Lena Waithe Quotes

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Lena Waithe

Profession : Actress

Birth : May 17, 1984

To be yourself is truly a revolutionary act, and I think more and more people should try it, because it's gotten me a pretty cool life.

Lena Waithe

I'm writing my story so that others might see fragments of themselves.

Lena Waithe

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

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

Always maintain your composure.

Lena Waithe

Being a black lesbian myself, I roll my eyes a little bit when I see black lesbian characters on shows where it's purely there for decoration. You can just hear it in the writers room... 'What if we make her a lesbian?'

Lena Waithe

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.'

Lena Waithe

Wearing one hoop earring and playing with the androgyny - that's who I am. That's what I like to do. And I feel the world should see that. I'm not going to put a shield up or be more feminine to make people feel comfortable.

Lena Waithe

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.

Lena Waithe

Talk to any black person in my age group, and they'll say 'A Different World' is why they went to college. The show literally changed my life, and it boggles my mind that it doesn't get the kind of love it deserves.

Lena Waithe

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.

Lena Waithe

With success always comes mimicry.

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

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

Lena Waithe

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

Lena Waithe

People always go, 'Damn, how you got all this happening at once?' I tell them it's the Chicago in me.

Lena Waithe

I wrote 'Twenties' back in 2009. I always wanted to tell a story where a queer black woman was the protagonist, and I'm so grateful to TBS for giving me a platform to tell this story.

Lena Waithe

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

Lena Waithe

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

Lena Waithe

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.

Lena Waithe