Top 55 Lena Waithe Quotes

Being on Netflix lets us be experimental. We can do crazy things.

I remember going to ‘The Wood’ and leaving my friend and my mom, who I came with, to go sit in the front row because I was so excited.

I write for my people.

The reason I get so excited about ‘Master of None’ is because it’s showing people of color as regular people.

Being born gay, black, and female is not a revolutionary act. Being proud to be a gay black female is.

I had a lot of great bosses – I worked for Gina Prince-Bythewood for two years, I worked for Ava Duvernay as a PA on her first narrative film, and I worked with Mara Brock Akil, so a lot of wonderful role models.

To be a black person is to come from a long bloodline of survivors and storytellers, with a resilience that people can’t even comprehend.

I think that for the most part, black people specifically have sort of been used as props in TV shows as a way to move story along or as a way to make things more entertaining.

I actually don’t like saying ‘lead character,’ which is an interesting thing. If you say there’s a lead, then there has to be someone to follow.

Being a black person in America is exhausting.

The cool thing about dope black style becoming in style is that the industry has no choice but to try and reduplicate that.

Like ‘Sex and the City’ – if you’re a New Yorker, you knew half the places they were going to. I want ‘The Chi’ to feel that way as well.

For me, it’s about making art that’s not good but phenomenal. James Baldwin didn’t want to just stay above the fray. Prince didn’t think, ‘I wonder what the industry is gonna think about ‘Purple Rain.” It’s just, is this honest? Is this real? Does this move me? The rest is icing.

I’m queen of mentorship.

The ’80s really were – talk about no rules. People just did whatever they wanted; they could look however they wanted. There was just a lot of bigness and brightness.

When people think of the South Side of Chicago, they don’t think about where I’m from. It was sort of a pocket: this idyllic community of black people who took care of each other, knew each other, spent time with each other.

I think the stakes are always high when you’re an artist of color – to get things right, to get things perfect and make everybody happy.

I can’t stop my comedic voice.

I’ve been obsessed with television since I was 7 years old, and I’ve always been writing on some level.

Every black man in Chicago walks through the world differently, and I think what young black boys do is observe, and that’s what gives them their road map.

Even white people are tired of watching white people’s shows.

One of my favorites is ‘Parks and Recreation.’ Great show; awesome writing; beautiful, diverse cast. They also have a very diverse writer’s room, which I love.

There’s been a lot of successful shows like ‘This Is Us,’ ‘Atlanta,’ and ‘Insecure,’ so, I feel like whenever something works, Hollywood wants to copy it.

Somebody could look at me and go, ‘She’s dressed black,’ or ‘She’s behaving in the stereotypical way of a black lesbian.’ But this is how I feel most comfortable. This is my authentic self. I want the freedom to be that regardless of how someone interprets it.

You have to write and develop and wait for the world to catch up to your art.

I love Sarah Jessica Parker. What’s not to like?

I love basketball! When I’m flying, and I have on sweats, a hat, and sneakers, people always assume that I’m a high school kid going to an away game. And I always say no, I’m a fan of the game.

I’m proud to carry that torch and be like, ‘I’m gay! I’m black! Hang your dreams on me. Hang your hopes on me. I’ll carry them to the best of my ability.’

My family still lives in Chicago: my mother, my sister, my nephew, my family is there. So even though I am not living there, I feel very close to it, and I visit very often.

‘The Breakfast Club’ was one of my favorites.

Obviously, I love Steph Curry. I think he’s dope and a really cool player to watch.

Queer black characters have been the sidekick for long enough. It’s time for us to finally take the lead.

I just really want be proud of the work I’m doing, whether it’s something I’ve written, produced, or am starring in. I just want to be proud of it.

I don’t need an Emmy to tell me to go to work. I’ve been working.

With ‘The Chi,’ it’s me observing my own city and also pulling some things from themes I’ve dealt with in my life.

It’s always been my intention to never be boxed in. I never like to do something that it feels like I’ve done before.

I’m a huge fan of television, and the reason I’m a part of the world is because I’m a fan of it.

Things meant to appeal to the masses usually end up appealing to no one.

My mother was born into a segregated America. How crazy is that?

With success always comes mimicry.

I never had everything I wanted, but I never wanted for anything.

The thing for me is to always tell the truth. Not to preach, but to tell the truth.

I consider myself more of a writer than I do a director.

All the writers for ‘The Chi,’ they’re all phenomenal, so I’m just working on projects with them. They have great scripts.

People can say what they want about a person, but if you’re successful and you make them money, then people don’t care.

I think it’s so trite to say you have lead characters. It’s like someone saying I’m the lead in my life.

I love a web series. But to me, it does the girl in Detroit a disservice who just watches television. It does a disservice to the girl on the south side of Chicago who doesn’t go online.

I am always searching for something different or something fresh, something hasn’t been done. But the truth is, at the end of the day, we’re all sort of retelling something. We’re doing a version of something that’s already been done.

I hope that people will say that ‘she told the truth, she told her truth, she wasn’t afraid to live her truth, and she wasn’t afraid to live her truth out loud.’ That’s what I want my legacy to look like.

Growing up, I didn’t just watch ‘The Cosby Show.’ I watched ‘Growing Pains’ and ‘Family Ties,’ too.

When you’re not as accessible, you get in a tent and get in your own head, and you start doing things that are a little out of touch. I think we’ve seen it happen with certain artists… people can’t touch them; they’re not touching people. They’re only touching people in their circle.

I don’t want to be white. I don’t want to be straight. I don’t want to blend in.

I’ve known I was gay since I was young, I think. And I mean young – like, young – like 5 or 6. I think most gay people or queer people know there’s something different about them very early, but I didn’t know what to call it.

I got into the business because I love writing. When it came down to finding my voice, which every writer has to take time to do, I think I realized I write black people very well. I write us in a very honest way, and I want to hear the way we really talk.

As a black woman in the industry, you really do have to hold your head higher, stick your chest out, be kind and polite and generous even when you don’t want to be sometimes. I learned that and, also, just to never take no for an answer.