Issa Raeis blunt about how the entertainment industry seems to be changing.
A big part of that attitude is her recent history.
In January, her TV seriesRap Sh!twas axed by Warner Bros.
Issa RaeEmma McIntyre/WireImage
It was just one part of a disturbing trend in Raes eyes.
Ive never seen Hollywood this scared and clueless, and at the mercy of Wall Street, she says.
Last year was a rollercoaster for Rae.
Still, Rae is hatching big plans for a better 2024.
Shes developing at least two new projects for HBO.
Shes also working to build a studio campus in South L.A.
But the lessons learned are never far from her thoughts.
Rae sees that as a danger toward prior promises of increasingdiversityand representation.
There is a bitterness of just like, who suffers from you guys pulling back?
People of color always do, she says.
In prior eras, Rae says, executives mostly stayed away from creative choices.
Now these conglomerate leaders are also making the decisions about Hollywood.
Yall arent creative people.
Stick to the money, she says.
So youre killing your own industry.
Rae has vowed to maintain her edge, even as she acknowledges the winds of change.
Its all mush, she says.
I know what my brand identity is and what I want to make.
But if that doesnt align with whos paying me to make stuff, then thats complex.
We are malleable, but only to an extent.
