According to Angela Bassett, she has had a little piece of Tina Turner in her spirit ever since 1993.
According to her publicist, Turner, a well-known musician who initially rose to recognition in the 1960s, died on May 24 at the age of 83 in her home in Switzerland. Bassett played Turner in the 1993 biopic “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” which earned her a nomination for an Academy Award.
In a statement given to NBC News by her representative, Bassett commented that “it’s impossible to say goodbye to someone who was as impactful as Turner.”
“How do we say goodbye to a woman who owned her pain and trauma and used it to help change the world?” she pondered.
The author writes that Tina Turner “showed others who lived in fear what a beautiful future filled with love, compassion, and freedom should look like through her courage in telling her story, her commitment to stay the course in her life, no matter the sacrifice, and her determination to carve out a space in rock and roll for herself and for others who look like her.”
She also recounted Turner’s last words to her.
She said goodbye to me by saying, “You never imitated me.” As an alternative, you looked inside of yourself until you found your inner Tina and showed her to the world. I will hold these words dear to my heart for the rest of my days, she thought.
In April, Turner wrote an essay for TIME in Bassett’s honor after the magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people of the year. Turner stated in that article that she had her doubts about the Bassett-starring biography at first since she didn’t think anyone could sing and dance as effectively as she could.
Turner recalls his initial impression of Bassett as being “She’s perfect.” Never have you tried to mimic me. Instead, you looked inside yourself until you found Tina there, then you showed her to the world.
Bassett asked individuals in her statement to find their “inner Tina.”
She added that even while we mourn the loss of her renowned voice and presence today, she gave us more than we could have ever wished for. She gave us her complete attention. Tina Turner is also a gift that is unquestionably “the best.” Let the angels guide you to sleep, queen.
