Issa Rae on the moment that motivated her to make it in the TV industry … in Emmys segment on Black excellence
Issa Rae appeared in a segment during Sunday’s Emmy Awards in which she spoke about how she persevered through adversity and racial bias en route to the success she’s found with the HBO show Insecure.
The 35-year-old actress/writer recalled, ‘My first Hollywood pitch was kind of unofficial: Basically, I had this web series. It was the third web series I had ever made.
She said the executive, who she pitched the show to, who was not Black, was like, “Yes, I saw your show. Funny stuff… Funny stuff.” And I was like, “Um, thank you.”
Inspirational: Issa Rae, 35, appeared in a segment during Sunday’s Emmy Awards in which she spoke about how she persevered through adversity and racial bias en route to the success she’s found with the HBO show Insecure
‘He was like, ”Yeah, it’s about this Black woman and her Black-woman problems. Hilarious.” And I was like,”That’s not what it’s about. But okay.”’
The Los Angeles native recalled how the executive told her ‘the Black audience … want to see familiar faces’ so she could have ‘to switch up the characters’ to make the show a success.
Rae said that ‘it just became very clear to [her] that he didn’t get the show,’ and her ire over the situation fueled her drive to success in the industry on her terms.
‘I remember just fuming in that meeting like, ”Why does he get to tell me what gets to be on TV? Why does he get to tell me what people like me like to see? I’m here! I’m telling you what I want to see. I made it,”‘ she said.
A look back: Rae told viewers about an unofficial pitch meeting she had for a web series she created
She said the executive, who she pitched the show to, who was not Black, thought her pitched show was ‘about this Black woman and her Black woman problems’
Focused: Rae said the unpleasant experience fueled her motivation to stay the course with her work
‘For me, that moment was the motivation I needed to keep doing what I was doing – to kind of bet on myself.
‘And that fueled me. Like, ”Oh, okay. I’ll show you.” And, you know, one of us got fired after that.’
Rae’s Insecure on Sunday was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series, in addition to acting nods for Rae and co-star Yvonne Orji.
Getting ready: Rae earlier took to Instagram as she was made up for the annual event
Next up: Rae last week shared a clip of a remote table read she was having with colleagues
Rae’s remarks came in a segment in a year which the Emmys saw a record number of Black actors – about 34 percent of all nominees – up for awards, Variety reported. The previous high was about 28 percent in 2018, and last year, about 20 percent of the nominees were Black, the outlet reported.
Television Academy chairman and CEO Frank Scherma said when the nominees were announced: ‘2020 isn’t just about the global health crisis. This year we are also bearing witness to one of the greatest fights for social justice in history, and it is our duty to use this medium for change.
‘That is the power and responsibility of television – not only delivering a multitude of services or a little escapism, but also amplifying the voices that must be heard and telling the stories that must be told. Because television, by its very nature, connects us all.’