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Creative Conversation
The Awkward moment After a stint at Shondaland, HBO approached Rae: “Do you have any other ideas that you want to explore?”
“WE DON’T GET TO JUST BE BORING” Issa Rae’s gawky-yet-relatable humour won her a throng of fans on YouTube and a place on best-seller lists for her memoir, The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl. Here, she talks about her new HBO show, Insecure, why she loves Seinfeld, and the movement to diversify media. I N T E RV I E W BY J J M C C O RV E Y
In Insecure, you play a young woman who is just starting to deal with the realities of adulthood. What makes her tick? She is complacent and used to doing what is comfortable, which makes her kind of passiveaggressive. She’s always wishing for stuff, but doesn’t take action. Then, there’s a moment where she’s just like, “Ya know what? I’m tired of coasting at my job and in my relationship. I want to be a different person.” It’s about overcoming her own insecurities, and wanting to be . . . more. Is that autobiographical? Your character is named Issa. In my mid-20s, I was comparing myself to peers, going to these Christmas
14 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017
Stylist: Ayanna James; hair: Felicia Leatherwood; makeup: Kamaren Williams
Photograph by The Collaborationist
