Issa Rae continues to receive accolades with the latest being the key to Inglewood, her native city. Rae is the first person ever awarded the key.
The Insecure star and creator was honored by Mayor James T. Butts on Saturday, a day before the Super Bowl, the Hollywood Reporter reported. Butts dubbed the multihyphenate Emmy nominee “the queen of Inglewood,” during the celebration at the Taste of Inglewood festival which was held across the street from SoFi stadium, the venue for Super Bowl LVI.
“I’m a little emotional. I’m trying to be a thug right now. The mayor really kind of flabbergasted me in that this is the first key in 114 years, so that’s a huge honor. I just want to thank you all so much for your support — thank you to the mayor, thank you to the city of Inglewood for making it so easy for us to film here, for helping us showcase this city that I love that so much,” said Rae.
Rae, 37, has always been proud of her roots and used Inglewood as a backdrop in her groundbreaking HBO hit series Insecure during its five-year run. Her on-screen persona was also given the same key to the city on-screen during the eighth episode of the final season during a dream sequence.
“I have to give love to my grandparents who have lived here, have lived in Briarwood for a long time and who established my first point of view of Inglewood and love the city themselves; my mom and my sister who live here actively and just for being here,” Rae continued. “I have to give a shout-out to my collaborators and my company members at Hoorae who have come out here to support me. I’m truly honored to receive this. I will always put on for my city: Inglewood, South L.A., stand up.”
This recognition comes on the heels of the announcement that Rae will be a recipient of the Producers Guild of America’s 2022 Visionary Award. She will be honored on March 19, 2022, at the Fairmont Century Plaza for her contributions to entertainment.
“Issa makes us excited for the future of television. With her series Insecure, she achieved the highest levels of comedy, perspective and performance possible, and her sharp wit and distinct voice will undoubtedly continue to drive quality entertainment featuring underrepresented voices. Beyond Issa’s prolific work, she is a role model and inspiration to the next generation of creatives through her mentorship programs like ColorCreative, and more recently, Project Greenlight. We are thrilled to honor Issa this year,” read a joint statement from Producers Guild of America presidents Gail Berman and Lucy Fisher.
Rae began her ascent with the popular YouTube show The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, which then became a New York Times best-selling book and paved the way for Insecure. She has not rested on her laurels and is the executive producer of the HBO Max reality series “Sweet Life: Los Angeles” which follows the lives of Black 20-somethings.
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