Tina Fey told Donald Glover he was a "diversity hire"

Even if it's true --- why tell someone that.

It does nothing to make them feel better about themselves or the role they had with your organization.

If it's true Tina is more of a bitch then she likes to let on.

a resident assistant in Goddard -

What is Goddard?

I mean, yes? It was a different time. We're stil doing diversity quotas to this day.

And if you're super close with someone, obviously you're going to tell them the truth eventually. Comedy writers can take it, they aren't snowflakes.

r2 Should say AT Goddard.

I'm tired of this bitter bitch.

Woe is you. How many NYU students would have killed for that gig?

Glover is guilty about his own privilege. Few people can afford $200,000 for an NYU degree, and many people pay that much and never get a shot in TV or film.

She's a cunt.

She's awful, and it gets worse the more I hear about her.

poor baby.

Goddard is an NYU dorm, then?

It doesn't sound like he is complaining. Its a fact he is reporting. People like OP may be spinning it.

[quote]t was a diversity thing

He says that like it was a bad thing. And it's not exactly applicable when the other candidate (by his own admission) was from the same minority.

She and Poehler have made a career of sounding defiantly PC but they're cunts like everyone else in that business. On the rare occasion that somebody in that show business does something good for another person they get a Humanitarian Award because it's so rare.

It is a bad thing because he is extremely talented--far more than Poehler or Fey. He didn't need to get hired as a "diversity hire", his merits and talents speak for themselves. He's a singer, actor, director and rapper.

Am I not getting this right? They wanted a diversity hire and of the diversity candidates he was the one chosen? So?

R9, yes Goddard Hall.

It sounds way out of context. Perhaps he had told her how much he felt like an outsider and Tina admitted that SNL is not good with diversity and his hiring was an attempt to rectify that. Therefore, his feelings of not belonging were understandable since this was something still new for the show. I mean, who knows? But he says he has no problems with her, but he makes it sound like she was dismissing him outright as a worthwhile hire.

I don't get the issue either. The point of diversity hires is, hypothetically, to hire more diverse staff because they have different experiences, thus to make a better product. Glover has proven himself to be a great creative so isn't that a successful hire?

Did anyone think Tina meant he was not worthy of the hire, or that Glover thought that is what Tina meant?

Yes, R17, it would make it sound to Glover that the ONLY reason he is in the room is because he is black, not because of his talent.

The fact that they had to choose between two very talented people who happen to be black for 1 position, because they only need 1 black person to complete the look is the part everyone is missing. If they were both talented, why weren't both of them hired? I am sure they have proven themselves more than most of the writers on that show.

That is the rub of diversity hiring. Say if you have five people up for three parts and two of them are black. They will rarely if ever hire two black people EVEN IF the two black people are more talented than the rest. They will hire one, and consider themselves lucky they can cross off a box on the diversity list.

"30 Rock" poked fun at diversity hires itself with the character of Toofer:

[quote]It was revealed in "Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter" that Toofer was only hired because of affirmative action; he quits in anger, before he agrees to return. He insisted that in order to return, his fellow writers must stop calling him Toofer, but he relented when they suggested worse nicknames.

He was in contention and as such had proven himself already. He says he has no problem with her, so she might have been confirming what he already thought.

It would have been easier for her NOT to tell him the truth.

I don't really get the criticism here. When writers rooms are too white everyone says "you need to hire more diverse writing staff!" Then when they hire people to make the room more diverse, they're criticized for only hiring for diversity? Makes no sense.

Niether Tina nor Donald are clearly on the page about what this means and they get on fine. Its the Internet and us assholes on this thread making a to do about something that may not be a thing at all.

It was a different time you just wouldn’t understand!

R16 I suspect that it's not out of context, just lacking it. I'm guessing he got hired as part of NBC's diversity initiative, where shows were allotted a writer's salary that they had to hire a minority for. It's how Mindy Kaling got her big break, she was hired under that initiative on The Office.

What's an NYU?

If you read Tina's book, it seems like her cop father's racism got passed down to her

The more you learn about Fey, the bigger bitch she is.

[quote]I don't really get the criticism here. When writers rooms are too white everyone says "you need to hire more diverse writing staff!" Then when they hire people to make the room more diverse, they're criticized for only hiring for diversity? Makes no sense.

Theoretically R22 the criticism would be that they shouldn't have to be told to hire the most talented people instead of just settling for a room full of all white writers just because they are too lazy to go further than what's directly in front of them and that's all they know. If they actually sought out the most talented people for the job in all areas, the wouldn't have to be told they have to fill quotas.

But that's a dream world. It's just human nature to go with what you're most comfortable working with, being around, not challenging yourself - no matter what your race is. You're not going to look high and low for the best in areas unknown to you when there are bigger fish to fry and "good-enough" is right in front of you.

