Lucile O’Neal and Sonya Curry Share Why Magic Johnson Agreed to Discuss HIV Struggles and More: “We Didn’t Pull”

Magic Johnson has been brave enough to reveal his HIV diagnosis that interrupted his career in the early 90s. The Los Angeles Lakers legend is often appreciated for his transparency, but he has not given much insight into the struggles that he had to go through. It would have been traumatic for anyone in Johnson’s place to open up about it. However, the 5x champion gathered the courage to discuss his battle against HIV for the show ‘Raising Fame’ with Sonya Curry and Lucile O’Neal; thanks in part to the two mothers.

Ahead of the premiere of their show on July 7th, Sonya Curry and Lucile O’Neal sat down to tease about ‘Raising Fame‘. The trailer of the show involved a few emotional scenes of Magic Johnson and his mother, which is set to unearth the struggles of the 3x NBA MVP when he was diagnosed with HIV. It is not easy to open up about a traumatic period like this in your life. 

But Johnson managed to do it because Sonya and Lucile made him comfortable. Shaquille O’Neal‘s mother shared, “We put ourselves in Ms. Chris(Magic’s mother)’s place and we were able to just see it from both sides and being able to sit down and talk with Magic, Ms. Chris and other members of the family.” Only a mother can understand the pain of another mother. That is how Lucile, Sonya, and Christine Johnson bonded. 

“We didn’t pull. We made them comfortable and we got comfortable too, just like we’re sitting down talking now. We felt at home, they felt at home, and that is why they were able to open up with us and Magic felt really comfortable telling his story.” shared Lucile, revealing the truth behind the show. 

Sonya Curry stands firm on ethics, reveals why ‘Raising Fame’ is not a reality show

The interviewers of the modern are keen on one thing and that is content. To keep their audience satisfied, a few prey on content, trying their best to pull out words from their guests. However, Stephen Curry‘s mother Sonya does not encourage that. As a host, she follows ethics that many don’t. 

Sonya shared, “This show is so special. It’s just not a show. It’s not reality TV, it is real TV and these are people doing interviews that have never done interviews before, but somehow god has opened up their hearts.” This stance from Sonya and Lucile is truly appreciable. 

We do not see this often. The above two NBA mothers do not want to cross the line, especially when they relate to Christine Johnson and her struggles in bringing up a superstar. There are a few weeks left for ‘Raising Fame‘. Magic Johnson is not the only guest. There are many and let’s hope we take a few lessons from each of them.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato had to say about the marketing genius, watch this video: