He’s proud to be a mama’s boy! Anthony Anderson spoke exclusively with Us Weekly about his upcoming gig hosting VH1’s Dear Mama: An Event to Honor Moms special, and opened up about the relationship he shares with his own mother, Doris Hancox.
“I have a very special relationship with my mother,” the Black-ish star, 46 — who hosted the show in 2016 as well — told Us. “Not only is she my mother, she’s my best friend and now I call her an employee, but she calls herself a partner in my business, so we have a very, very fun relationship — inside and outside of work.”
According to Anderson, who had Hancox join him during a July 2016 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, his strong bond with his mother is partially founded on their similar senses of humor.
“That’s where I get my sense of humor from. I get it from my mother! You know, the life that I’m living as an entertainer and celebrity is the life that my mother always wanted to live, the life she always wanted for herself,” the actor explained to Us. “My mother grew up wanting to be an actress and she ended up becoming a teen mom and had to put her dreams on hold, had to defer her dreams of being an actress to raise an actor. So everything I do, I do for her and it’s just great that I’m at a place in my career and in my life now that I can bring my mother on along to enjoy the ride.”
Anderson added, “I can employ her and I can put her on television, so she no longer has to live vicariously through me.”
Not only will Dear Mama highlight Hancox’s involvement in her son’s life, but it will also honor celebrity moms such as Halle Berry and cohost La La Anthony, among others. According to Anderson, it was a joy to work with them on the show, which was filmed on Saturday, May 7, in Pasadena, California.
“I know Halle personally and she’s always been great with me and to me. I can’t say that we’re friends, but we’re friendly, so she’s always been a great person to be around,” he shared with Us. “La La I’ve known since her MTV days and we’ve never worked together before. I think she maybe might have interviewed me once or twice over the years, but this is our first time working together, so I’m excited to have her as my cohost this year.”
Dear Mama: An Event to Honor Moms airs on VH1 Monday, May 8, at 10 p.m. ET.
