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Issa Rae is pretty famous these days, which is why this mispronunciation of her name probably stung badly for spectators of this live interview … and why they spoke up.
The triple threat star — famous for her show ‘Insecure’ — was doing a sit-down Saturday at the CultureCon conference in NYC … where she was about to answer questions from moderator Glenda McNeal, who’s a bigwig over at AmEx.
As McNeal intro’d Issa … she kinda botched her first name, calling her Ih-suh as opposed to Ee-suh (the correct way to say it). Just as quickly, she was informed by the crowd.
Take a look for yourself … there was a chorus of “Issa” from the audience, with multiple people shouting out and interruption McNeal’s train of thought to let her know she’d said it wrong — and it clearly took the speaker by surprise, and ditto for IR herself.
McNeal corrected herself, and then apologized … saying she’d made a mistake, noting she was part of the Black community and meant no harm. Issa seemed to find it hilarious.
No harm, no foul big picture — but it is a testament to something in the grand scheme of things. Fact is, we’re reaching a point when perceived disrespect simply won’t be tolerated … especially among beloved celebs like Issa, who’s star is growing brighter by the day.
Anyway, feel free to peep her interview in full … interesting insights from her here.