible scene in every possible way.
How did you find her as a scene collaborator?
Jacki’s amazing. Obviously, we’re both Australian. She is an icon in the world and especially where we’re from. So, yeah, it was really, really incredible to get to work with her. She has a real power to her. Like she is a small woman with, you know, a slight voice, but her power in her creative force as an actor is so incredible. She’s very powerful.
But I also really adore her. So it was really difficult actually for me to be mean to her and to sort of have this contentious relationship. I didn’t enjoy it because I just absolutely — as soon as they called, “Cut” — I just wanted to give her a big hug. I would say, “I’m sorry, I love you.”
We were talking about the “Silly Rabbit” clip. The series is obviously based on a podcast. I’m curious, how deep did you go into your research? Were you able to talk with her or anyone who knew her? I’m just curious where you wanted the research to stop and the creative process to begin.
Yeah, that’s a really good question. I think thankfully Gina [Welch] did such a good job of researching. Like, I wish you could read the script because you’d see the amount of detail. For example, the first time you see V., she describes her as someone with a lot of charisma that everyone pretty much just ignores. Like that’s not something anyone says in the show, but it really informed the way that I came into the scene, the way that people treated me in the scene. It just provided so much context, which is just one line. Gina was so amazing in that way and the whole script was full of detail like that. So it was, it was really, really satisfying to work with a writer that would give you all of it on a plate like that.
Having said that, of course, I did my own research and, thankfully, this is a scandal from like 10 years ago. It’s not that long ago. So I was able to, you know, study her and study her interviews and stuff. But I learned a lot about her through Gina’s research, from things that Gina found and things that V. put out there herself about her upbringing, about who she is. She’s the type of character that I think actors always want to play. They’re complicated and I really enjoyed unpacking that.
One of the things that I was surprised by watching in the first episodes — I knew about the scandal, I knew about the iconography — I didn’t know she was a foster mom or that she wanted to uplift more children into a better way of life. Was there anything you learned through your research that really surprised you? That you really hope people take away from this about her?
Well, I just hope that they’re given some context. I think, you know, it’s not about right or wrong necessarily. I think art is supposed to ask why and how, not necessarily tell you what’s right and wrong. We know what’s right and wrong, right? But V. is someone who — what I love about her is that she doesn’t play by the rules. She has no regard for them. She doesn’t really know what they are. There is a theater of society. There are these roles that we are given based on our gender, based on our race, based on our socio-economic background. And the truth of the matter is you don’t have to play that role. Now you’re going to ruffle some feathers. People might hate you for it, you know? But I love the fact that V. is like, “Well, actually I’m not going to be that person. I’m not gonna be poor. I’m not going to be powerless.” It’s, just for me, such a celebration of someone who I see as a survivor and an outlier and, no, not a perfect person, but a human being.
So I was really shocked, too, by the scene where for her birthday, she comes to the game wearing this princess dress and no one seems to understand what to make of her. But I thought it was so endearing. I actually had to Google it and be like, “Did that happen?” And the dress looks exactly the same. What was it like creating that? And what did that scene tell you about her?
[laughs] That moment was really fun to film. It’s one of my favorite moments in the episode. Just the “Beez in the Trap” of it all. And then just the editing and Ed when he’s clapping, it’s just so funny. It was really fun. It was one of the scenes that I got to enjoy most because there wasn’t a lot of dialogue. But it was this big moment of V’s and I think it spoke a lot to their dynamic and her sort of getting what she wants from him sometimes, although she never really completely does. But it was one of those moments where, you know, she got to be celebrated. She got to feel like a princess. That’s all she wants, you know?
She talks about wanting to be the next “Mrs. Sterling,” but I’m not sure she’s in love with him per se beyond, you know, seeing him almost as a father figure. How did you see their relationship and her feelings for him? What do you think she really wants from him?
I think it’s obviously very complicated and I can only really speculate, but I do think there was… I played a sense of love. We both did. I think there is a sense of love and it’s complicated. It’s sort of like amorous but then also “father figure” at the same time. You know, when she says things like, “I’m going to be the next Mrs Sterling,” I don’t know that that’s necessarily her goal. She also says she’s going to be the President of the United States. I think that sounds ridiculous, but it’s also like, again, she’s like a Tracy Flick. There’s this very childlike ambition to her where she’s just a dreamer. She represents the “American Dream” in so many ways. And, yeah, I mean, it’s a very interesting relationship. I think that’s part of why we’re making the show.
The first two episodes of Clipped are now streaming exclusively on Hulu. New episodes premiere on the streamer at 12 AM ET on Tuesdays.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
