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I don't need an Emmy to tell me to go to work. I've been working.
Lena Waithe -
I've been obsessed with television since I was 7 years old, and I've always been writing on some level.
Lena Waithe
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Being on Netflix lets us be experimental. We can do crazy things.
Lena Waithe -
For me, my brand is good storytelling.
Lena Waithe -
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.
Lena Waithe -
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.
Lena Waithe -
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.
Lena Waithe -
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.
Lena Waithe
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There's so many other talented women of color who write funny things every day, and I want them to be recognized, I want them to have a seat at the table because we're out here.
Lena Waithe -
It was a symbolic moment when 'Moonlight' literally took the Oscar out of 'La La Land's' hand.
Lena Waithe -
I'm queen of mentorship.
Lena Waithe -
'The Breakfast Club' was one of my favorites.
Lena Waithe -
I never want to feel too far away from people. I think that's when you get in trouble.
Lena Waithe -
The cool thing about dope black style becoming in style is that the industry has no choice but to try and reduplicate that.
Lena Waithe
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The things that make us different, those are our superpowers.
Lena Waithe -
The truth is, for me, when I was a young black girl who knew I was different, was watching TV, I would always be staring at the TV set looking for myself, and I didn't see me. And when you don't see yourself, you start to think that you don't matter, or you start to think that something is wrong with you.
Lena Waithe -
I don't like beating people on the head with the message. I don't like standing on the soapbox.
Lena Waithe -
I watched a ton of TV because I was raised by a single mom and spent a lot of time with my grandmother. Like most grandparents do, she would spend hours and hours in front of the TV box.
Lena Waithe -
I'm a black woman, so I'm obviously not going to write something where women aren't at the forefront.
Lena Waithe -
There's a lot of Donald Glovers, Jordan Peeles, Justin Simiens. And there's a lot of me's, too.
Lena Waithe
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I write for my people.
Lena Waithe -
I knew very early on I wanted to be a television writer. My teachers told me I was a strong writer and had a voice. I really leaned in to that.
Lena Waithe -
My aesthetic is very black.
Lena Waithe -
I think, to me, I always want to tell the truth. I never want to sugarcoat things. I've never been accused of pulling punches.
Lena Waithe