Making history as the first black woman to win an Emmy for writing a comedy series isn’t lost on Lena Waithe.
“I’m definitely very aware of it,” the “Master of None” star and writer told Vulture. “The big thing for me is to not rest on it, to not think, ‘Oh, I did something that only I could do.’ No! 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.”
Waithe, 33, co-wrote “Thanksgiving,” considered one of the standout episodes of the show’s second season, with star and co-creator Aziz Ansari. The plot, which focuses on her character Denise coming out to her family, was based on her real-life experience.
“It’s my ambition to make sure people know that there’s so many more people coming up behind myself, coming up behind Donald [Glover], coming up behind people like Sterling [K. Brown] and Issa [Rae] and all these amazing artists. We’re always gonna be here and they better scoot over and make room because we’re here to stay,” she said.
She said her heart was “beating through” her chest when the announcement was made.
“It was nuts! It was nuts in there,” she explained. “If it seemed loud in your living room, I couldn’t hear a thing. It all went quiet and I was just like, ‘Oh, I gotta walk up these steps, I’ve gotta say something.’ So it was a phenomenal rush, the whole thing.”
Waithe also told the magazine what it was like to chat with the other winners, all of whom she deeply admires.
“Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman legit came up to me and were like, ‘Oh my God, we love you, we loved the episode, we loved your speech.’ Which, of course, I’ve gotta stand there acting like they ain’t Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman talking to me,” she said. “And as I was walking to the Governors Ball, Elisabeth Moss grabbed me and she was like, ‘Yeah, that was my favorite episode, you were great, congratulations!’ And I’m like, ‘Bitch! You Elisabeth Moss!’ It was, like, crazy! These are phenomenal people who I look up to, who I’m a fan of.”
Waithe can next be seen in Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One.” She’s also writing a TV movie called “The Chi.”