Sunday, April 12, 2026
Home / Entertainment / Issa Rae Says You ‘Need to Be Smarter’ About Pitch...
Entertainment

Issa Rae Says You ‘Need to Be Smarter’ About Pitching Shows With a Diverse Cast Now That DEI ‘Has Become a Bad Word’: ‘Hollywood Is in an Identity Crisis’

CN
CitrixNews Staff
·
Issa Rae Says You ‘Need to Be Smarter’ About Pitching Shows With a Diverse Cast Now That DEI ‘Has Become a Bad Word’: ‘Hollywood Is in an Identity Crisis’
Apr 12, 2026 12:11pm PT Issa Rae Says You ‘Need to Be Smarter’ About Pitching Shows With a Diverse Cast Now That DEI ‘Has Become a Bad Word’: ‘Hollywood Is in an Identity Crisis’

Plus Icon

Jack Dunn

See All LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 15: Issa Rae poses in the IMDb Portrait Studio at The 2026 Independent Spirit Awards at Hollywood Palladium on February 15, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for IMDb) Getty Images for IMDb

Issa Rae recently told The Wrap that “Hollywood is in an identity crisis right now” and is experiencing a downturn in representation both behind and in front of the camera.

“I started ‘Awkward Black Girl’ because there was a dearth of representation in the industry, and it felt like this was my opportunity to put an archetype into the space that didn’t exist at the time,” Rae said. “And now, even after so much progress, we’re kind of back to limited representation and having to stake claim of our stories. We’re back where we started, in a way, but wiser.”

Related Stories

Hudson Williams Connor Storrie

'Heated Rivalry: Unauthorized Musical Parody' to Debut Off-Broadway This Spring

Originally reported by Variety