Lena Waithe

Lena Waithe in 2018

Lena Waithe (born May 17, 1984) is an American screenwriter, producer, and actress.

Quotes

• The hardest thing about being a black writer in this town is having to pitch your black story to white execs…Also, most of the time when we go into rooms to pitch, there’s one token black executive that sometimes can be a friend and sometimes can be a foe. I wonder if they think it makes me more comfortable, if that makes me think that they’re a woke network or studio because they’ve got that one black exec. It feels patronizing. I’m not against a black exec. I want there to be more of them.
  • On the still existing obstacles to pitching ideas in “Lena Waithe Is Changing the Game” in Vanity Fair (April 2018)

• Being black and gay, having dreadlocks, having a certain kind of swag, and dressing the way I do…‘That’s dope, you’re cool.’ I don’t feel validated by that. . . . I don’t want to be White. I don’t want to be straight. I don’t want to blend in. . . . I try to wear queer designers who happen to be brown and makin’ shit.
  • On her fashion sense in “Lena Waithe Is Changing the Game” in Vanity Fair (April 2018)

• Stop giving a s— what other people think of you. We make decisions too often based on that…When we start to live for ourselves, and be a little bit more selfish, I think we’ll lead more fulfilling lives. So I think what we need to do, is stare at ourselves in the mirror a little bit longer, and really own who we are and not try to be what we think others want us to be.
  • On how women should embrace their true selves in “Lena Waithe's Message to Women: 'Stop Giving a S--- What Other People Think'” in Variety Magazine

• I'm a person that documents the lives of people of color…So that way, when we're gone, no one will forget we were here.
  • On the aim of her work in “Don't Forget About Me: Lena Waithe On Reflection And Representation In Hollywood” in NPR (2018 Nov 21)