Yvonne Orji on Molly's "Mess," Asian Bae, and Her HBO Comedy Special

From ELLE

Since 2016, Sunday nights on Twitter mean checking in with one of two factions: #TeamIssa or #LawrenceHive. But when the fourth season of Insecure debuted on April 12, the night's hotly-debated topic centered not around Issa's relationship status, but on a soon-to-be strained friendship. The gut punch comes in the first minute of the premiere, when Issa tells someone on the phone,“Honestly, I don’t fuck with Molly anymore." Twitter scrambled, questioning the demise of our favorite ride-or-die duo. Could #TeamMolly be entering the fray?

Season 4 opens with Issa (Issa Rae) and Molly (Yvonne Orji) in the thick of their own “mess.” Issa’s developing a friendship with her business partner Condola (Christina Elmore), who happens to be dating Lawrence (Jay Ellis), while Molly’s self-sabotaging behaviors are affecting her blossoming romance with “Asian Bae” Andrew (Alexander Hodge). It’s easy to point the finger at Condola for playing a part in Issa and Molly’s downfall—new friendships sometimes threaten old ones—but Orji explains that just as romantic relationships ebb and flow, friendships also go through seasons. “I'm letting go of things that no longer serve me,” Molly tells Issa later in the episode. Turns out their longtime friendship might be one of the “things” on the chopping block.

“That's what our characters are really trying to figure out this season—what doesn't serve me? What does letting go look like? Is there ever a clean break?” Orji tells ELLE.com. Like that meme of co-star Natasha Rothwell, Orji says “growth” is the buzzword this season. “Four seasons ago, we were all in our 20s trying to figure out life and love. Now, we're in our 30s and our stories evolve as we get older. Adulting is hard, so we’re exploring the challenges that come with growth. Do friendships no longer serve me? Do relationships no longer serve me? Do jobs no longer serve me? These are the questions everyone is asking once they become adults.”

Outside Insecure, Orji is also experiencing growth. The 36-year-old Nigerian comedian parleyed an opening spot on Chris Rock’s Total Blackout tour into her own headlining tour, Lagos to Laurel, and her HBO comedy special—filmed at Howard University to honor her mom, who was a nurse at the Washington, D.C. HBCU for 27 years—drops this summer. She's also planning a faith-based how-to book titled Bamboozled by Jesus: How God Tricked Me Into the Life of My Dreams, due in 2021.

But first, Molly has some spring cleaning to do. I jumped on the phone with Orji to discuss Molly’s new mantra, Asian Bae’s fate, and why comedy is her home.

What is Molly's headspace like this season?

On the work front she's killing it, but in relationships she's not. And even still, Molly's killing the actual work at her new firm, but her relationships with her co-workers are a mess—there's always some sort of mess. Molly's always thinking, "Am I fulfilled as a person? What does winning look like?"

She's not happy in her relationships. Season 1 saw a little bit of her almost coveting what Issa and Lawrence had. That's why when Issa cheated, Molly was like, "screw you, at least you have somebody." Molly didn't have anybody, so she was willing to settle for who's available than have nobody at all. Getting into a character like Molly reminds me of where I was in my 20s and also understanding where I am now. If you haven't done the work to change your mentality, your 20-year-old brain and your-30-year old brain are the same. So Molly spends this season trying to figure out what mistakes she's making. Is it that she doesn't realize her habits, or just doesn't care? She's struggling to find out who she is. I think that's why people love her. They recognize mistakes they've made.

At the end of season 3, Molly was adamant she didn't want an interracial relationship.

She was more like, "I want a black guy and I don't see why I can't have that." Between therapy and her friends, she's realizing she needs to open herself up to see what could be. It's like going to baseball practice to hit a couple balls. It's cool if you're never going to make it to Major League Baseball, but just go hit a couple and see if you like the feel. Molly knows she has to be more open because being closed hasn't worked for her. What does she have to lose? In this season she doesn't want to do old Molly stuff. I think both Issa and Molly are like, let's leave the old in the past. Let's be new, better versions of ourselves.

