Issa Rae is getting ready to debut the third season of her hit HBO show Insecure, meaning she is no longer a newbie when it comes to running her own show.
But the Insecure star still turns to a cohort of powerful black women in the industry for advice on how to navigate Hollywood, and how to be the boss. These women include Shonda Rhimes, Mara Brock Akil, Debbie Allen and Ava Duvernay, Rae said on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Thursday night.
And her favorite piece of advice from them? ”Don’t be afraid to be a bitch.”
Rae admits that she hates to upset people, which “will get you nowhere, you know, especially when you’re trying to create a show,” she told host Stephen Colbert.
She continued: “As a showrunner, being in the industry, just as a woman, once you’re labeled like difficult, your career is kinda over, because then it’s like everybody’s saying, ‘Oh she’s hard to work with, beware,’ and then you don’t get many chances to fail.”
But these women essentially told her that she shouldn’t really care.
“It’s so true,” Rae said.
Season 3 of Insecure returns Sunday at 10:30 p.m. on HBO.
