Multi-talented entertainer Ashanti returns to Lifetime this weekend in A Christmas Winter Song, playing a character completely different to the one she played six years ago in Lifetime’s Christmas in the City in which, as department store tyrant Teanna Musk, she devilishly wreaked havoc on Christmas for everyone. In Winter Song, she plays Clio, a Christmas shop owner who befriends Fred (Stan Shaw, pictured below with Ashanti), a homeless former jazz singer, and helps him reconnect with his fractured family. “I thought this story was really touching,” she revealed during a recent chat with MediaVillage. “It’s something that goes beyond Christmas. So many people will be able to relate. It sends a message to never judge a book by its cover. I know that’s something we all know, but you never know who you may meet who will change your life.
“After Clio loses her dad, this stranger fills a void for her,” she continued. “But it’s kind of like we both fill voids in each other and go from complete strangers to being like family. It’s a special movie with a really cool message, and it was so great to be a part of it.”