Cape Central High student surprised on 'The Jennifer Hudson Show'

Sometimes, a role model becomes more than someone to admire and emulate from afar.

For Te'meiah Dorsey, a junior at Cape Girardeau Central High School, one of her role models is American singer and talk show host Jennifer Hudson, and the two recently "met."

Dorsey was surprised while on a Zoom call Friday, Feb. 24, with producers of "The Jennifer Hudson Show" to be put face to face with Hudson. She said the producers told her they were taking a break from the interview they were having and would come back on the Zoom to continue.

"The screen was like black for me. So all I heard was (Hudson's) voice, and I was like, 'I hope they're not trying to prank me because things like this don't happen often around here,'" Dorsey said. "And then when I finally saw her, it was just like, a shock. Hearing her say my name is just, like, it just feels unreal."

Dorsey has written Hudson many messages on Instagram in the last few years and had a chance to write a letter to "The Jennifer Hudson Show" website in August, and heard back from producers in December.

In the letter, Dorsey talked about how she finds Hudson inspirational, crediting Hudson with helping her get through some of the most difficult times of her life.

"I recently lost my granny a while back from cancer and, like, I remember sitting at the bathroom sink and listening to her singing a really powerful song, and I did more research on her, and then I found out about her story, and it's just really, you know, helped me get through tough times."

Dorsey also wrote about how she used to sing in her church choir but didn't take it seriously until she heard Hudson's singing voice and learned about her passion for music.

While on the Zoom call with Hudson, they sang a verse from Hudson's song "Giving Myself".

In the video, Dorsey said she often plays Hudson's music to the point of driving her family crazy with her "Jennifer time", as she calls it. Dorsey has all of Hudson's albums and a vinyl record of music from the movie "Respect", in which Hudson starred as Aretha Franklin. Her school librarian knows of her collection and was able to give her a People magazine featuring Hudson.

"Her life story, you know, she lost her family a couple years ago, and she just kept moving forward. It inspires me. ... The biggest obstacle, I can keep going. She's just really impactful in my life, and her story itself is a big inspiration, and it should be a big inspiration for others."

Hudson invited Dorsey to come to a taping of the show and gifted her with tickets for her and her mother to fly to California later this month.

Dorsey will be doing a face-to-face interview with Hudson on the trip.