Issa Rae recalls how an executive held her show down, says it made her 'bet' on herself

Issa Rae, actor and creator of the show Insecure, recently talked about her experience pitching her first show to an executive during the Emmys 2020 function. The artist mentioned how she was treated and what really pushed her forward to keep making better and better shows. Read ahead to know more. 

According to a report by Variety, Issa Rae started off by recalling how a certain executive had tried to tell her about his views on what Black audiences wanted to see on television. The executive had said to Issa that he had seen her show and described it as 'funny stuff, funny stuff'. Issa responded to the executive by saying '‘Um, thank you' and the person kept talking. 

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Issa explained more about the executive's thoughts on her show. The person had mentioned what he thought the show was all about. The executive was of the opinion that the show was 'about this Black woman and her Black woman problems'. Issa then replied by mentioning that her show wasn't about that 'but OK'. 

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The artist then mentioned more about this person, who himself wasn't Black and had told her that 'Black audiences wanted to see familiar faces'. He also added that she must change her characters. Issa then mentioned that it was clear to her that 'he didn’t get the show'. Issa mentioned how experiences as such had motivated her to keep pushing for an accurate representation of Black people on TV and that she had to keep fighting gatekeeping by executives who decide what kind of shows must be televised. 

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Situations like this made Issa angry  

Issa added how angry the situation had made her, adding she had wondered why such executives got to tell her what would get on TV. According to the report, Issa then thought that this was a show she wanted to see and that she had made it. The artist finally added that for her, these moments were 'motivational' and that she 'needed to keep doing' what she was doing.

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Issa Rae is an actor, writer, and producer. She has been nominated for an Emmy four times. At the start of her career, she had worked on a YouTube web series Awkward Black Girl.

Promo Pic Credit: Issa Rae's Instagram