Clifton Powell has recalled a time he faced temptation at the hands of numerous groupies during the height of his career.
The Next Friday star discussed his female fans during a recent interview on The Art of Dialogue and stressed how being a celebrity can be a detriment to marriage.
The actor, who was previously married to Kimberley Powell, said that the entertainment industry "is a tough business to have a stable relationship in” and recalled there being 25 to 100 women enthusiastic to meet him outside of hotels and performances.
"You’ve got to be grounded, man. You’ve got to be disciplined," Powell said, before stressing that the women were "grown." "I'm talking about older women, younger women, 25, 30, 35. There's some young women [who] just like older guys," he explained. "So, it's a lot to handle. And I'm grateful that I'm out of that period."
Powell said that he’s "not mad at groupies," adding that they "love who they love," before recounting his cameo in 2Pac's "California Love" music video and attending an NBA All-Star Game.
"It’s beautiful women everywhere that love entertainers and ball players and handsome men or dark men or older men," Powell said. "I don't have a problem with it. I think it becomes a problem when you're married, when you are not respectful, when you put your hands on people, or when everything is not consensual."
The actor also discouraged those who aren’t in Hollywood from judging those who are involved with groupies because "it’s a hell of a lifestyle."
Last month, Clifton Powell recently went viral for admitting that he didn’t learn "how to love" until his 60s.
The admission wasn’t framed as regret, but as clarity — an understanding shaped by generational trauma and lived experience. Powell explained that many men, particularly in Black communities, are navigating emotional patterns inherited from families that were never taught how to express love in healthy ways.
"Our parents didn’t know how to love. Their parents didn’t know how to love," he said, pointing to what he described as the long-term effects of "450 years of post-slavery PTSD."
The Next Friday actor credited his current partner with helping him evolve, describing her as someone who challenged him to confront his behavior and grow. That process, he admitted, hasn’t been easy — but it’s been necessary.