Draft:Sonya Friedman

Sonya Friedman is an American psychologist, author, and former television host.

Career
In the 1970s, Friedman worked on Good Morning America. She then had a program on WXYT-AM, and WDIV-TV.

columnist for the Detroit Free Press

Ladies’ Home Journal column

From 1982 to 1985, she hosted “Sonya” on the USA cable network.

Commutes to Detroit on weekends

In 1986, Friedman was hired by KABC to replace Toni Grant as one of its radio psychologists. The station stopped airing the program in September 1988.

In 1986, she produced The Masters of Disaster, a short documentary film about a group of inner city children learning how to play chess. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.

After an April 1988 arrest for domestic abuse, James Brown went on Friedman‘s CNN program Sonya Live in L.A.. The interview became notorious for Brown's irreverent demeanor, with some asserting that Brown was high. In 2023, the interview was parodied in a teaser for the release of the Offset and Cardi B song Jealousy. Two days prior to the release of the song Offset posted a spoof of the infamous interview with himself dressed as Brown and Jamie Lee Curtis portraying Friedman.

Interview with Paul Jennings Hill

In 1994, her show was replaced with Talk Back Live.

Awards and honors
In 1991, Friedman was awarded the first annual Star award from the American Women in Radio and Television. In 1993, she was awarded the Presidential Award of the American Psychological Association. Also in 1993, she was given the America's Women of Distinction Award from the Crohn & Colitis Foundation.

Books

 * Secret Loves: Women With Two Lives
 * On A Clear Day You Can See Yourself
 * Men Are Just Desserts
 * Smart Cookies Don't Crumble
 * A Hero Is More Than Just A Sandwich