NEED TO KNOW
- Blac Chyna stars in the new film Pardon Me, which is based on a true story
- Chyna — who today goes by her birth name, Angela White — plays anti-abortion activist Bevelyn B. Williams
- “I feel like playing somebody might be the hardest in my mind to master, but I feel like I mastered it,” she tells PEOPLE
Blac Chyna isn’t shying away from a role that’s already sparking conversation.
The model — who today goes by her birth name, Angela White — tells PEOPLE that she’s prepared for any criticism that comes with playing anti-abortion activist Bevelyn B. Williams in the new biographical film Pardon Me.
“Pardon Me is definitely something that has shaped my perspective and let me know that I can play a lead role,” Chyna, 37, says. “I could tap into another person because it’s a difference when you have a character, but you can make it your own. And I feel like playing somebody might be the hardest in my mind to master, but I feel like I mastered it.”
“I have my own personal beliefs and whatnot. I’m not going to get into it, but I feel like with any actress, you have to put all that aside. Sometimes I’ll series a movie and then I’ll see the person [and] I’m like, ‘I don’t like that person.’ [But] I’m like, ‘Wait, oh, that was just a character. Sorry. No, I like you.’ So, we have to keep in mind, too, that I am playing a character because I have gotten a little bit of backlash from it, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
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The biopic centers around the real-life story of Williams, an anti-abortion activist who made national headlines after a controversial 2020 protest outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Manhattan.
Chyna says the decision to take on the “controversial” role was an easy one. “The decision for me to play this role was easy. I knew that it would probably stir up a few things because of the message and what she stands for and that’s exactly why I did it.”
“I feel as though it’s very empowering to step into these roles because the thing about it is when you are in the entertainment industry, a lot of times they want you to act a certain way or you’re supposed to be a certain type of way for a different type of crowd,” she says. “But that’s not how it works, that’s not how leadership is. I’ve walked so a lot of people can run in this industry.”
Williams was convicted in February 2024 for violating the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, known as the FACE Act. The 1994 law prohibits physically blocking, threatening or injuring people entering clinics that provide reproductive health services, while still allowing peaceful protest.
According to federal prosecutors, in June 2020 Williams blocked the doors of a Planned Parenthood clinic in New York City, got up close to clinic staff and threatened to “terrorize this place.” She was also accused of pressing against the entrance in a way that injured a staff member’s hand. Prosecutors said she had a history of similar behavior at clinics in multiple states.
In Manhattan federal court, a jury found Williams guilty and in July 2024 she was sentenced to 41 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release.
On January 23, just months into her sentence, Williams was granted a full and unconditional presidential pardon by Donald Trump, alongside 23 other anti-abortion activists convicted under the FACE Act. The pardon erased her conviction and ended her sentence immediately.
“Bevelyn Beatty Williams repeatedly intimidated and interfered with individuals seeking and providing critical reproductive health services,” Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said at the time of her sentencing.
PEOPLE has reached out to Williams for comment on the film.
Pardon Me is today playing in theaters.
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