[quote] If they were both talented, why weren't both of them hired?

Because they had only been approved to hire just one position, obviously. Do you not understand how jobs work?

I don't mean at the same time, dimwit at r30.

My point R30 is that when it comes to diversity hires, Donald Glover's presence on the writing team automatically negates Kenya Barris ever getting job there.

It serms he found out he was a diversity hire and then asked her to confirm. She didn't just throw that to his face. So this isn't her fault. I wouldn't lie in her place, either. As an adult he should know how to cope.

By the way, there's a 30 Rock episode where Liz Lemon finds out that it wasn't just her Black writer Twofer who was a diversity hire, but also her entire show was only picked up by the network to appease feminist groups. It wouldn't shock me if it turned out this is in some way inspired by her real life.

He was still a student for goodness sake. He should be kissing her ass for giving him the opportunity of a lifetime.

I hate this gaslighting we are all supposed to put up with. We are all told me need to make companies, organizations and teams as diverse as possible. And yet, whenever someone is hired for that, it becomes taboo to even say so.

Tempest in a teacup.

Companies do not have numerical diversity hiring quotas because that leads to a whole host of other legal issues. Instead, recruiters are typically asked to present a diverse slate of candidates to the hiring managers for interviews (every company has a different metric for how many candidates must be diverse and what qualifies as diverse).

The interviewers are then asked to evaluate candidates based on who would be the best candidate for the specific skills/qualifications for the job. So if someone is hired, they are not a "diversity hire" but simply the best person for the role.

That's how it all works in my day to day world. Also, most jobs are opened/approved one at a time. So even if there are two great candidates who both happen to be black, you don't get to hire both just because you feel like and it would look good for diversity metrics. If only 1 job is open, then only 1 candidate can be selected.

[quote][Tina Fey] said it herself… It was a diversity thing,

Most likely meaning, "have more diversity in hiring" which is the professed goal of all diversity programs pushed all over the place. The typical outcome is "hire more or only Blacks." It's weird then to mope about being a diversity hire as if diversity programs are colorblind merit programs.

R34 I am sure he probably is. Diversity hire or not, a job is a job. I don't think he suggested otherwise.

But unfortunately it's just the way the world is. I have been in jobs where the owner has said "Don't hire another one, we have enough" in so many words. And way back in the day I worked the door at clubs in NYC and the manager would tell me the room is getting too dark. As if in a room full of 200 hundred people fifteen black people would make club goers think they are at a black club and uncomfortable.

R39, I would say the same thing if he were white. I understand that's not the topic so it sounds as if I was making it about him being ungrateful. I agree with you though, I think he knows the high-profile gig launched his career.

Every club wants a certain look and they want to attract a speific clientele. Remember Studio 54? Steve Rubell stood outside and chose those whom he thought would fit with his club's image. He wanted good-looking people, freakily dressed people and celebs. Just because some clubs turn away certain people does not mean it's racism. Sometimes it's just not their target demo.

R40 Big difference between turning away people based on their dress, and turning people away based on the color of their skin, you klan granny.

He seems tiresome.

Hello Jaden Smith @ R13!

Miss with all due respect I have my own problems.

What a shocker. A tv show where a black character is called “Twofer” because he is both a minority and a Harvard graduate, making him a “two for one” hire — the creator admitted the diversity hire was a diversity hire?

R41, while this club owner was telling his staff "It's getting too dark in here." there was a black club owner somewhere telling his staff "It's getting too light in here." Just as there is a gay club owner hearing grievances from his clientele "There's too damn many straight women in here." Not everything is about race.

They're running a business and want to attract a certain clientele.

A writing career in film and TV is fucking difficult to break into and it's because most show runners would prefer to only hire their friends or people who they have worked with previously. Ultimately, there is nothing wrong with hiring friends and people whose work you know, but it means that a lot of writing rooms, for many years, all looked similar. This is why networks and production companies started diversity programs and required rooms to bring in more diverse voices. As with most diversity programs, it really benefited white women a hell of a lot, but it still was tough for other minority writers to get a shot. Those diversity slots in writers rooms have helped many minority writers get a foot in the door in the business, but unfortunately some white writers resent it.

I think Donald Glover is talking about his experience of feeling like an other. The vast majority of creative people want to be hired for their talent and not because they check off a box. He got an incredible opportunity and ran with it, I don't think he's bitter about that.

I wasn't a big fan of 30 Rock and I hated the "Twofer" character. He was hired because he was Black and a Harvard grad. He was given nothing to do while the fat, racist, sexist guy in the biker hat was considered hilarious. It's interesting to learn that my suspicions about the show's writers weren't unfounded.

