Amanda Seales revealed why she stopped talking to Issa Rae, and it’s really unfortunate, to say the least.
Amanda starred in the HBO series Insecure for five seasons alongside the co-creator and co-writer of the series, Issa.
For context, during her appearance on Club Shay Shay in April 2024, Amanda shared how Issa was allegedly involved in her difficulty finding work after Insecure.
“I’ve never talked about this publicly because it’s always been incredibly important to me to protect Issa,” she said. “Because I know that Issa is doing something within this business that so few people get to do. However, there’s just been enough instances at this point where I should have been protected by Issa, and I wasn’t.”
“I want to point something out very basic. How can I be a mean girl on a set that ain’t my set?” she said to Shannon on the podcast.
A few months later, in audio obtained by The Breakfast Club, Issa seemingly addressed Amanda’s comments at a Viarae Presents event for her sparkling wine brand. When asked who is the person she would never work with again, she said, “I mean anyone who goes on a podcast and talks shit about me!”
“I’ve had great experiences with everybody I worked with for the most part, so I’m always grateful when people come back,” Issa added in the obtained audio from the event.
During her YT episode, Amanda elaborated on the on-set moment that made her specifically stop speaking with Issa. While discussing a review for another TV show, she asked Issa, who was reading the review aloud, a question to which she replied, “Why don’t you just read it yourself?!” according to Amanda.
“And that was the last day,” Amanda said. “Because I had taken so much weirdness for the past five seasons. And it was the last season. And I just said, ‘You know what? I don’t gotta take this no more.’ I don’t know who the fuck you talking to. I don’t know why you’re even addressing me this way.”
Issa, who played the character with the same first name in Insecure, eventually had a complicated relationship with Tiffany (played by Amanda) that ended with them mending their friendship.
So, in the spirit of art imitating life, I’m crossing my fingers that everything works itself out, and we get to the other side of this. The last season of Insecure aired in 2021, so it’s time for new beginnings.
We reached out to Issa’s reps for comment and will let you know if there are any updates.