BET+ has given the green light to upcoming biopic titled ‘The First Lady of BMF: The Tonesa Welch Story’, directed by Vivica A. Fox. The film follows the life of Detroit native Tonesa Welch, who rose to prominence in Detroit as a drug dealer and was eventually dubbed ‘The First Lady of BMF’ by federal prosecutors.
The biopic, penned by Gabrielle Collins, delves into Welch’s “craftiness and creativity, hustle and hard work” during Detroit’s crack era and America’s “war on drugs”. The film explores themes of riches, remorse, personal responsibility, and redemption.
Welch’s story was first featured in the BET+ unscripted series ‘American Gangster: Trap Queens’, reigniting interest in the Black Mafia Family. Her role in BMF inspired the character Markisha Taylor, played by La La Anthony on Starz. However, Welch has expressed her dissatisfaction with the way the character is portrayed in the series.
Welch herself wrote about the series on Instagram.
“WTF who wrote this part of the Story. [Terry] 17 I’m 26 years my husband a [kingpin] but I’m having sex with a 17 year old who’s supposedly still in high school,” she wrote. “So before [Terry] goes on the run he comes to my job, its close for the day we sneak in the janitors room and have Sex. I guess he’s [too] young to have an apartment he’s still in high school or lives with his parents. I guess they have Markisha looking like a pedophile.”
“If This was reverse and Markisha was 17 years old y’all be trying to put him in jail,” she wrote. “Why are they portraying this role like this…I never kiss this man until he was i25 [sic] years old. This is crazy. This is what happens when you hire the wrong representative.”
She continued, “Please no more DM’s don’t ask me why I can’t explain it. But half y’all believe this sick shit. Markeisha character is shown in bad likeness I don’t agree with the timeline or the character traits. This show pretends it’s not me but everybody in Detroit or half the country know it’s me. Who else work at the insurance company?”
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As for the biopic, Tressa Azarel Smallwood and Judge Greg Mathis are executive producing along with Donte Lee and Delece James who will oversee the production of the film.
Production on ‘The First Lady of BMF: The Tonesa Welch Story’ is set to begin in April in Washington, D.C. The film will premiere exclusively on BET+ later this year.