[quote]A writing career in film and TV is fucking difficult to break into and it's because most show runners would prefer to only hire their friends or people who they have worked with previously.

The way in used to be to get a mailroom job at an agency- and even for that you needed solid connections. Nobody got hired as a staff writer right out of college or while still a resident assistant.

No sure if/how things have changed with social media.

R49 You are wrong. Ivy grads and particularly Harvard grads have LONG been hired directly as staff writers. For many decades.

There hasn't been a single item in years about Tina Fey that didn't make me like her less after reading it.

R50, wouldn't they have the best connections through alumni associations, Greek system, and the like.

R52

At Harvard, The Harvard Lampoon has sent lots of people into the entertainment world. There are also organizations like The Hasty Pudding Club, for which students write musicals. Some kids write shows for grad schools like the Law School. This fact made Toofer especially irritating because there are plenty of talented Black students at Harvard interested in entertainment, humor, and the arts. There's no way that he would have been required to have been framed as a talentless, obligatory diversity hire.

There used to be - maybe still are - writers programs and fellowships at the networks and studios.

In "Bossypants", I think that Tina Fey credits Donald Glover with "those shoes are definitely bi-curious" at 00:10.

It might be the best joke of the entire series.

She was promoted to being the first female head writer of SNL AFTER the allegations of sexism and how unfair women were treated by SNL hit the media. So if we're talking diversity hires, then she should go to the front of the line.

Never got the hype over her. Fallon and her mugged their way through Weekend Update and 30 Rock had its moments, but often relied on pedestrian, obvious humor to get its point across. When lardass Baldwin compared her to Elaine May, I couldn't roll my eyes any harder.

Quinta Brunson, Pamela Adlon, Issa Rae put out far more creative, interesting content. A lot of Fey's stuff just hasn't aged well.

So now you know, white women who benefited most from affirmative action do not see themselves as a diversity hire. Even if they are white ethnic types, they got theirs through talent? And talent alone?

Does it occur to anyone that Fey might have told that fact to Glover because he asked and not in a boastful way, or snide way, or hurtful way, but possibly even in embarrassment, because Glover turned out to be great hire. I've had bosses say they were pleasantly surprised by my performance after their inaccurate first impression.

Mindy Kaling wrote in one of her books that she was a diversity hire for The Office and she never would have gotten in any other way. It is part of some program NBC has where the cost of the diversity hire writer is covered by a general NBC fund rather than the show's budget. So, it's a bonus writer to the show.

Judging by some of the responses on this thread Donald was successful in portraying Tina as an unlikable potentially racist person by offering no detail as to what prompted her to say that to him.

Maybe he's the reason it wasn't funny?

I found SWAM to be extremely cunty. I think Donald may be a talented creator and world class cunt.

[quote] Fallon and her

She and Fallon

[quote]So now you know, white women who benefited most from affirmative action do not see themselves as a diversity hire.

Please, read r33. 30 Rock itself dealt with white women -- Tina Fey's own alter ego Liz Lemon -- being a diversity beneficiary. Tina is likely very aware of what you're saying and, as said above, the episode may have been inspired by her own experience.

[quote]It is a bad thing because he is extremely talented--far more than Poehler or Fey. He didn't need to get hired as a "diversity hire", his merits and talents speak for themselves. He's a singer, actor, director and rapper.

Um, he would not even have had a chance to showcase that talent if it weren’t for the diversity hire. There are tons of talented singers, directors, rappers who never get the opportunity to be discovered.

How did he get this job as a college student with no experience and also beating out a 48 year old?

He's talented. He's risen to the top by already being in the top. When you see "medium talents" to steal a Bill Murray line about Chevy Chase, not have to struggle for a minute, it should sadden you. Watch Atlanta. That shit is genius

R67 and Swarm was good too.

Swarm is "good", but also cynical and cunting. Atlanta is cunty as well. He has a large range of talents, yet his productions and vibe remind me of Lens Dunham's.

R66 , I believe it's called The Casting Couch.

She's a cunt. He's a narcissistic asshole. They're both overrated and benefited from overexposed PR. They deserve each other.

But we've known this since the show was first on the air. Toofer's character was based on Glover, they said so from the beginning, and his nickname "Toofer" was based on the fact that he was a diversity hire AND an Ivy Leaguer.

What even IS this shit? Why are we supposed to be outraged about something we knew back in 2006?

I find Donald so pretentious. In prior threads, I’ve been accused of wanting to label him “uppity” and not pretentious. Can’t a man of color be the pretentious without being uppity? I’d like to think so.

NYU is not Ivy.

I think Glover is a jerk for revealing this info. Tina did nothing wrong. I bet Tina had more of a climb to SNL head writer than Glover had in his career.

