VICTOR: Mandisa, it's our pleasure to have you on Turning Point.
MANDISA: Thank you, Victor, good to be here.
VICTOR: Thank you for coming. Now you've got an amazing, very interesting name, one that nobody can easily forget. Mandisa. What does that mean?
MANDISA: You know it's from the Xhosa language, it's an African –
VICTOR: South African.
MANDISA: Yes. And it means "very sweet." So my mom had wishful thinking when she named me. And I like how you say it with authority, which is very nice. So thank you.
VICTOR: Excellent, excellent. Well, we'd like to catch up with you on not just your stint with American Idol, but what you're doing today. But let's go back to American Idol. My family loved you while you were on the program.
MANDISA: Thank you.
VICTOR: Still does. My daughter is a very big fan.
One of the things that we still talk about today is Simon Cowell's very cutting remark to you; actually there were a couple of them.
MANDISA: Yeah.
VICTOR: -- but one in particular, very early in the series, he talked about your weight.
MANDISA: Right.
VICTOR: How did that impact you?
MANDISA: You know, I knew going into American Idol that I was opening up myself to those comments especially from Simon, but also from the entire world. And, you know, I'm very open about the fact that my struggle with food and with weight is the biggest struggle of my life. It's been a lifelong battle for me. I knew going into it that Simon was most likely going to make some comments, so I kind of went in, I put my brave face on, and when I saw him and when I did my audition and he actually didn't say anything about my weight. He said you have a very beautiful face and commented that I was everything that he had hoped I would be when I walked into the room. So when he told me I made it to Hollywood, I screamed out the door, I was so happy. I didn't want to hear anything he had to say, and was most impressed that he didn't make any comments about my weight.
Then, I watched the premiere of American Idol along with 30 million other people, and I discovered that he did indeed, make comments about my weight.
VICTOR: How did you feel?
MANDISA: Well, devastated. He made them after I left the room, and so I had no idea. I found out with a lot of my closest friends.
VICTOR: But when you did come back you made one of the most gracious comments that I have heard on American Idol. You looked at Simon Cowell and you said, "I forgive you." Why did you feel that you needed to do that?
MANDISA: Because forgiveness is more for the person that is forgiving, than for the person being forgiven. You know Simon; he could have gone on the rest of his life and never given a second thought to what he said about me. But for me, I had to forgive him because I didn't want bitterness to grow, and I didn't want to become that sort of a person that is angry and holds on to stuff. So, I forgave Simon because it was what I needed to do for myself.
VICTOR: You mentioned just a few moments ago, and also in your new book "Idol Eyes, My New Perspective on Faith, Fat and Fame." In your book you talk about quite a number of things, but one of the things you do talk about is your addiction to food. Is that something you've struggled with all your life?
MANDISA: It is. You know, I know a lot of people turn to alcohol and a lot of people turn to drugs. For me, I've turned to food to find comfort for many, many years. And I think it's an addiction that people don't take too seriously. I mean, we know the ramifications of obesity and being overweight. And so I just think that there are issues that turn people to food, just like to alcohol and to drugs. And so the way that I'll overcome it is by the strength of the Lord, and the reason He came was to set us free from all sorts of addictions.
VICTOR: Do you think you're coming to terms with that addiction, though?
MANDISA: Yeah. I think we have to. I have to look to why I turned to food. I think merely dieting and merely exercising- that is like putting a bandage over a gunshot wound. I think I have to get to the root of why I turn to food. And so that's a difficult process. And so I know, starting there is where I need to begin. And, of course, eating the right foods and exercising is important, but I just feel like I need to get to the issues that cause me to turn to food in the first place.
VICTOR: Talking about some of those issues, for those who don't know, at the age of 16, you were raped.
MANDISA: Yeah.
VICTOR: Do you think that had anything to do with the addiction?
MANDISA: Absolutely. I think any sort of physical abuse puts up a wall, a shelter, if you will- to try to hide me from ever feeling that sort of a pain again. And that wall has got to be torn down before I'm able to be set free. And so it can't be torn down by myself, it's really something that the Lord is having to do to set me free.
VICTOR: I appreciate that. Why do you think that God has given you the platform that He has given you?
MANDISA: You know, for several reasons. I think being on American Idol, it's opened up a lot of doors for me to speak into people's lives that may never step a foot into a church. So that's a huge platform for me. And, you know, I'm just honest. I struggle with things, and people can see my struggles, and I think the fact that I've talked so openly about it, I'm hoping that it will encourage other people that deal with the same issues that I do.
VICTOR: For anybody watching this program who aspires to be on American Idol or any of the variations, very quickly, what would you say to them by way of advice about how to get out there, how to be successful?
MANDISA: Well, I say do it. I say dream big, and never ever doubt what the Lord can do. Don't put Him in a box, because He's God, and He can do absolutely anything. So I say go for it. Also, check your motives. Make sure that your motive is pure and that you're not going in it with grandeur dreams of fame and fortune. But, you know, going into American Idol I knew that my motives were pure, and that was to please the Lord in all things.
VICTOR: A big amen to that. You've got a beautiful CD out there. It's titled, "True Beauty." If there's a theme to this, what would it be?
MANDISA: Well, the theme – the reason I called my CD True Beauty is because we live in a vain age where people value good looks and where we all try to fit into a cookie cutter mold of what we're supposed to be in order to be called beautiful. I really believe that beauty comes from within, just like 1 Peter says; it come from a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. So I think that's a message, especially for young girls. That's really important in today's day and age.
VICTOR: A big amen. Did American Idol change you in any way?
MANDISA: It did, it changed me in a lot of ways. It certainly has given me more opportunities than I ever could have imagined for myself. And, I don't think you can go into a show like American Idol and be tested the way that I was tested, and not come out different than when you go in. So certainly, I have come out stronger in some ways, I have come out weaker in some ways, and it's just, you know, the Lord is able to use all things, for His glory. I mean, He is doing that in my life. He is doing that for the great things, and He is doing that through the difficult things as well.
VICTOR: What's next for you?
MANDISA: Oh, gosh. I've been on a whirlwind. Writing that book and recording the CD, I've got a Christmas CD that's coming out, and that's got about four songs on there. It's a Christmas EP. I mean, I travel all the time and do lots of shows and I really enjoy what I'm doing for a living.
VICTOR: Mandisa, it's a joy talking with you.
MANDISA: Thank you.
