Mandela Quotes

After Versace was murdered, the first person to call me was Mandela.

As far as those kinds of things, I also played at the concert to call for the release of Nelson Mandela when he was a political prisoner in South Africa. We were celebrating his 70th birthday and calling for his release.

(When asked about his inspiration growing up) "My number one inspiration was my mother. She worked two jobs and had breakfast and dinner prepared. I essentially called my mother, The Lion. She`s fierce and she`s proud. I`d like to think some of that rubbed off on me. In the film industry, Sidney Poitier, in a broader sense, Muhammad Ali. He put his beliefs above any monetary value. That`s why his celebrity has never waned. Movies, TV, sports, come and go, but what you stand for is what people remember. Mandela, Martin Luther King, John Kennedy are people who really stood for something and were willing to die for it. You don`t see a whole lot of that any more."

One of them would definitely be the Nelson Mandela gig, when I played the tribute song for him. He was up and dancing, and he really enjoyed it. It was a really lovely occasion.

This may be a dream, but I`ll say it anyway: I was supposed to be married last year, and I bought a gown. When I meet Nelson Mandela, I shall put on this gown and have the train of it removed and put aside, and kiss the ground that he walks on and then kiss his feet.

It was wicked meeting Nelson Mandela.

I remember when Nelson Mandela made his first visit to Atlanta and came by the center. She made sure that not just the celebrities were able to be in his presence, but she made certain that all staff had a chance to shake hands with and meet him.

Mandela once phoned me out of the blue while he was still president, and at first he played with me a bit.

It was a crazy experience because she is a woman who everyone in the world looks up to, ... I mean, you walk in there and one of the first things you see is a picture of Nelson Mandela on the wall. That`s when you realize just how big a situation it is. To go in there with my mother, whose been watching Oprah for years, it was just a really exciting experience, something I won`t ever forget.

We need competent, transparent leadership, ... I see myself as a Mandela figure. Six years to get it done, then turn it over to the younger generation.

(Allison also recalled watching Nelson Mandela`s release from prison with Gilchrist and Tom King, then sales director at Standard Life. As Mandela waved to the crowds he leaned towards his wife Winnie and whispered in her ear.) I wonder what he`s asking her? ... I think it was `Have we had that letter from Tom King yet telling us how badly our Standard Life mortgage has performed?`