[Quote] I believe it's called The Casting Couch.

R73, says who?

R74

Tina once said she'd had a reasonably easy time in entertainment compared to minorities. "I was a white girl."

R77, I was comparing Tina to Donald Glover not to minorities in general.

“Do you treat me differently because I’m a woman?”

“Well, I pay you a little bit less, yes.”

30 Rock was amazing.

All I know is that I still want to fuck him.

R35 That is NOT what gaslighting means. I am so tired of commoners repeatedly using a word they're too dumb to understand just because they've seen others use it.

Hot Take: NYU is not that impressive. It's a school for fake bitches who overpaid for B+ prestige and who leave with a chip on their shoulder about not being Ivy League. Tina & Glover are talented enough, but they are also overhyped, overrated, and not particularly warm. The awards success has long gone to their heads and they think they're god's gift to comedy.

He was hotter on Community before he became a dad and showed off his fat torso in that slave dance music video. Glover has Emmys, Golden Globes, and Grammys. Now he's working with nepo baby Malia. They'll be no getting rid of him. After leaving Community to make Atlanta (which sucked after S2), Glover started taking himself too seriously and is continuing to lean into "what blackness means to me" programming as a shorthand for gravitas to collect more awards. It's all so transparent.

[Quote] He was hotter on Community before he became a dad and showed off his fat torso in that slave dance music video. Glover has Emmys, Golden Globes, and Grammys. Now he's working with nepo baby Malia. They'll be no getting rid of him. After leaving Community to make Atlanta (which sucked after S2), Glover started taking himself too seriously and is continuing to lean into "what blackness means to me" programming as a shorthand for gravitas to collect more awards. It's all so transparent.

Fat torso? What the fuck are you talking about? You sound really bitter.

R82 Doesn't have eyes. Glover shirtless on Community compared to the This is America music video is quite noticeable. Since becoming a dad he's gained weight. That plus the smug attitude is off-putting.

R83 no, i'm just not a superficial dick like you are.

People are editorializing. He's just saying what happened and he makes a point that there's no animosity between himself and Tina.

Nobody needs to get their panties in a bunch about this by projecting guilt, racism, or whatever else they can think of onto this situation.

r80 I think he's a bit of asshole yet I still let him fuck me long time. One thing Donald Glover and Tina Fey share in common is how overrated they are!

Who cares if he's a diversity hire. He took an opportunity and made a career for himself. If being gay opened a door for me I'd be grateful and shut the fuck up about it.

I've never seen him act smug

Donald Glover is a transphobe who thinks trans are mentally ill sociopaths who murder people. Shame on his TERF ass.

He’s an untalented little shit-stirrer. He loves screaming racism at everything.

[quote] “I went to school with white people who had less talent than me—because I’m talented as ****—and they’re doing way better than me. I went to N.Y.U. with Lady Gaga. Now, CBS ran Grammys ads this week, and I’m one of the hotter acts, and they had a visual of the performers on the show: Lady Gaga, Pink, and me. Only they showed some black kid from a fan video—it’s not even me. I was, like, **** this, **** them, I’m not going to do the show!” After a moment, he added, quietly, “The sad thing is I’m going to do it, because black people don’t get that chance very often.”

He stole that “This Is America” song, too. It’s a direct rip-off” American Pharaoh” by Kidd Wes. He gave no credit. Can’t stand him.

Here’s the song he ripped-off.

Now listen to his.

It’s the same fucking song.

Sorry, the song he stole was by Jase Harley.

[quote] I’m fine with it. I don’t really like people that much. People accept me now because I have power, but they still think, Oh, he thinks he’s the golden flower of the black community, thinks he’s so different.” He laughed. “But I am, though! I feel like Jesus. I do feel chosen. My struggle is to use my humanity to create a classic work—but I don’t know if humanity is worth it, or if we’re going to make it. I don’t know if there’s much time left.

Can you believe this asshole? He sounds as nuts as Kanye West.

[quote] Who cares if he's a diversity hire.

Sensible people who believe in hiring according to talent and not according to prevailing racist policies.

Mindy Kaling is another one who isn’t funny.

R89 did you forget where you are?

R96 I liked Mindy on The Office but wasn't impressed with the other shows she's made. Mindy also seems to have a habit of putting her foot in her mouth.

He wrote one of the funniest things I have ever seen: 'Werewolf Bar-Mitzvah'.

Usually scripts have multiple writers with one getting credit. Sorry, but the guy ain’t funny nor talented.

[quote]The sad thing is I’m going to do it, because black people don’t get that chance very often.”

Black people aren’t recognized by the music industry? Really?

"diversity hires" are more common than ever. Pretty much every movie and show right now has a minority in a key role.