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Tammy Faye Messner’s life story hits the big screen this weekend withJessica Chastainstarring inThe Eyes of Tammy Faye— but the movie didn’t always have support from the televangelist’s family.
The late Tammy Faye’s daughter, Tammy Sue Bakker-Chapman, opened up about her mother’s complicated legacy toTodayin her first interview in 17 years, admitting that she “was not happy” when she heard about the Michael Showalter-helmed biopic.
“It’s been very challenging over my life because people have done films, books, articles, television shows, plays, musicals and all kinds of things about my family,” she said. “I’m a big girl and that’s par for the course, but that’s not really normal. It’s strange to live that life.”
“So when I first saw that they were going to do this film, frankly, I was not happy about it, only because I was like… here we go again,” Bakker-Chapman, 51, added.
Despite her initial skepticism, Bakker-Chapman eventually became a part of the film. She recorded one of her mom’s favorite songs, “Don’t Give Up (On the Brink of a Miracle),” which plays during the end credits. She said it was a “dream come true” working on the track with six-time Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb.
Alan R English/AP/Shutterstock
“I got a text one day from Jessica Chastain, and she asked me if I would like to do a song for the film,” Bakker-Chapman recounted. “I had not seen the film and so I really went out on a limb to do this.” She’s since seenThe Eyes of Tammy Faye, but she wants to watch it a second time before giving her opinion.
RELATED VIDEO: Jessica Chastain ‘Grew to Love’ Tammy Faye Bakker After Portraying the Televangelist in New Film
“Here’s a woman that I had an idea of because of what I was fed about her,” Chastain added. “Even the thing about the mascara running down her face. There is not one picture of her with mascara running down her face in reality. But people were always making her into a clown and punishing her for the mistakes of her husband, which all throughout history women have been the victim of, atoning for the sins of men.”
See Jessica Chastain inThe Eyes of Tammy Faye, now in theaters.
source: people.com
