I had the pleasure of interviewing Henson ahead of the film’s release to ask about this trend in Perry’s films, and whether not she thought Melinda fit into it. “[Perry is] not snatching these characters out of the sky. These characters exist,” she reasoned. “My job is not to judge it. I do my job, and I do it as truthfully and as honestly as I can. I leave it up to the audience to judge.” Perhaps playing the best devil’s advocate for Melinda, Henson suggested that she may be more than a stereotype for some people. “If I judge the characters that I portray if I get on my high horse and say, ‘this character is not good for the Black community,’ well, what about that girl or that person out there that needs this story because they identify with it? I’m sorry that it makes you feel some kind of way, but somebody out there needs it,” she insisted. “That’s why it’s a story to be told. I can’t judge that as an artist. Because if I do, I’m doing a disservice to this character and to that person in the world who needs [it].” As an actress, Henson can’t judge the woman Perry has put forth as Acrimony’s antagonist. But viewers can.