Lena Waithe & Jonica Gibbs Discuss Black Queer Representation In Hollywood

Award-winning writer Lena Waithe, who helped to pen both Master of None and Queen and Slim, said that while she feels accepted as a Black, gay woman in the entertainment industry, she believes that audiences need to see more.

“If you look at how many people that are known and that are Black in the industry, and then if you can count on like maybe one or two hands how many of them are out? The numbers just don’t add up,” Waithe said at Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter‘s second annual Pride Summit and Prom.

On Saturday, Waithe joined Twenties breakout star Jonica Gibbs on a video chat about black lesbian representation on television and their part in the recent Black Lives Matter resurgence across the country.

Gibbs, who plays Hattie, a queer Black girl hoping to break into the industry, said that it’s important for her to provide a humanizing storyline to help viewers feel empathy for the character.

“I think it’s very, very important right now, especially in the space that we’re in, to humanize differences in people and humanize Black skin,” she said. “I think characters like Hattie create a space of understanding.”

This ability did not come easy, according to Waithe. “They were like, OK … we can show black men in the human light, but to see a queer Black woman was such a mindf*ck,” Waithe said of producers prior to Showtime’s The Chi.

“I wanted to be clear Black women who are, I always say ‘masculine-presenting’ … we can also be soft. We can also be vulnerable. And we’re not all aggressive,” Waithe said about the often misconceived stereotype.

”I’m always fighting to be the best person I can be, partner I can be, friend I can be,” she added. “And I think people don’t necessarily associate that with someone that walks through the world the way we do. And I was really happy that we got to just show a different side of us.”

Waithe also spoke about Gibbs’ bravery and how she was able to show one masculine-presenting lesbian interacting romantically with another masculine-presenting lesbian on her show.

“That’s when art is at its best, when it’s saying something true that nobody wants to touch,” she said.
The two then went on to discuss the work that needs to be done. “I will be honest, Black folks are not that patient anymore,” said Waithe. “so folks need to start unlearning their bad behavior as quickly as possible because we’ve been living in this bad behavior and this supremacy for long enough.”

You can check out the full conversation via the video below.

Michael is a music and television junkie keen on most things that are not a complete and total bore. You can follow him on Twitter — @Tweetskoor

Stream The Chi on Showtime