Top 110 Quotes & Sayings by Lena Waithe - Page 2

With success always comes mimicry.

My aesthetic is very black.

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.

'The Breakfast Club' was one of my favorites.

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.

It's interesting how things you hear as a kid take on a whole new meaning when you are an adult.

My family still lives in Chicago: my mother, my sister, my nephew, my family is there. So even though I am not living there, I feel very close to it, and I visit very often.

I always love where I can plug a black woman in anywhere, and when that comes up, I don't say, 'Oh that has to be a black woman.' I say, 'Why not a black woman?'

The '80s really were - talk about no rules. People just did whatever they wanted; they could look however they wanted. There was just a lot of bigness and brightness.

I don't like beating people on the head with the message. I don't like standing on the soapbox.

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.

I write for my people.

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.

Obviously, I love Steph Curry. I think he's dope and a really cool player to watch.

Growing up, I didn't just watch 'The Cosby Show.' I watched 'Growing Pains' and 'Family Ties,' too.

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

I'm a big sneaker head.

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.

For me, my brand is good storytelling.

It's always been my intention to never be boxed in. I never like to do something that it feels like I've done before.

Being a black person in America is exhausting.

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.

I actually really liked 'The Help.' I know that may not be a popular thing, but I thought it was a solid film. It wasn't 'Roots.' It wasn't 'The Color Purple.' But you couldn't pick it apart in terms of storytelling, and I thought the characters were well written.

I can't stop my comedic voice.

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.

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.

Being a black lesbian myself, I roll my eyes a little bit when I see black lesbian characters on shows where it's purely there for decoration. You can just hear it in the writers room... 'What if we make her a lesbian?'

I'm not asking for there to be all black writer's rooms or all Asian writer's rooms, or all white - I want them all to be diverse. When it's diverse, you're going to have a completely different dynamic. Everybody feels othered. Nobody feels like they've got the upper hand.

Always maintain your composure.

I'm a big believer in writing really good dialogue.

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.

I feel like I've accomplished a lot, but for me, it's about pushing to the point where I can be Mark Walhberg, Ryan Murphy, or Shonda Rhimes. I want to be at that table in terms of bringing new voices in.

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.

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.

Talk to any black person in my age group, and they'll say 'A Different World' is why they went to college. The show literally changed my life, and it boggles my mind that it doesn't get the kind of love it deserves.

There's a lot of Donald Glovers, Jordan Peeles, Justin Simiens. And there's a lot of me's, too.

Wearing one hoop earring and playing with the androgyny - that's who I am. That's what I like to do. And I feel the world should see that. I'm not going to put a shield up or be more feminine to make people feel comfortable.

I consider myself more of a writer than I do a director.

Your first obligation as a writer is to tell the truth and to tell a good story.

My brand is good storytelling. I really want [my company] Hillman Grad Productions to be associated with great stories, interesting characters; things that are three-dimensional and feel honest.

I always want to challenge myself as a writer. I consider myself more of a writer than I do a director.

You can talk all day long, but if you don't do something, it's a waste.

I do think it's important for black writers to show that we too can make it into the mainstream. Growing up, I didn't just watch The Cosby Show, I watched Growing Pains and Family Ties too. We can tell those stories too.

I never like to do something that it feels like I've done before.

I'm not in the business of making us look clean, but I don't want us to look like monsters either. I think there is a little bit of hero and villain in all of us.

The only way you really see change is by helping to create it.

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. But I'm not concerned with politicians and what they think. And I'm not always going to succeed. I'll have missteps, but I hope that people will be patient with the show and us and know that our intentions are good.

I really want the sense of black people being interconnected: If you black and you from Chicago, there's a connective tissue we all have. Even if you're not blood related, that doesn't mean I can't look out for you.

Today, you'll have a following for a film before it even hits theaters. We can reach out and touch our audience in ways that they couldn't. So it's about getting eyes, getting interest, and getting people involved.

Most writers stick to what they know. The black experience is our experience, so it's not that challenging for us. That's why sometimes you'll see writers that start off telling black stories, but later branch out into other material. People say they "sell out." No, they evolve as writers.