Lena Waithe Quotes

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Lena Waithe

Profession : Actress

Birth : May 17, 1984

If you think you aren't valid for whatever reason, let my existence and the way the world embraces my existence tell you that you are valid. You deserve to look, live, and walk through the world however you see fit. That's why I find it extremely important to be so out, so black, and so myself.

Lena Waithe

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.

Lena Waithe

I was running around all the time, talking out of turn, a lot of energy, and obsessed with movies. There's nothing I loved more than going to the movies.

Lena Waithe

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.

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

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

Lena Waithe

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

Lena Waithe

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.

Lena Waithe

I definitely have been very mindful of what kind of leader and creator I want to be. A lot of that has to with looking at the writers that you work with. They're all like your children. They all need love, but different versions of it.

Lena Waithe

I'm a big sneaker head.

Lena Waithe

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.

Lena Waithe

'The Breakfast Club' was one of my favorites.

Lena Waithe

Being a black person in America is exhausting.

Lena Waithe

There's something specific about Chicagoans, and I just felt like I'd love to tell their story in a creative way. Not in a way to go, 'Oh, Chicago's perfect.' I don't believe that. I don't think that. I know we have our issues.

Lena Waithe

What's 'Atlanta' about? Technically, it's about a couple guys who are friends, but to me, 'Atlanta' is about black lives. I'm getting a real look at what black life means in Atlanta.

Lena Waithe

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.

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

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

Lena Waithe

It's weird because I see black gay characters on television all the time, but do I relate to them? Not always, because they're set pieces.

Lena Waithe

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.

Lena Waithe