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WhenNatasha Rothwellreflects on her time working onSaturday Night Live, the Emmy nominee now realizes she"didn’t feel seen."
“I didn’t want folks to think I got in to satisfy a requirement,” she told theLos Angeles Timesof her 2014–2015 tenure writing for NBC’s long-running sketch comedy show. “I wanted to show that I belonged. I wanted to be at the table atSNLand I wanted them to think, ‘F—, she’s funny. I like what she has to say. And I see her and, oh, that joke is great.’ That’s a lot to carry.”
She continued, “And I think that’s also an expression of privilege for white writers: They don’t know what it’s like to walk into a room and feel like the audition is not over. I didn’t feel seen, always. Putting my hand up was me wanting to know if my voice could be heard. It was Pavlovian for me.”
Since 2016, Rothwell has stolen scenes as Kelli in 2016 HBO seriesInsecure(on which she’s also produced, written and directed), and this year she parlayed the empowerment she felt onIssa Rae’s set into another standout part in a buzzy HBO series.
“The confidence that I had coming intoWhite Lotusran laps around what I startedInsecurewith,” acknowledged Rothwell, 41. “There’s no way I would have had that confidence had it not been forInsecure— and also the confidence I had as a writer, to be able to pitch jokes and pitch moments to [White Lotuscreator] Mike White, who I’ve been watching sinceFreaks and Geeks— to feel like I belonged at the table with him.”
Rothwell previously stressed the importance ofspotlighting stories of the Black experience, as she spoke to PEOPLE’s Morgan Evans for an episode of the:BLACKPRINTInstagram Live series#NoFilterlast year.
“I think so often there’s a very narrow view of what people can accept as our stories, and I think it comes from the top down as far as what is allowed to see the light of day,” she said. “I want to continue to tell stories that are unique, that are diverse and that can show us in lights that we haven’t had shined on us.”
Insecureis currently airing its fifth and final season Sunday nights at 10 p.m. ET on HBO.
source: people.com
