Valerie Macon / Getty Images

Terrell Owens arrives at the VH 1's Premiere Party for "The T.O. Show" on Thursday in West Hollywood, Calif.

Their roles in the show are integral as far as Owens is concerned because they offer perspective into who the receiver is, beyond the highlights and what people have written about him.

"People think he's misunderstood," Williams said. "He's not misunderstood at all. It's just that people don't know him, so it's hard to understand when you don't have the background."

"We're not saying he was perfect when we met him," Williams said.

Added Jackson: "And he's still not perfect."

Williams says loving Owens as a friend is no different than loving your own child.

"You're sometimes going to be disappointed," she said. "But does that mean you don't care about that person?"

Owens, at 35, is no child of course. He is sensitive about his image and unhappy with how the media often concentrates on the negative or outlandish things he might do while overlooking the positives, such as his charitable work or how many of his former teammates in Philadelphia and Dallas rallied to his support.

"I feel like they're poisoning minds about who I am," Owens said. "That's the unfairness of it because (people) take everything that they say as it is, pretty much biblical. I understand being journalistic and doing your job but, dude, report the facts."

"I can't win for losing," Owens said, shrugging his shoulders.

At least the show gives him his own platform.

"I'm the EP," he says with a slight grin, "executive producer."

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