YES, HONEY Roundup: Having a Hotlanta Honey Summer, Loving Ourselves, and Diving into Books
Honeys deserve the hottest summer!
Issue 82 | June 15, 2025
HONEY TALK
Honeys—
As you may have heard via my social media or on previous Roundups where I’ve been recapping my HGTV-life, I’ll be spending a good chunk of the summer in Atlanta, Georgia and enjoying my new home. And guess what— it’ll be my first-ever ATL summer.
I’m so excited to be in the mix of the creative hot bed down south—so many folks migrate from Los Angeles to work on productions in Atlanta, which is part of the reason why I decided to buy a home there.
So, I need folks’ help. What are fun and fab things to do in Atlanta during the summer months? Give me your recs in the comments (in the TALKBACK section below).
BTW, I love:
🥞 a good brunch
🪭 a fun day party
🍸 great cocktails
🖼️ art museums
🎵 live music
It’s gonna be a Hot Honey Summer, Chile… and I can’t wait!
Felicia Pride, Head Honey @ HONEY CHILE
ICYMI
If you missed out on the extra sweet goodies we’ve been publishing on YES, HONEY… here’s some always-relevant posts we think you should check out:
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LINKS & THANGS
Honey actress Regina Hall will be starring in a Peacock drama series called THE FIVE-STAR WEEKEND—apparently it’s about a woman (Jennifer Garner) who invites friends from different stages of her life to her Nantucket. Perhaps Regina will be one of the friends?? 👯
The 2025 Tony Awards was full of Black excellence, including (but not limited to): Kara Young (PURPOSE, PURLIE VICTORIOUS) became the first Black performer to win two Tonys in a row, Paul Tazewell (A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, DEATH BECOMES HER) won a Tony and Oscar back-to-back, Oprah threw hilarious shade at Patti Lupone, and naturally—Audra McDonald reminded folks why she is that Girl with her rendition from GYPSY. 🎭
Speaking of awards, the 2025 BET Awards also happened—Jamie Foxx gave an emotional speech for his Ultimate Icon honor, Mariah Carey revealed that her Ultimate Icon honor was her very first BET Award, Doechii spoke truth to power, and Stevie Wonder made some great cheeky jokes. Here’s a good video recap. 🏆
Gen X and Elder Millennials who are hip-hop heads, this one’s for you—a Snoop Dogg biopic is on the horizon and the main man has been cast. 🎤
Honey ballerina Misty Copeland is ending her legendary career after 25 years and will give a farewell performance this fall. Brava! Get into this profile. 🩰
The Cheeto-In-Chief’s attack on DEI is largely affecting Black women federal workers… to the surprise of no one. Their jobs—even those not directly tied to DEI programs—have been targeted. 🧑🏾💼
Guess what? Honey actress Ryan Michelle Bathe will be making a guest appearance on her hubby Sterling K. Brown’s PARADISE—y’all remember when she did the same on THIS IS US?! Let’s keep this tradition going! ⛰️
In the spirit of celebrating our Homeys (the male version of Honeys) for Father’s Day, get into this BET Immersed cover story profiling Marlon Wayans. Standout quote: “If it wasn't for my mama, we wouldn't have had all these Wayans cracking all these jokes. We've bought all this joy in this world. So you better bow down to the queens because you, too, women, are a queen. If a man don't love his mama, he ain't going to love you.” 💙
Sly Stone, leader of the legendary band Sly and the Family Stone has died at the age of 82. May he rest in power. 🕊️
In additional tragic news… Ananda Lewis, iconic MTV VJ, has died at the age of 52—she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020. May she rest in power. 🕊️
HONEY HQ
Producers and studios often approach Head Honey Felicia Pride with raw ideas so that she can use her expertise and talent to turn them into multimillion dollar endeavors. Trust—she has the receipts. And she’s cashing it in to create solid results.
This is why we created HONEY, a creative agency and content studio working with brands, creatives, and entrepreneurs to produce premium, story-driven content. We offer Done-For-You content services, creative project strategy, and full-service production—from concept to execution.
If you want to learn more about working with the HONEY Agency, complete this short interest form so that we can build together.
