Lena Waithe has arrived and is riding high off the Queen & Slim vibe.
Aside from giving DJ Envy and Charlamagne The God hell for STILL not seeing her movie, things went amazing this morning as they got to chat with this dynamic director. Lena went into detail of breaking down a premise her new movie, which she never considered until now, about a Tinder date gone wrong following the death of a cop.
"They ultimately sort of become these icons over night and black people are like, 'Is this the Black Panther? Is this what we're doing now?' It obviously, was not their intent at all. It was really a story about black people deciding to live, deciding to survive a traffic stop. Which is- I didn't even think about it. For us, that's almost a super hero story. It's really a meditation on blackness and it's about how black people live in a world, always searching for freedom, always trying to justify the space that we take up in this country."
The Big Boss also explained how she put her foot down about demanding respect for her powerful black project. From putting a number on a big budget to only allowing one test screening with a 100% black audience, Lena was ready to change the film society forever.
"I wasn't taking a 'No' from a white person on this film."
As a creator during these sensitive times within the community, it was important to touch on what happened with Jason Mitchell and The Chi team and how she's grown from it. As the show runner, Lena felt it necessary to admit she felt 100% responsible for anything that happens on one her sets. That's why she's learned the lesson of having Intimacy Coordinators on any of her projects to help through touchy scenes.
Since she wasn't there for the acts Jason's being accused of, Lena was happy her former colleague spoke out and believes he seems as if he's trying to change. But does that mean she'll excitedly sign up to work with him again? Nah.
"If I'm talking to you about making sure this won't happen again or making sure the people know I'm for the People, I'm for black women. I'm a person who is all about supporting us and making sure we're good and we feel safe, I couldn't then, have a whole conversation with you and then still be like, 'Oh yeah, if he ever wanted some-, it's all good.' To me, it's about changed behavior..."
Lena doesn't feel she could "align" herself with someone with such a tarnished reputation amongst women, but has nothing but best wishes of continued growth for Jason.
Catch up on what Lean had to say about "people" thinking she doesn't write because she's been acting so much, why she decided to keep her recent marriage under wraps, and how she's been handling stardom.