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Why did Yvonne leave Girlfriends?

Cee Cee Michaela (Yvonne on Girlfriends)

Cee Cee Michaela left Girlfriends in 2002, after the actress dedicated her life to God and the storyline did not serve her purpose anymore.

In terms of cultural influence, Girlfriends is considered to have been pivotal in highlighting the lived experiences of Black women.

At the time of the show’s run from 2000 until 2008, the significance of the sitcom was arguably underappreciated, due to the socio-political climate at the time.

As a result, while it was running, the comings and goings of the cast members of the sitcom were not covered by mainstream media.

Therefore, when one of the first recurring main supporting characters, Yvonne Blackwell, played by Cee Cee Michaela left, it would take eight years to find out why.

What was Girlfriends about?

Girlfriends premiered on The CW in 2000. While the Mara Brock Akil-created sitcom aimed at working with a predominantly Black, female production team, the premise of the sitcom also wanted to highlight their lived experiences, by taking “A look at the lives, loves, and losses of four different women, Toni, Maya, Lynn, and Joan.”

The all-female leading cast was made up of actresses, Jill Marie Jones, Golden Brooks, Persia White and the title role of Joan was played by Tracee Ellis Ross.

In 2008, Girlfriends ended due to the effects of the Hollywood Writers Strike, which had an unfortunate ripple effect on a number of Hollywood productions at the time.

Why did Yvonne leave Girlfriends?

One of the fan-favourite characters that was introduced in earlier seasons of Girlfriends was Yvonne Blackwell, who was played by Cee Cee Michaela.

She played an eccentric police officer filled with off-the-bat comments that made for comedy magic. However, after the second season of the show, Michaela was no longer part of Girlfriends.

Eight years after she left the show, Michaela stated that she felt like she could no longer be a part of the show, as she had turned her life to God and His Word. When she was asked about how she made the decision, she stated:

“I heard it so clearly from God. I woke up and the Holy Spirit said it was my last day. 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.”

More on how Cee Cee Michaela decided to leave Girlfriends

Cee Cee Michaela further explained the moment that God made it clear that it was time to leave the sitcom by stating, “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. She is usually strong and funny and she seemed weaker to me.”

Thereafter, she explained that she confronted the producers on the matter, who listened to her concerns but expressed that she was going to have to do it the way they wrote it, because they really wanted it to be presented like this.

In response, she explained that she stated “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.”

Did Cee Cee Michaela act again after Girlfriends?

Cee Cee Michaela might have left Girlfriends as the story did not serve her then newly affirmed purpose, but she did continue to work on other productions in the years that followed.

She worked on other television shows, including 2002’s Angels Don’t Sleep Here, and 2004’s Joan of Arcadia, and her last on-screen acting job was in the same year, in the cult-classic film, Hair Show.

What is Cee Cee Michaela doing now?

For the most part, Cee Cee Michaela has turned her life to God and is serving in her church ministry. She has continued to work on religious based activities, her biggest of which being the establishment of a health food store called, Zuleana Nutrition.

The store aims to merge health and spirituality in order to highlight that one cannot live a healthy lifestyle if their religious or spiritual beliefs are not aligned. She also uses her social media platforms to continue ministering the word of God.

Conclusion

Girlfriends has arguably gotten a new cult-following since the availability of the The CW production landed on Netflix in 2020.

As a result, questions on the abrupt departures and the changes in the cast members have risen. However, due to the times, answers on the matter are few and far between.

Like the departure of recurring supporting role, Yvonne Blackwell, who after two seasons of the show never returned.

It turns out that, as the sitcom attempted to give her character more lines and a more nuanced storyline, which had more sexual innuendos, the story arc did not align with her beliefs, as Michaela had devoted her life to God.