HONEY BOOKS
It’s a Hot Honey Summer and that includes… relaxing with a good, juicy book! In case you need some escapism in your life—you don’t always need to book a flight to travel to other worlds—here are some books (all written by Honeys!) that we’re diving into while the sun is shining the brightest:
Felicia’s first novella follows a woman who reunites with her high school sweetheart while directing her first feature film in her hometown.
Christine’s novel follows a student as she navigates college, finding love with two very different men, and then confronting those past feelings when both re-enter her life twenty years later, forcing her to make a difficult choice.
HONEY Culture Club-featured-author Kennedy Ryan is back with a book following a tech mogul who pursues a woman with ambition and caregiving responsibilities, forcing her to confront a forbidden attraction that challenges her carefully constructed life.
Angela’s second book follows five Black women over the course of their twenty-year friendship, as they move through the dizzying and sometimes precarious period between young adulthood and midlife.
Confident plus-size model and content creator finds herself in a predicament when she develops feelings for one of the men on her dating "roster" at the same time she lands a significant career opportunity which requires professional boundaries that could be jeopardized by their romance.
Marking Leslie’s first novel at the age of 54 (Go, Honey, Go!!!), FAMILY & OTHER CALAMITIES follows a successful journalist who returns to her hometown just as her biggest mistake becomes headline news.
HONEY DRIPS
Honey actress Xosha Roquemore (FOREVER) recently appeared on the LOVERS BY SHAN podcast and discussed what she would honestly tell her daughter about her personal relationship with LaKeith Stanfield (her daughter’s father).
We love to see this transparency and wisdom shared between mother and daughter. Check out the clip here.
“I loved him… and I would want her to know… don’t ever love someone more than you love yourself. Don’t betray yourself for company or comfort.”
- Xosha Roquemore
HONEY MANTRA
Though the official start of summer is June 20… for Black folks, summer unofficially starts after Memorial Day. Whatever you have planned for this summer—whether that’s a family reunion, cruise, concert, festival, picking flowers in the garden, going for a walk, road trip, world travel, romance and beyond—make sure it’s carefree. As the chant in Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul” goes… RELEASE YOUR WIGGLE!
That’s the Honey way, Chile.
SAY IT WITH US:
“This summer is all about freedom, Honey. Freedom to do whatever I want. Freedom to lean into joy. Freedom to be my baddest self.”
TALKBACK
Chiiiile, it’s a lot to discuss from this Roundup.
Ever spent the summer in the A?
Got some good book recs?
Fave moments from the Tonys and BET Awards?
Got some love advice for Honeys-in-Training?
Let’s chat about it!
HONEY SHOP
We have merch from our projects as well as resources to help you on your own storytelling journey. Check out some of our thangs:
COME CLOSE: A Novella by Felicia Pride
Our first foray into publishing fiction! This novella by our Head Honey is a second-chance, later-in-life romance about a filmmaker who returns to her hometown to film her first feature film, unexpectedly reuniting her with her high school sweetheart, whom she hasn't seen in decades…
THE BUILD BUNDLE
All of the tools you need for developing your writing craft, pitching your tv/film projects, making your work, and strategizing for a long-lasting career.
THE CREATIVE COMEBACK WORKBOOK by Felicia Pride
Discover your why, develop a writing schedule, outline your projects and unearth what's holding you back from the career of your dreams. Or purchase on Bookshop.
tender: the original script book by Felicia Pride
Specially designed, the script for Felicia Pride’s award-winning short film tender + an original essay and never-before-seen behind-the-scenes photos.
LOOK BACK AT IT: The Original Script Book by Felicia Pride
Specially designed, the script for Felicia Pride’s award-winning short film LOOK BACK AT IT + an original essay by Felicia and never-before-seen behind-the-scenes photos.
GET IN WHERE YOU FIT IN
YES, HONEY is a HONEY CHILE thang. HONEY CHILE, founded by Honey writer and award-winning filmmaker Felicia Pride, is a multiplatform media company celebrating the power and possibilities of Black women 40+. We create stories, spaces, and strategies for women who refuse to shrink.
Check out our sister platform The Sweet Build, also powered by Substack, which is from our Head Honey Felicia and delivers insight, news, and tools for storytellers serious about business.
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