Issa Rae Opens Up About Her Impulsiveness, Says Shooting 3 Pilots Without Funding Nearly Cost Her Everything

Issa Rae Opens Up About Her Impulsiveness, Says Shooting 3 Pilots Without Funding Nearly Cost Her Everything

Issa Rae is opening up about the mistakes that almost left her broke.

In her new essay collection, I Should Be Smarter by Now, Issa reflects on how her impulsiveness has been both a gift and a curse. “My impulsivity, the character trait I’ve benefited from and paid dearly for, is both a gift and a curse,” she writes. “The gift is that I can be fearless in the pursuit of anything I want to achieve. If I want something, I’m going to be active and go after it. The curse is, of course, that I don’t properly think through the consequences of my actions.”

 

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Issa shares that one project in 2014 nearly cost her all the money she had ever earned. While working on three pilots with her producing partner, Issa says they moved forward with the projects before securing funding. She explains, “The real mistake was not pulling the plug when I knew I didn’t have the money and that all of the costs would be falling on me. Let me tell you what I didn’t have in my bank account: $150,000. I had about half of that because I had received part of the advance for my first book. Most of it was in my savings. It was all the money I had ever made in my life up until that point. Hence, the frantic call from my business manager.”

Despite the risk, all three pilots were completed with Issa as the monetary backer. While the shows never found a home, the experience helped set the stage for future projects. Issa’s newest book dropped today (August 26).