For Cedric McKinzie, this chapter isn’t about choosing one creative lane. It’s about finally allowing all of them to come together.
Long before acting and producing, there was music. Growing up in Mississippi, McKinzie found an early creative outlet through songwriting and performed in rap groups decades ago. Life eventually took him from Mississippi to Virginia, into service with the U.S. Navy and, more recently, to Atlanta. But the storyteller in him never disappeared.
Today, McKinzie is an actor, executive producer, content creator and once again, a songwriter.
“I feel like this is a new beginning for me,” he says. “God has let me come out to give all of my talents.”
That evolution has accelerated through his involvement with Plus Size Divas: Revelations. Initially cast as Wayne Clark, McKinzie stepped beyond acting when he began creating promotional content for the project. Guided by the “can do” mentality he carried from his years as a Navy Seabee, he embraced something unfamiliar, learned as he went and ultimately expanded his role to executive producer.
Surprisingly, content creation also led him back to songwriting after years away. Now acting, producing, writing and music no longer feel like separate pursuits. They are different expressions of the same creative voice.
That philosophy is also behind Freetown Entertainment, named for the Mississippi community where McKinzie grew up. The company reflects his desire to create while remaining connected to his roots, history and a larger sense of purpose. He is especially passionate about preserving Mississippi’s musical legacy, including the history and influence of blues legend Robert Johnson. For McKinzie, success isn’t simply about the next role. It’s about building something that lasts.
“I’m able to show more of my talents,” he says, “and just leave a legacy and inspire people to do the same.”
ROOTS: Mississippi
CURRENT HOME: Atlanta
CREATIVE LANES: Acting • Producing • Songwriting • Content Creation
COMPANY: Freetown Entertainment
CURRENT PROJECT: Plus Size Divas: Revelations
MISSION: Create, inspire and leave a legacy.
CEDRIC MCKINZIE: MORE THAN A ROLE
In Plus Size Divas: Revelations, Cedric McKinzie steps into a complicated character—and discovers that sometimes the story you’re telling forces you to confront pieces of your own.
STEPPING INTO WAYNE CLARK
Cedric McKinzie didn’t originate the role of Wayne Clark. But when the opportunity came to take over the character in Plus Size Divas: Revelations, he had no intention of simply imitating what had been done before.
His philosophy was simple: honor what came first, then make it your own.
“I’m not trying to replace the old Wayne Clark,” McKinzie explains. “I’m trying to recreate Wayne Clark in my image, in my head.”
And there is plenty to unpack.
Wayne is a man carrying the consequences of his past. In the original story, he was abusive. In Revelations, audiences meet a man attempting to change. He has found religion, remarried and is trying to control the anger that once defined him. But his new life comes with new challenges—including a younger wife and a stepson who doesn’t respect him.
The question becomes: Can Wayne truly become someone different, or will pressure pull him back toward the man he used to be?
For McKinzie, playing that internal battle became about much more than portraying a villain.
A STORY BIGGER THAN THE SCREEN
Plus Size Divas: Revelations continues the story introduced in Untold Secrets of a Plus Size Diva, which follows a woman’s experiences with body shaming, domestic violence, relationships and mental health.
The sequel expands that world through seven women representing different aspects of Sylvia Wilson’s life and experiences.
But McKinzie is particularly passionate about another conversation woven into the film: what happens to men emotionally when violence, trauma and unhealthy relationships become part of their lives.
Domestic violence is frequently discussed through the experiences of women—and understandably so—but McKinzie believes healing also requires examining the ways trauma travels through families.
Sometimes the boy watching what happens inside his home eventually becomes a man still carrying what he witnessed.
McKinzie knows something about that.
Growing up, he witnessed his mother experience domestic abuse. At the time, he was a child unable to protect someone he loved. Years later, working on this film forced him to consider how experiences like that can quietly follow boys into adulthood, shaping their relationships, fears and ideas about masculinity.
“We don’t want to admit that it takes a toll on us as well,” he says.
That realization transformed Wayne Clark from simply a character into something much more complicated.
WHEN ART GETS PERSONAL
McKinzie believes men are often conditioned to bury emotional pain rather than identify it. Fear becomes silence. Silence becomes shame. And sometimes unaddressed hurt shows up in relationships years later.
