Actress, comedian, and TV personality Amanda Seales joined Shannon Sharpe on Club Shay Shay for an extensive three-hour discussion. During the conversation, Seales delved into quite a bit of detail about her life and career thus far. There were more than a couple of bombshells revealed during the discussion that have since gone viral. In true Amanda fashion, there were also important conversations about racism, bias, and mental health. In fact, social media has been pretty united in claiming that perhaps Sharpe was not the best interviewer for someone like Seales. Nonetheless, here are some of the biggest takeaways from Amanda Seales' appearance on Club Shay Shay.
Conflict With Issa Rae
During her time on Club Shay Shay, Amanda Seales addressed her rumored conflict with Issa Rae. Despite speculation that their issues originated during their time on Insecure, Seales clarified that it was Rae's publicist who initially had an issue with her. However, Seales believes this snowballed into Rae failing to protect her. Reflecting on their rumored conflict during the series' production, she said, "So, I’ve never talked about this publicly because it has always been incredibly important to me to protect Issa. Because I know that Issa is doing something within this business that so few people get to do. And it’s not something I desire to do… She wasn’t empowering to me. She didn’t feel like I deserved to be protected. But that was my experience. And nonetheless, I have still always protected her because I felt like it was my responsibility to do so. But it is not."
Her Autism Diagnosis
In the three-hour interview with the retired athlete-turned-podcaster, Amanda Seales disclosed that she is on the autism spectrum. She described her current state as one of evolution, acknowledging that she has been receiving a mix of new information and criticism simultaneously. She stated: “I was recently diagnosed as someone who has autism spectrum disorder which is very difficult to identify in Black women because of racism. What it typically means is that your brain functions in a different way, so you’re neurodivergent. When you take the test, you’re like ‘Hold up! I’ve been thinking my whole life that this was a problem.’ The fact that I have to be doing things all of the time to be stimulated. It’s literally called stimming. These are small things that are indicative of how your brain functions in a very particular way. It’s also atypical to the way our society functions.”
This particular discussion has since garnered criticism. During the show, Sharpe questioned Seales on whether she had received a professional autism diagnosis, to which she responded, “Yes. There is a clinical diagnosis for autism.” This statement, which has been translated to Seales, in fact, not receiving a clinical diagnosis, raised eyebrows. Nonetheless, she took to social media soon after to clarify that she had not been officially diagnosed by a doctor.
Being A Perfectionist
Amanda Seales has often been referred to as headstrong and direct. On the podcast, she explained the origins of her confident demeanor, tracing it back to her gymnastics and theater roots. Reflecting on her mindset, Seales revealed that she was heavily influenced by her coach, theater director, and mother, who pushed her rigorously and held high expectations for perfection. She also mentioned developing a strong sense of professionalism from a very young age. Recollecting those times, she stated, “That’s what I come from, people expecting you to be at your best when they’re not looking. That’s how I’ve always operated but you go through life and you realize that’s not how everybody operates.”
Experiencing Racism On Set
Some of the most viral moments from Amanda Seales’ time on Club Shay Shay revolved around the topic of racism. Sometime during their conversation, Seales discussed her experience as a former Disney child star. She recalled incidents where she was called slurs by her white peers on set. As the only Black girl present, Seales considered this behavior to be racist. When Shannon Sharpe questioned her experience by suggesting that kids are not accountable for such behavior due to their age, Seales emphasized that it was indeed a form of racism, regardless of the perpetrators' age. Frustrated, she said: “So, you have no problem with the children that were cursing out Ruby Bridges? And the Little Rock Nine? Do you think that was just them being kids?"
Seeking Therapy
On Club Shay Shay, Amanda Seales admitted that she struggled to comprehend why some people didn't like her. She then disclosed that she sought therapy to address this issue, and credited therapy with enhancing her awareness of how others perceive her thoughts. “I started going to therapy because I was like, people kept telling me that no one likes me, and I do not understand it,” she said. “At some point, I thought I wasn’t likable because I had low self-esteem… I present to people in a way that they deem masculine but it's really just passion and if they really were smart, they would understand that the passion that I speak with is the passion that I f*ck with so I don't understand why they can't do that math.”
Candace Owens In Black Spaces
During the interview, Sharpe brought up the topic of certain Black people who prefer to be in white spaces. Grasping where the conversation was heading, Seales immediately brought up Candace Owens’ name. She spoke about how the Black community has been taught to be forgiving, but really should only forgive those who ask. “It’s not her fault,” she began. “It’s the spaces that let her back in. We can't just look at Black people and say ‘Is this skin folk or kin folk?’ All of these Black media spaces that took her back in… all these Black media spaces that have just excoriated me for weeks, I look at them and say ‘You are simply Black by name, because you are white by commerce.”
Emmanuel Acho And Angel Reese
Shannon Sharpe also brought up college basketballer Angel Reese and sports analyst Emmanuel Acho. Acho had recently criticized Reese for presenting herself as a villain during her college basketball days but not sticking to that image when confronted with losses. Unhappy with the entire fiasco, Amanda Seales used this opportunity to call out Acho and dish out her own criticism in defense of Reese. “She is a young person,” she said. “Do you know how disgusting that is? And that cornball ass n*gga who loves to make himself look like he's the white people savior. Emmanuel Acho. ‘Come talk to me, white people. I'm the black guy that's nice.’ Cut it out. It's ridiculous.”
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