Amanda Seales Has Something To Say About Issa Rae, Black Media, And Herself

By Brian Richards | Celebrity | April 26, 2024 |

By Brian Richards | Celebrity | April 26, 2024 |

Amanda Seales is known for being many things. An actress, a comedian, a self-described ‘truth translator,’ an outspoken critic against racial injustice, and against President Biden for not demanding a permanent ceasefire to stop what is happening in Gaza. If you ask Black Twitter what she’s known for, they would likely mention all of those things, along with the fact that she is known for being messy, wrong, and unpleasant for others to deal with. She has expressed opinions about Black folk spending money on expensive clothes and sneakers instead of using that money to acquire passports. She spoke out against Samaria Rice, the mother of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was murdered by police, because Samaria told Shaun King (a.k.a. Talcum X, Scamuel L. Jackson, Whack Panther, Snow J. Simpson, etc.) to stop using her son’s name to boost his own profile while putting money in his pockets. (Seriously, people, stop giving Shaun King your money, your time, and your attention.) Amanda was also called out for wrongfully accusing former NFL player Myron Rolle of sexual harassment, and for speaking up in defense of Jussie Smollett after the hate crime against him was revealed to be a hoax. And this is not even a complete rundown of why Amanda Seales has the reputation that she does among Black people on and off social media.

On Wednesday afternoon, Amanda Seales’ interview with Shannon Sharpe premiered on his Club Shay Shay podcast. Much like Shannon’s interviews with Katt Williams and Mo’Nique, the discussion was long (three hours and ten minutes), and a lot of things were said that would result in viewers sharing their opinions about both the host and the guest after the interview had ended.

The interview didn’t start off on the best note. Shortly after Amanda revealed that she had been recently diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, she shared an anecdote about her childhood in which she experienced racism from her teacher, and from her schoolmates, for speaking out when she felt that something being said by her teacher about Aboriginal communities was incorrect. Shannon asked if it was possible that her teacher’s behavior had less to do with racism, and more to do with adults refusing to tolerate any disrespect from children. This resulted in Amanda wanting to know why Shannon was questioning her personal experiences, and invalidating racism against her while doing so.

Shannon Sharpe frustrates Amanda Seales when he voices his disapproval of kids correcting their teachers and expresses that her teacher feeling offended when she corrected her in front of the class is common among most adults and has nothing to do with racism.

(🎥… pic.twitter.com/Rds3zWpD7h

— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) April 24, 2024

Amanda cleared up the popular misconception about both of her parents not being Black. (“My mother is not white! Why does everyone keep saying that my mother is white?!”) To some Black people on and off social media, certain Black celebrities who are biracial, light-skinned, or both, are considered less Black, or they’re not taken as seriously as dark-skinned Black celebrities, and Amanda expressed that people thinking that she’s biracial may be the source of some criticism aimed at her. She didn’t hesitate to point out how Black media seems to have a grudge against her, but doesn’t mind giving platforms to someone like Candace Owens.

Amanda also talked about what happened when she was prevented from attending an Emmys party where the attendees were mostly other Black celebrities, and how the publicist for Insecure creator/executive producer/star Issa Rae wanted her kicked out, which then led to her being assaulted by security. A longstanding rumor about Amanda is that she doesn’t get along with her castmates from Insecure, or with Issa Rae herself. She pointed out that Kendrick Sampson, who played Nathan, Issa’s love interest (and who most Insecure fans felt that Issa should’ve ended the series with instead of Lawrence), attended the Emmys party with her, and attempted to find out why she wasn’t allowed to be there. She then spoke out about how she felt about her relationship with Issa Rae, and whether she feels cared for and protected by her.

Amanda didn’t hesitate to throw a few more shots during her interview. Those targets included Insecure castmate Sarunas J. Jackson — who played Dro, Molly’s love interest, and whose brother, Darius, is known for his relationship with Keke Palmer, which has gone from being messy to downright infuriating — for not only talking sh-t about Amanda behind her back, but for refusing to be a decent parent and provider to the child he had with DomiNque Perry, who played Tasha on Insecure; ESPN commentator Emmanuel Acho for his negative comments about Angel Reese after her press conference earlier this month…

…and The Grio columnist Monique Judge, who wrote a recent op-ed about Amanda, and stated that the only one to blame for Amanda’s bad reputation is Amanda.

She discussed how she was fired and blackballed from Sirius XM for conducting an unauthorized on-air interview with Jay-Z, and the chilly reception she received from Marsha Ambrosius when she replaced Natalie Stewart in the R&B duo Floetry.

So what did Black people on social media have to say about this Amanda Seales interview after it aired?

Amanda was correct with everything she said, and you not liking her or liking how she says something doesn’t mean that she’s wrong or should be ignored. Being diagnosed with autism is not an excuse or even an explanation for how unlikable and annoying she is. Amanda still isn’t taking responsibility for her reputation and her friendships/business relationships falling apart. Shannon Sharpe is still a horrible f-cking interviewer, and this was another example of why interviews like this should be conducted by trained journalists, not former athletes who sound and act like Foghorn Leghorn, and who think it’s a good idea to question a Black woman about racism that she has personally experienced.

Shannon never should’ve invited Amanda to be on his podcast in the first place after what she did to Myron Rolle. Issa Rae was a bully and a bad boss towards Amanda. Issa Rae is being blamed too much for how Amanda was mistreated when the blame should be directed at Issa’s publicist. Issa has never been badmouthed by anyone in Black Hollywood, but Amanda Seales saying something about her suddenly means that Issa ain’t sh-t? Amanda can’t talk about she’s been blackballed and yell “I have been silenced!” when she’s being interviewed by Shannon Sharpe, and has hosted the BET Awards, The Real, appeared on Celebrity Jeopardy!, and in her very own stand-up comedy special on HBO. The interview was another example of showing us that Amanda has said or done nothing wrong to deserve being ignored and disrespected by her own people.

Shannon Sharpe also had more to say about his interview with Amanda, and he explained on his Nightcap podcast that he co-hosts with Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson that he wasn’t trying to invalidate what Amanda was saying about the racism she experienced in her childhood.

Shannon Sharpe responds to people claiming he was trying to invalidate Amanda Seales experience during their interview by questioning her alleged experiences with racism, and says where he grew up, kids never corrected a parent or adult.

(🎥 @NightcapShow_ / @ClubShayShay ) pic.twitter.com/SKhtiwfZz9

— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) April 25, 2024

As if that wasn’t enough, Amanda appeared on Instagram Live, and admitted that she actually self-diagnosed herself with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and wasn’t diagnosed by any medical professionals.

Amanda Seales updates everyone on IG live saying she was not diagnosed by a doctor for autism, presumably self diagnosed https://t.co/uLwbf4Nncv pic.twitter.com/u8HP6oPwxE

— SOUND (@itsavibe) April 25, 2024

Which led to many people on social media feeling and responding like this:

You can listen to the complete interview on the Club Shay Shay podcast, or you can watch it on YouTube.