Chris Rock Noticed ‘Abbott Elementary’ Star Janelle James’ Struggling Wardrobe – Then Flew Her to L.A. for a Makeover

Chris Rock Noticed ‘Abbott Elementary’ Star Janelle James’ Struggling Wardrobe – Then Flew Her to L.A. for a Makeover

Comedian and actor @janellejamescomedy said Chris Rock quietly helped her upgrade her wardrobe while she was opening for him on his 2017 “Total Blackout” tour, recalling that she was struggling financially at the time.

On Vulture’s Good One podcast, James described showing up to the tour with boots that were “dusty” and a cardigan she “wore to threads,” summing it up as: “My clothes were ratty.”

James said she’d gotten “used to looking bad” in part to avoid unwanted attention as a woman in comedy, explaining that earlier in her career, wearing mini skirts brought certain “remarks,” and that for a period she “forgot who I was.”

She said Rock appeared to notice her worn-out boots during the first leg of the tour in the South. Soon after, James received an invitation from Rock’s assistant to fly to Los Angeles to get “glammed up.” James recalled her reaction: “I didn’t take it any kind of way… This is amazing. Like Pretty Woman or whatever.”

James said she was presented with racks of luxury clothing and that she had “never even seen things that expensive” before. She added that Rock didn’t make a point of the gesture, which she appreciated: “He didn’t say anything, which I appreciate… He wasn’t like, ‘See what I’ve done for you?’” She said he simply looked at her and told her, “You’re doing well for yourself,” and then they continued with the tour.

James later went on to play Principal Ava Coleman on Abbott Elementary starting in 2021, and she reiterated that she feels she was meant for the role. “When people say, ‘I can’t imagine someone else playing Ava’… that’s the goal,” she said, adding, “They’re going to have to kill me off.”