Through events and partnerships surrounding Plus Size Divas: Revelations, McKinzie has become increasingly vocal about creating space for men to participate in conversations surrounding mental health and domestic violence.
He points to advocates who say men will privately send messages about their experiences but remain reluctant to attend events publicly because of the stigma attached to admitting vulnerability.
McKinzie wants that to change.
“This is not a woman’s cause,” he says.
“It’s our cause.” Because when one person heals, the impact can reach a relationship, a family and eventually an entire community.
FROM ACTOR TO EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
There was another twist McKinzie didn’t see coming. He was originally cast as Wayne Clark.
Then the job got bigger. McKinzie began creating social media content to help promote the project. He started becoming increasingly involved behind the scenes, embracing responsibilities he hadn’t necessarily imagined himself taking on.
Eventually, that willingness to jump in led to an executive producer role. His approach traces partly back to his military background.
A proud Navy veteran and former Seabee, McKinzie remembers living by a “can do” mentality. So when something unfamiliar appeared in front of him, his instinct wasn’t to say, “I can’t.” He figured it out. That same creative expansion has unexpectedly reopened another door from his past: music.
Decades ago, McKinzie performed in rap groups and wrote songs. After years away from songwriting, creating content for Revelations helped reignite that part of him.
Suddenly acting, producing, content creation and songwriting no longer felt like separate identities.
They were pieces of the same person. “I feel like this is a new beginning for me,” he says.
BUILDING SOMETHING WITH PURPOSE
That renewed creativity extends into Freetown Entertainment, McKinzie’s company named for the Mississippi neighborhood where he grew up.
For him, the name represents history, freedom and legacy.
It also reflects where he wants this chapter of his career to go: creating entertainment while giving back, preserving stories and using his growing platform to bring attention to people and history that deserve to be remembered.
McKinzie also speaks passionately about Mississippi blues legend Robert Johnson and his desire to help introduce more people to Johnson’s history and enormous influence on American music.
Legacy, it seems, has become a recurring theme.
HE POWER OF THE CAST
Production on Plus Size Divas: Revelations has brought McKinzie together with performers throughout the Atlanta entertainment community, with rehearsals taking place in Montgomery, Alabama, and Atlanta.
He describes the camaraderie surrounding the project as something that has grown far beyond actors simply learning lines. The material is personal. The issues are real.
And the cast understands that somewhere, someone watching may recognize their own life in what unfolds on screen.
“It’s not just a film,” McKinzie says. “It’s life.”
That responsibility is one reason the team has also pursued partnerships connected to domestic violence and mental-health advocacy.
The goal isn’t simply to entertain audiences for two hours.
They want to start conversations after the credits roll.
IT’S OKAY TO HEAL
Ask McKinzie what he ultimately wants audiences to take away from Plus Size Divas: Revelations, and his answer gets right to the heart of the film. “It’s okay to hurt. It’s okay to speak about it. It’s okay to heal. It’s okay to talk about it.” He wants audiences to laugh, cry and recognize themselves. Most importantly, he wants people who have carried difficult experiences in silence to understand that acknowledging pain isn’t weakness.
For McKinzie, that may be the most meaningful revelation of all.
Plus Size Divas: Revelations is currently expected to be released in early 2027. The original film, Untold Secrets of a Plus Size Diva, is currently available on streaming platforms.
CEDRIC AT A GLANCE
NAME: Cedric McKinzie
ROOTS: Mississippi
CURRENT HOME: Atlanta
ALSO CALLED HOME: Virginia for 30 years
MILITARY: U.S. Navy Veteran • Former Seabee
CURRENT ROLE: Wayne Clark in Plus Size Divas: Revelations
BEHIND THE CAMERA: Executive Producer + Content Creator
CREATIVE LANES: Acting • Producing • Songwriting • Content Creation
COMPANY: Freetown Entertainment
PASSION POINTS: Mental Health • Domestic Violence Awareness • Black History • Music • Legacy
PERSONAL MISSION: Use storytelling to entertain, inspire, preserve history and encourage healing
COMING: Plus Size Divas: Revelations — Early 2027
MESSAGE: “It’s okay to hurt. It’s okay to speak about it. It’s okay to heal.”