But she was quick to write off Asian Bae after finding out they're not exclusively dating.

Because how is this fool dating other girls? It's one thing if Molly had other dudes, then it's like well, we're just kicking it. [Laughs] No girl wants to be without options when the dude's got options. That's not fair. But it was less the fact he's seeing other girls and more that she thought they were on the same page.

She likes trying to figure out how she feels. Molly doesn't really go with her gut. She's more focused on what it looks like and how it should feel versus what she really wants. Since she's so structured—she's a lawyer—she's not a fan of gray lines. Asian Bae is stressing her out because she's trying to figure out how to go with the flow and also not waste her time. It's all rooted in fear. A lot of Molly's issues stem from the fact that she doesn't know how to walk in her strength, because there is strength in being like, "I didn't know that was the page we were on. I don't know how I feel about it and I might need to process that. I'm not saying it's wrong or right or that I don't want it, I just need to deal with it." She enjoys playing the field but in her heart of hearts she wants to be settled down. She wants a home. Even though they haven't established where they are, she feels lame that Andrew has options and she doesn't. Clearly they were reading two different books.

At the end of season 3, Molly and Issa get into it after Molly turns Nathan away on Issa's birthday. I'm wondering if Issa's response had any effect on their dynamic this season?

This season finds Molly and Issa at odds for a number of things. They're in a space where the little miscommunications and misunderstandings and the things left unsaid fester, and arguments come in and create a bigger wedge. It's all about honesty. What is it about us personally that makes us feel like we can't be 100 with our best friends? Is it pride? Is it ego? How can you be honest without risking losing the relationship? But then again, if being honest would ruin the relationship, what type of friendship do you actually have? It's one of the things where Issa knows too much about Molly and vice-versa, so you don't want to feel judged. It's a mirror of our own flaws. This season finds all the characters in a reflective state because pride or ego can really spoil relationships.

Do you think Condola's addition to Issa's life plays a role in Issa and Molly's demise?

Condola presents an alternative. In season 4, everybody is in a different relationship but Molly: Andrew is taking to different girls, Issa has a new friend, Tiffany is a soon-to-be mother. It feels like something is breaking the band up. Everyone has other options and lives and Molly is there by herself. Issa and Molly were always the nucleus for each other and now they don't have that center piece to come back to. For Molly, it's cool if Issa's world expands, but let's meet back in the middle so that we can talk about everything going on, because that's how friends stay together. And that's not happening this season. Who's going to be the bigger person?

What about Dro? Is there unfinished business there?

I mean…keep watching.

What are your hopes for Molly?

I hope she finds joy. I hope she finds happiness. I hope there's growth. I hope she eventually settles into who she wants to be, because that's a journey in itself.

How did you know comedy was the right fit for you?

I grew up watching the greats: Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Wanda [Sykes], Sommore, Eddie Murphy. I didn't even know it was "comedy," I just knew they were hysterical and black. I got my start at open mics in D.C. and Maryland and then moved to New York before moving to L.A. It was hard to get face time in New York because comedy is not a secret society. When you're new, there's no one to vouch for you. You're bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and filled with hope. It was very hard to get opportunities to get on. Because I'm the overachieving Nigerian, I started writing my own comedy show.

And now you have your own comedy special.

I got a chance to go to Nigeria with HBO and interview my parents in our village and give people an inside look at where my humor comes from, at my family, at the reason why I'm even on the stage. It felt so good to come home to Nigeria and then it felt good to go back to my other home in the DMV area. It was like a tale of two worlds. People don't realize I was doing comedy before Insecure. Fans see actors or actresses who want to try their hand at comedy and it's like, are they funny? Can they do this? Comedy is how Issa first got introduced to me, so this HBO special is like my own [Hov moment]. Please allow me to reintroduce myself. They call me Y-V…

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