“I want a place in the culture,” says Rae. “I want people to reference this show.” ISSA RAE DIDN’T FIND OUT HOW her dad, a Senegal-born doctor, felt about her smash HBO series, Insecure, until after the first season wrapped. In fact, she thought he might hate it. “Then, in our family group chat, he dropped a really inappropriate reference about Lawrence’s back shots to Tasha,” she says with a laugh, referring to an explicit scene where her character’s ex-boyfriend rebounds with his bank teller. “I was like, ‘Wow, he made it to the finale! This is not the place to show me, but...great!’”
Those uncomfortable moments are where Rae thrives. As a writer and performer, beginning with her hit YouTube series, Awkward Black Girl, she’s found comedy in the…
