🔥 BERN NADETTE STANIS AT 71 REVEALS THE DARK TRUTH ABOUT BEN POWERS — “HOLLYWOOD NEVER LET HIM BE FREE”

In a revelation that has shaken fans of Good Times and the wider entertainment industry, actress Bern Nadette Stanis, forever remembered as Thelma Evans, has broken her silence about the untold struggles of her late co-star Ben Powers — and her words have cast a haunting new light on the man behind the smile.

At 71, Stanis spoke candidly about Powers’ rise and fall, confessing that behind the charm and laughter was a man battling relentless pressures, humiliating scripts, and a Hollywood system stacked against him.

“Walking out of the church, Keith hurts his leg — right after marrying Thelma. It was ridiculous,” Stanis recalled, referring to the bizarre writing that reduced a heartfelt wedding into a punchline. “Ben hated it. He felt mocked, but he pushed on because he believed in the work.”

Powers, 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 Alton Adalbert Powers in Brooklyn, was more than just an actor. He was a fighter, navigating a hostile industry that often sidelined Black talent. From the chaotic sets of Good Times to the false dawn of Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer — a role derailed not by him, but by scandal around its lead — Powers endured setback after setback. Yet, Stanis insists, he never surrendered his dignity.

Off-screen, Powers was a private man — devoted to his wife Julia Harper and their four 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren. But in the 2000s, his health began to collapse. By 2015, liver cancer had stolen him from the world at just 64.

Stanis’ voice cracked as she remembered her friend: “He was more than Keith Anderson. He was our anchor in the chaos. A true professional. A true friend. Hollywood never gave him his flowers. Maybe it was never ready for his truth.”

Her confession has reignited debates over how Black actors of the 1970s were exploited, underwritten, and forgotten once the cameras stopped rolling. Fans are flooding social media with tributes, calling for Powers’ legacy to finally be honored.

The revelations are bittersweet: the world remembers Ben Powers as Thelma’s husband, but Stanis insists he was far greater — a man of resilience, a father, a fighter, and a victim of Hollywood’s cruel machinery.

“Behind the glitz and glamour,” Stanis warned, “there are real people, carrying real pain. Ben carried more than most. And now, his story must be told.”