Quantcast

Last week, Issa Rae sat down with The Late Show host, Stephen Colbert, to discuss adulting, the release of Insecure Season 3, and her Emmy nomination – yasss.


Colbert asked the creative extraordinaire a question all of us that consider her career goals might be thinking: "Now that you're an established, award-winning actor in your own right, do people come up asking for advice from you?"

In response, Issa shared:

"I tend to be afraid of like upsetting people, and that, will get you nowhere... Especially, when you are trying to create a show. As a showrunner and being in the industry, just as a woman, once you're labeled 'difficult', your career is kind of over because then it's like everyone is like 'she's hard to work with, beware' and you don't get many chances to fail."

Her golden advice to counter and tune out all of that noise? Well, she gave a word passed down to her from Shonda Rhimes, Ava DuVernay, Mara Brock Akiil, and Debbie Allen - some of Hollywood's most prominent black women who run the show behind the scenes:

"The advice from them is: Don't be afraid to be a bi**h. And, it's so true!"

Thank you, Issa, for setting the record straight.

If we're too reserved, we're standoffish. If we're too ambitious, we're bossy. If we're too opinionated, we're difficult or a b*tch. Trying to juggle and mitigate every stereotype about black women can keep us stagnant, afraid to move forward or backwards, and always prioritizing how others feel above our own needs.

Enough.

Like Issa and her role models, we need to feel empowered in our decision to break free – from the self-doubt, from the criticism, from the fear. We are more than stereotypes and if being a boss woman means being a b*tch, then y'all better make sure that "B" is capitalized.

Related: 6 Business Rules for Alpha Women

In short, in a world that loves to stereotype black women and limit the heights that we can reach, put the haters on mute and don't be afraid to go for it. Your legacy depends on it.

Check out the full interview below.

Featured image by DFree / Shutterstock.com

 

RELATED

 
ALSO ON XONECOLE
Aries-April-2025-monthly-horoscopes

April is a month to slow down and to fully grasp what has been. The month starts in fiery Aries Season, but we are also in the thick of Retrograde Season as we begin the month as well. Thankfully, Mercury finally goes direct on April 7, after being retrograde mid-March, and communication matters are clearing up. This is a month of mental clarity, a fresh start, and not being afraid to dream a little bigger.

On April 12, there is a Full Moon in Libra, and this Full Moon brings relationship and financial matters full circle. This is the time to let go of what doesn’t make you feel balanced or in harmony and to create space for more peace to enter your life. Venus goes direct in Pisces on the same day, after being retrograde since March 1, and love is healing. With Venus now direct, there are more opportunities for commitment and longevity in love, and there is overall a greater feeling of romance, receptivity, and compassion in the air now.

KEEP READINGShow less
Turns Out Sober Sex Might Be The Underrated Secret To Better Orgasms

Hmph. I know there has got to be at least three times a week when our grandparents will hear about something that folks present as being revolutionary that causes them to just roll their eyes, shrug their shoulders, and continue to go on with whatever they were doing. Listen, call it old-fashioned thinking if you want to but if you want to avoid a lot of unnecessary regret in this life, hang out with your elders (and actually listen to what they are saying) sometimes — they’ve already been where you are and, since when it comes to them, you can’t say the same, you just might get a few gems (in fact, I can almost guarantee it).

Take sobergasms, for instance. Oh, I’m willing to bet that a senior in your life has mentioned them, just in another way, before. If you’ve never heard of the term, it’s actually a pretty good one because it means just what you think it does: SOBER ORGASMS. And just to make sure that we all are on the same page, it’s sex — that hopefully includes orgasms — that involves very little to no alcohol.

KEEP READINGShow less
LATEST POSTS