Toni Braxton to Guest on "The Neighborhood" Season 6 Finale

[JamesG]

Toni Braxton Cast as Herself in "The Neighborhood" Season 6 Finale
by Sydney Bucksbaum
March 26, 2024


EW can exclusively reveal that Toni Braxton has been cast in "The Neighborhood". She will play herself in the upcoming season 6 finale loosely based on the true story of how cast member Marcel Spears' first child was almost born at a Beyoncé concert.

According to the official logline for the finale, "The whole crew heads out to see Toni Braxton live in concert, but just as the concert begins, Courtney’s [Skye Townsend] water breaks."

https://ew.com/toni-braxton-the-neig...oncert-8620281

[JamesG]

Toni Braxton Reveals Why she was Nervous to Guest Star on "The Neighborhood" Season 6 Finale
by Sydney Bucksbaum
May 6, 2024


Even Toni Braxton gets nervous. After more than 35 years of performing, she revealed that she actually got butterflies right before she filmed her guest-starring role in "The Neighborhood" season 6 finale.

"I'm going to be honest, and I'm not going to deny it — I was nervous," Braxton tells Entertainment Weekly.



"What made me so nervous was because we were in this sprinter [van], literally, in this tight confined space," Braxton reveals.

"I do feel a little tight sometimes when I'm in elevators and tight spaces. And I was nervous because we were filming — I was fine until they said, 'Action,' and I was like, 'Ooh, a little bit of butterflies here.' But they easily went away."



She laughs at how some people might be surprised to hear that a professional performer like herself still gets stage fright.

"But I actually do!" she says. "When I go on stage, I'm nervous for about five to seven minutes and then after that seven minutes, it starts to subside. That's always a sign to me that this is that good adrenaline that you want."







Braxton and Cedric the Entertainer are "old friends" because their kids dated in the past, so when he asked her to guest star in the finale, she immediately said yes.

"I've been a fan of the show, but my brother especially loves the show, so he was more amped about it than I was," she admits. And when she read the script, she thought her role was "brilliant."

"This is the first time I've ever played myself, and they've never met me, so how did they make it so personalized for me? I was impressed with that," Braxton says. "It's challenging when you have to play a cameo of yourself but you're acting, and they did a fantastic job of honing in and getting it."



Braxton thought it was "super smart" how they pivoted from a Beyoncé concert to one of her shows.

"I'd heard about this story — I heard there was a young lady whose water broke at a Beyoncé concert," she says. "I never dreamed it was someone in the actual Neighborhood, in the family right there. That was really brilliant to put it into show."



"It was really fun when I had to do the 'push, push, push', because I have two kids but I didn't do that," Braxton reveals. "I had C sections! So I was like, 'Oh, this is how it goes.'"

After filming the season 6 finale, Braxton is ready to do it all over again. "I would love to be back on The Neighborhood," she says. "They told me any time I want to come back, I have an open invitation, so I'm going to take them up on that offer."

https://ew.com/toni-braxton-nervous-...finale-8643469