Bernie Mac's Daughter Criticizes His Parenting, Called Her "Weak" and "Soft"

[keemz]

Bernie Mac's only daughter, Je'Niece McCullough, made an appearance on the "Can We Talk?" podcast just days before the 13th anniversary of the legendary comedian's death. She spoke about growing up with the comedic actor and how his aggressive parenting impacted her later in life.

"I think it's important [to discuss] so people can understand he was a mere mortal and his celebrity didn't exempt him from making mere mortal mistakes," Je'Niece said.

She admitted to being an emotional child, but Bernie Mac's style of parenting caused her to "walk on eggshells" even later on in life when she was married.

"One of the biggest things...and I tell people this all the time because everybody assumes the character of Vanessa is like me and I'm not like, 'No! I was Jordan,'" Je’Niece stated. "I was the sensitive one. I would cry at the drop of a hat. I was very free with my emotions when as a kid. I grew up hearing from him all the time, 'You soft, you weak, you gotta toughen up! The world's 'gon do you up, like you 'gon be messed up!'"

Je'Niece shared a story on Bernie Mac's reaction to her getting bullied on a school bus. According to Je'Niece, her father defended her but later chastised her for not fighting back.

"When I was nine, I used to get bullied on the school bus and this boy, Lamont, punched me in my eye," she continued. "But when I got home and my dad saw it, he came back out to the bus. He cussed the little boy out and I'm behind him like, 'Yes, my dad got me! Alright!' Then we get upstairs to our apartment and he's like, 'So, what'd you do when he punched you in your eye?' I thought that was a dumb question. I was like, 'I cried, it hurt.' He just exploded. Like, he told me I was weak, I was soft."

She stated that Bernie Mac's style of parenting and remarks are things that would "never" do with her own daughter. Despite her feelings on her father's parenting, she Je'Niece claimed she and Bernie Mac made amends before he passed.

 

[Rubato]

You can’t fool me, this ain’t Nessa

 

[mryounggun]

Outside of how I feel one way or the other about his parenting, I would love to hear her reasoning for bringing this to light, now, this many years after the man is dead.

 

[Chi-Town B]

So telling her to toughen up so she wouldn't get bullied is wrong

 

[Golan]

Outside of how I feel one way or the other about his parenting, I would love to hear her reasoning for bringing this to light, now, this many years after the man is dead.

Right? She claims they made amends, so why am I reading about it 13 years later?

 

[mryounggun]

Right? She claims they made amends, so why am I reading about it 13 years later?

I'm not even saying that she shouldn't be saying it. There may very well be a good reason. I can think of a couple, off the top of my head. I'm just curious as to her 'Why'. We all have a 'why', when we divulge this type of thing to the world 20 years later.

 

[Playmaker88]

She is not wrong for how she feels but we shouldn't know about it

 

[Sony Montana]

Oh

 

[SKPJR]

So telling your child to stand up for themselves and fight back when they're being bullied is a bad thing?????????

 

[a.mann]

She only doing because he was going to buy Def Comedy Jam

 

[Race Jones]

*gulp*

 

[Chi-Town B]

So he wasn't smacking her around, just telling her to toughen up, maybe she is weak

 

[mike030270]

I didn't realize it's been 13 years since he passed. Damn

He was trying to get her ready for the real world. Maybe his approach wasn't great but he cared

 

[Koltrain]

She's described herself accurately... this seems like something a very sensitive person would hang onto... I just don't understand the point of bringing it up in public

 

[loud-ninja]

No different when people write autobiography books and talk about their up bringing. She doesnt have any hate in her voice. Just telling a story

 

[mryounggun]

She is not wrong for hiw she feels but we shouldn't know about it

I honestly don't know that Bernie Mac would give a fuck that the world knew this. Lol. And that could definitely be a factor in her deciding to tell that story or no. Especially after them clearing the shit up later in life.

 

[mryounggun]

Fuck it, maybe I AM 'that guy', @Loquacious.

I'll be the one...

So no one sees any issues with a father telling a little girl, a little black girl - who's confidence the world is already on a mission to destroy - that she is 'weak' for not punching a boy back who backed her eye, and putting the responsibility on HER to change something about herself in order to not be bullied?

I'ma go give my dog a bath. Y'all niggas think about your lives while I'm gone and we'll reconvene in a half hour or so.

 

[Chi-Town B]

Fuck it, maybe I AM 'that guy', @Loquacious.

I'll be the one...

So no one sees any issues with a father telling a little girl, a little black girl - who's confidence the world is already on a mission to destroy - that she is 'weak' for not punching a boy back who backed her eye, and putting the responsibility on HER to change something about herself in order to not be bullied?

I'ma go give my dog a bath. Y'all niggas think about your lives while I'm gone and we'll reconvene in a half hour or so.

No different than telling your son the same thing

 

[Ghost313]

It’s a parents job to get their child ready for the world. When you seen the shit that Bernie seen, you tend to be more serious about your child getting the right survival skills. I see no problem with him making sure his daughter can handle adversity at an early age.

 

[mryounggun]

No different than telling your son the same thing

I TOTALLY agree...I'd never say anything like that to my 9-year old son, either. *shrugs*