Tracee Ellis Ross questioned whether racism played a part in Jay Leno snubbing the actress and her “Girlfriends” co-stars an appearance on his late-night show at the height of their sitcom.
During a recent interview on Trevor Noah’s “What Now?” podcast, the “Black-ish” actress recalled how she and her “Girlfriends” co-stars — Golden Brooks, Persia White and Jill Marie Jones — were allegedly ostracized by the industry, although the series was highly successful.
“No ‘Tonight Show,’ no David Letterman, no Emmys. Had never been to the Emmys,” Ross, who portrayed lawyer Joan Clayton on the show, recalled to Noah.
“As a matter of fact, I have a story. It was Jay Leno. And I had ‘Girlfriends,’ and the comment was, ‘We love Tracee. Call us when she gets something,’” she recalled.
“I was like, I remember thinking, ‘Get what? What else do you have to get?’ I don’t know. And it just was… ‘We love her,’ but it was not considered.”
Ross, 53, said she recalled stars from other less popular TV shows appearing as guests on Leno’s famous talk show.
“I remember, specifically, the show ‘Monk.’ Do you remember that show with Tony Shalhoub? That show had a quarter of our viewership. A quarter of our viewership,” the “High Note” actress recalled.
“And I remember seeing him on the show and I was so confused. And I was like, ‘I don’t understand. Is it viewership?’” Ross shared.
“And the only thing you can boil it down to, you’re like, ‘Is it just racism?’ I’m not sure how to — how do you categorize it? I don’t know what it is.”
Ross said the first time she even went to the Emmys was when “Black-ish” was nominated.
Page Six has reached out to Leno’s rep for comment but did not immediately hear back.
“Girlfriends” ran for eight seasons from 2000 to 2008.
The Mara Brock Akil-created series followed a group of four Black female friends as they dealt with the ups and downs of their careers, marriage, friendship and dating.
The show earned 29 NAACP Image Award nominations and one Emmy nod for outstanding cinematography for a multi-camera series.
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