Janelle James: “There’re so many men walking around with confidence that’s unearned. If women do the same, they’re monsters. I’m confident in my abilities, confident that I’m funnier than most people. That’s not even my ego, that’s years in the game.”
In Season 2, James’ story arc has only expanded, making her character a fan favorite, despite being selfish and rude. “It’s not easy to play an unlikable character and still win the audience over,” says Brunson. “In the first season, there were a lot of people who weren’t on board with Ava, but her performance brought people in.”James’ wit and timing comes from self-taught training as a writer.
But there’s something else that goes unsaid. “Abbott Elementary” is a Black show created by a Black showrunner that’s penetrated the cultural discourse. Remarkably, this is still a rare thing in 2023. Looking ahead to the Emmys, many are predicting that “Abbott” will sweep the comedy categories. But it probably won’t be competing against too many other Black shows.
James has always had that mentality. During high school, she moved to Maryland with her mom, then headed to New York City’s Fashion Institute of Technology — she’d watched “Project Runway” and thought it looked fun. But it wasn’t so fabulous. “Everyone who seemed to be going on to better things was already in the business, their parents were in the business, or they already had money. I was broke as hell.
While grocery shopping one day, she was handed a flyer for an open mic night. Out of boredom, she went and sat in the audience. “It was all these white boys doing their 10 minutes, and I was having a good time,” she says. But she wasn’t making a consistent enough salary to move full time to New York, so she went back and forth for three years. Luckily, those interpersonal skills paid off — she had a friend who owned that bike shop, where she slept four nights a week. “There was an air mattress and a rat. I would wake up and get out before the store opened. I’d just walk around all day with my stuff until I did shows and then I’d go back to sleep,” James says.Then she received the call from Rock.
“If I see it, I’m like, ‘Fuck, I have to diet for this? I don’t want to do that.’ That turns me off. And I don’t want to maintain that,” she says. She’s found a healthy way to stay in shape now. In the middle of the night, she runs on a treadmill and screams — yes, she really does. She doesn’t want to ever starve herself. “That’s not fun. My body would be like, ‘What the fuck are you doing?’ Not because I’m against being hot; I just know myself, and that won’t make me happy.”
Plus, comedians have been looked at more closely in the past few years as the world continues to change. Dave Chappelle, whom she admired when growing up, recently. But that’s not the only reason she prefers old Chappelle to new.
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