Dr. Mahalia Hines, Common’s mother, appeared on ‘The Jennifer Hudson Show’ and during her segment she made it clear that her son never took a drink in front of her until he was about 35.
Her reasoning is similar to what many black parents remind their children often, especially during the Summer.
“I’m not one of your little friends!”
According to PEOPLE mom appeared on the show to discuss her book Tomorrow’s Children: How to Raise Children to Stay Human in a High Tech Society and share some of her experiences parenting.
While discussing one of her favorite chapters about parenting and friendship she said:
“You are not your child’s friend — you are their parent,” she told the host, 42. “And your job is not to be liked, it’s to be right. One of the things I say, if you give up that authority, you’re gonna lose respect because they will begin talking to you and acting like you.”
Dr. Hines then pointed out that what happens then is that when you try to “check them, it doesn’t work.”
“My son did not drink around me until he was almost 35 — and that was at a dinner,” she told Hudson. “The reason being, we aren’t friends. I’m not gonna sit around and drink with you.”
She added, “We can be friendly, but we’re not friends.”
The Dreamgirls star then presented Common’s mother with a bouquet of flowers and a framed photo of a letter the “Testify” artist wrote for his mother that appears in her book.
Hudson and Common, 52, first sparked dating rumors back in 2022, when they worked together on their film Breathe, but have known each other for a long time. Over the years, the two have mingled at various charity events and award shows. The couple has been seen stepping out for a number of appearances together, including sitting courtside at basketball games.
During an interview on The Jennifer Hudson Show in January, The Hate U Give actor seemingly confirmed his romance with the Respect star as she asked him about his relationship status. The actor laughed before answering that he is in fact dating someone. While he didn’t say Hudson’s name, everyone was in on the joke.
Common later addressed his appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show (and going public with Hudson) during an interview on Today with Hoda & Jenna.
“We had a little fun,” Common said of the appearance. “I felt like, why not just be loving and honest with who I am and who we are. And it felt good, it was fun, we had a good time.”
