Issa Rae Reveals Nipsey Hussle Helped Mend Her Rocky Relationship With Lauren London

According to Issa Rae, Nipsey Hussle helped her mend her rocky relationship with Lauren London.

Rae, 36, initially offended London by making comments about London over a role she had written for herself in the cable version of her web series Awkward Black Girl. But, TV execs had someone else in mind — London — for the part. Rae didn’t feel that London was a good fit for the role of a gawky Black girl. The part was written in the same vein as Tina Fey’s Liz Lemon character in 30 Rock or Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm, a character she intended to play herself.

Then, at Diddy’s party two years ago, the late rapper approached Rae and encouraged her to speak to London. “‘You should just talk to her. Let me set it up,'” he told her. That led to a two-hour conversation between the two. 

“She was like, ‘People don’t understand, I’m an awkward Black girl.’ In the same way that I was upset about the limited portrayal of Black women, she was like, ‘People do the same thing to me.’ I completely get that,” the Insecure creator told  Vanity Fair. 

Rae told the outlet that the conversation the two shared stuck with her. With Insecure, her goal was to present Black women with relatable characters, which will continue to be her mission moving forward.