Sheryl Lee Ralph Discusses Meeting “Beautiful Amazon” Rihanna Ahead of The Super Bowl

Sheryl Lee Ralph just confirmed what the world has long suspected, that Rihanna is even more incredible in person than she appears on screen.

The pair got a chance to chat before their performances at the Super Bowl this weekend and during the 12th annual NFL Honors on Thursday, the Abbott Elementary star spoke with People about that surreal experience and how she’s gearing up to perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing” on Sunday. “First of all, Rihanna’s so much taller than I imagined. She’s really quite a beautiful amazon. I was like, ‘Oh my God, look at her.’ Yes, this is Savage Fenty. I completely get it,” she revealed. “She’s got like a warrior spirit, you know? It’s like, ‘No, why would you mess with her? No, you’ll never win. No, she’s winning all the time.’ I loved it. It was great meeting her.”

The outlet then asked Ralph about whether or not Rihanna gave her any advice about preparing for the big performance, to which she replied, “You know what [Rihanna] said to me? She said, ‘I’m sending you all the makeup you will ever need. Please make sure you are a Fab Fenty face on Sunday.’ I said, ‘For you? Absolutely.’” She added, “I will be Fenty down.” Other than making sure she has a full face of Fenty Beauty on, the actor has also been preparing with a whole lot of practice. “You know, they say it takes a thousand times to perfect something. So I’m up to about 799 [times],” she said. “I’m going to keep on listening to my song and be ready to sing and make it happen on Sunday. I’m so excited.”

But while practice makes perfect, it doesn’t necessarily eliminate the anxiety of performing on such a huge national stage. Ralph confessed, “Oh my God, I was so nervous yesterday. I could hardly move.” She continued, “It was like classic nerves. I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m gonna be sick.’ And I actually was. I said, ‘Oh no. I’m that nervous.’ I made myself sick.” So to settle herself, she’s been working with, “My son with all of his yoga stuff. He was like, ‘Box breathing, Mom. Breathe deeply. Hold it in for four. Exhale. Breathe in for four. Hold it. Exhale.’ I was like, ‘Okay, we’re gonna get right into breathing and calm down and eat some light food.’” And thankfully, the breathing trick he taught her “absolutely” helped and Ralph said that she is “feeling much better” about her upcoming performance.