Laid off? Sheryl Lee Ralph says it’s ‘their loss,’ not yours
While reflecting on the moment she was fired, actress Sheryl Lee Ralph shares words of encouragement for women navigating a job loss.
With mass layoffs sweeping across industries lately, job security feels like a distant memory for many professionals. Whether it’s tech, media, or even entertainment, no one seems exempt from the looming threat of sudden cuts. But if you’ve recently been let go, Emmy Award-winning actress Sheryl Lee Ralph has a reassuring message: it’s not your loss—it’s theirs.
In a conversation with Forbes at the 30/50 Summit, Ralph reflected on her extensive career and revealed that getting fired was ultimately a blessing in disguise.
“There’s something about being fired… it’s real good for you,” Ralph said, specifically recalling the time she was let go from her role on “Moesha.”
While she didn’t dive into the details of her departure, the “Abbott Elementary” star reflected on how being phased out of the hit ‘90s sitcom—where she played “Dee,” Moesha’s loving stepmother—paved the way for new opportunities. Ralph was a mainstay for five seasons before her character was quietly written out as the show approached its sixth and final season.
In a 2022 interview with the A.V. Club, Ralph offered a glimpse into what led to her exit, expressing her disappointment over how the show’s portrayal of a strong Black family was ultimately unraveled.
“One of the greatest lessons I ever learned from it was knowing when it’s time to leave the room,” she told the outlet. “I believe in the power of a warm and wonderful Black family because it is something we do not get to see enough. And for them to take that family and literally just ruin the family by calling the father a liar [by revealing past infidelity]… why do this? Why destroy this family? There were people within the group [who] said, ‘Oh no, we’ve got to destroy it because these people are just too goody-goody. We don’t have Black people like that.’They had drank the Kool-Aid. But oh my, when it was good, it was great.”
Fast forward years later, Ralph now looks back on that moment with gratitude and clarity.
“I realized, wait a minute—first of all, I did not deserve that,” she told Forbes. “Second of all, it’s their loss.”
Her perspective resonated with the panel’s moderator, who admitted that she wore her own job loss like a scarlet letter for nearly a year before moving on. Ralph’s response was a masterclass in empowerment—not just for the moderator, but for every woman in the room.
“Women are so used to carrying the weight,” Ralph explained “We will carry the weight on our minds, on our shoulders, in our spirits, on our bodies because we are carrying somebody else’s luggage. I would say to women right now, put down that excess luggage. It is weighing you down. It’s not yours don’t carry it, let them carry their own weight.”
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