Issa Rae covers May issue of Rolling Stone, admits to being a workaholic
The "Insecure" creator says she's ready to end the show so that she can evolve
These days Issa Rae can do no wrong and so it only made sense that the Black Twitter fave be celebrated on the cover of iconic entertainment magazine Rolling Stone.
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In the May 2021 cover story, the YouTube star turned media mogul opens up about how she manages to remain private despite her growing fame.
“I just feel super-protective of any relationship I’m in,” Rae admits. “That’s come from observing and making fun of people over the years who broadcast the most intimate parts of their relationships, then are left with egg on their face.”
“I know how I am as a consumer,” she explains. “I had the foresight to shield myself from what anybody who was looking for anything on me would try to find, because I know this culture. Internet culture is so weird and malicious. I’ve just worked really hard to protect myself from the ugliest parts of it.”
Rae says her work ethic keeps her grounded as well.
“I’m just always thinking about work,” Rae shares of this time in her career which has undoubtedly been the busiest. “I was always like this. [In the past] it was like, ‘I need to work to make sure I have the means of affording a place to live.’ [Or] ‘This didn’t work, what’s the next thing I can do?’ I think that’s just how my mind works. That’s Capricorn s–. Workaholic s–.”
She also admits that the social distance mandated by the coronavirus pandemic coupled with her workhorse tendencies caused her to slack on keeping in touch with her loved ones.
“I’ve fallen short because I’m so used to [them] accommodating this in-person dynamic,” she says. “So this year has tested who I am as a friend and really made me realize, ‘Oh, I’m not considerate in this way, and I can do more here.’ ”
While the meteoric rise of her self-produced YouTube series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl is the stuff myths are made of, she asserts that she doesn’t want her legacy to be limited to just one show
“I feel like I have a cute story, but I want to be more than that,” said the 36-year-old. “I want to belong here. I want to be among the greats.”
Among the list of greats that roll off her tongue are Denzel Washington, Cicely Tyson, and Oprah. “I have to work to do that,” she continues. “It’s not enough to start things. These businesses and all these things that I’m touching still have to be great. Anybody can do this, but can they do it well? What I’m trying to prove is that I can do it well.”
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As theGrio previously reported, while the announcement that Rae’s HBO hit Insecure is coming to an end was a shock to fans, she has been making peace with the idea for some time now.
“I’ve been wrapping my head around this since candidly, season 3. But I’m so grateful to be able to play this character, who is obviously a version of me, and in the same way that I want this character to grow, I want to be able to grow too.”
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