Issa Rae Is ‘Never Going to Stop’ Using Her Power for Good, Even as Mergers and AI Disrupt Hollywood: ‘This Is All Men’s Fault’ — SkimNews
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- Issa Rae received the Entertainment Entrepreneur of the Year Award at Variety's L.A. Power of Women event Wednesday in Beverly Hills, presented by U.S. Bank senior EVP Courtney Kelso.
- Rae joked during her speech that ongoing instability — 'the industry [eating] itself,' climate disasters, politics and the rise of AI — was 'all men's fault. Rich, white men to be specific.'
- Rae said she struggles with feeling 'helpless and useless' but focuses on what she can control, listing: 'who I'm around, who I work with, who I champion, who I invest in, whose stories I tell.'
- Rae concluded by urging the audience to 'figure out where we have some power and use it the fuck for good,' adding she is 'never going to stop trying.'
- Rae's recent credits include roles in 'Barbie,' 'American Fiction,' and the 'Black Mirror' episode 'Hotel Reverie,' plus voice work as Jessica Drew in 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.'
- Rae is set to write and executive produce an untitled HBO comedy pilot described as a 'male friendship show.'
Why it matters: Rae is using a marquee industry platform to publicly name structural frustration while modeling a concrete response — directing energy into creative control, hiring, and storytelling choices — at a moment when Hollywood is reshuffling around AI and consolidation. The timing matters: her speech lands as peers in the industry absorb the same disruptions she named, and her next HBO project is literally built around male relationships.
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