Lena Waithe is HERE and she isn’t going anywhere. She has a few stories to tell. Go inside to see the EMMY winner’s Vanity Fair cover where she opens up about how she plans on dominating Hollywood and more….
Lena Waithe is a breath of fresh air.
The writer/actress made history as the first black woman to cop an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for her contribution to "Master of None." And since then, she has been working non-stop to tell HER stories…like only she can.
If you haven’t noticed, Lena -- and a large handful of black creatives-- have sent a message to Hollywood. Black Excellence is here (actually, it’s been here) and it isn’t going any-damn-where.
Vanity Fair knows the deal. The magazine tapped the "Master of None" star/writer to cover their April 2018 issue.
Inside, the screenwriter-producer-actress opened up about being a black queer person in Hollywood and why it’s important for people like her to write OUR stories.
“I am tired of white folks telling my stories,” she explained. “We gotta tell our sh*t. Can’t no one tell a black story, particularly a queer story, the way I can, because I see the God in us. James Baldwin saw the God in us. Zora saw the God in us. When I’m looking for myself, I find myself in the pages of Baldwin.” And she’s right. Who better to tell a story about a black queerwoman growing up in Chicago than a black queer woman growing up in Chicago.
“I didn’t realize I was born to stand out as much as I do. But I’m grateful. Because the other black or brown queer kids are like, ‘Oh, we the sh*t,’ ” she added.
If you haven’t noticed, "The Chi" creator is woke AF and she recognizes when studios try and pull a fast one on her. She definitely notices when they plant the token black person in the room to make her feel more “comfortable” when she’s pitching ideas.
“The hardest thing about being a black writer in this town is having to pitch your black story to white execs,” she shared. “Also, most of the time when we go into rooms to pitch, there’s one token black executive that sometimes can be a friend and sometimes can be a foe. I wonder if they think it makes me more comfortable, if that makes me think that they’re a woke network or studio because they’ve got that one black exec. It feels patronizing. I’m not against a black exec. I want there to be more of them.”
If they would hire more black executives or execs of color, we can start having a diverse group of people who decide what should get the greenlight and what shouldn’t.
After her history making EMMY win, it had to have changed her, right? Yep. She’s in beast mode and doesn’t care who doesn’t like it.
“How has the Emmy changed me? It got me all these meetings that I go in and say I’m too busy to work with you—you should have hollered at me. You can take my call when I call you about this black queer writer over here who’s got a dope pilot, or this person over here who’s got really cool ideas, or this actress who’s really amazing but nobody’s seen her.”
“Here’s the irony of it all,” she said. “I don’t need an Emmy to tell me to go to work. I’ve been working. I’ve been writing, I’ve been developing, I’ve been putting pieces together and I’m bullets, you know what I’m saying?”
Yes, Lena. We know exactly what you’re saying.
With all the success of the black superhero Black Panther, Vanity Fair had to ask her how she felt about the groundbreaking film. Here’s what she had to say:
“You see history books—A.D. or B.C.?,” she asked. “I feel like the world felt one way before B.P. and will feel forever changed A.B.P. These execs are all looking around and saying to themselves, ‘Sh*t, we want a Black Panther; we want a movie where motherfuckers come out in droves and see it multiple times and buy out movie theaters.’ And because we also live in a town of copycats, there are going to be a lot of bad black superhero movies coming because everybody ain’t Ryan Coogler!”
Bloop!
FUN FACT: Lena is engaged to Alana Mayo (pictured above), who is the head of production and development for Michael B. Jordan’s media company. Nice!
Pleanty of our faves are feeling the cover too:
THIS. Beautiful and well deserved. Congrats @LenaWaithe! pic.twitter.com/Uaah1sZF2n
— Chadwick Boseman (@chadwickboseman) March 22, 2018
Just sitting here thinking about Lena Waithe's Vanity Fair cover. That shit is so huge man. pic.twitter.com/uktou7uT9h
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) March 22, 2018
Man this beautiful cover of @LenaWaithe has me emotional. For so many of us we don't feel seen. Truly SEEN. Our talent, work, lives, bodies and even our breath has not been valued. I needed to see this cover today. I think alot of us did. Keep shining mama! https://t.co/uG0wkA43EB
— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) March 22, 2018
All hail @LenaWaithe for @VanityFair!!! YES. pic.twitter.com/pCpgFbxtoG
— Lupita Nyong'o (@Lupita_Nyongo) March 22, 2018
Word....congrats @LenaWaithe this is a cover right here. Beautiful. https://t.co/HKNRBTjv36
— Zendaya (@Zendaya) March 22, 2018
Photos: Annie Leibovitz