Social media reacts after Amanda Seales “Club Shay Shay” interview goes viral

The actress spoke openly about Issa Rae, her autism diagnosis, and more.

On Wednesday (April 24), Shannon Sharpe premiered the latest episode of “Club Shay Shay” with Amanda Seales. During the discussion, the actress was more than candid about a variety of topics, including experiencing racism as a child, her short stint as a member of Floetry, issues with Candace Owens, and much more.

One of the biggest highlights from the episode came when Sharpe brought up Issa Rae, who worked with Seales on the hit show “Insecure.” “She wasn’t empowering to me. She didn’t feel like I deserved to be protected,” Seales said, reflecting on their rumored conflict during the series’ production. “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.” Seales also spoke on her apparent beef with Rae’s publicist, Vanessa Anderson, and an unfortunate moment that saw her kicked out of an Emmy Awards party in 2019.

Amanda Seales joins Shannon Sharpe at Club Shay Shay for a conversation full of raw honesty about her life, career, and personal journey. Opening up about her Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis, Amanda discusses the challenges she’s faced due to misconceptions about her personality, emphasizing her literalness and the difficulties it can create in social interactions. Reflecting on her upbringing, Amanda credits her supportive mother for accepting her and providing a strong foundation, despite societal norms. Then, Amanda shares her childhood memories of working for Disney and Nickelodeon, explaining how her experiences were unlike those depicted on the documentary All Quiet on Set, despite facing racism from other children. Amanda opens up about the complexities of navigating academia, like how she almost faced expulsion based on the accusations of another student which forced her to create her own major. Amanda comments on the growing number of hip-hop beefs, how they are good for the genre if they force performers to elevate their music, and says Nas won his beef vs Jay-Z. Amanda remarks on why her time with Floetry wasn’t always the smoothest which is punctuated by her being aired out on the Wendy Williams Show. 1:33:41 Amanda recounts how she got her start in radio as a result of her poetry, having her first interview while working for Sirius be of OutKast, and how industry politics involving Jay-Z and Pusha T ultimately got her fired from Sirius. 1:48:06 Continuing on the subject of industry politics, Amanda shares the time she was kicked out of the Black Emmy’s party because Issa Rae’s publicist wanted her gone, which led to a scuffle and confusion. Amanda goes further into the tumultuous relationship she’s had with Issa Rae’s publicist over the years and how it’s spilled over into her work on Insecure, which created a work environment that ultimately has led Amanda to disagree with Lil Rel’s opinion that Issa creates environments that empower women. Amanda also touches on other sets and productions like Bring the Funny, The Real, hosting the BET Awards during COVID, and working with Kevin Hart. 2:47:18 Amanda also discusses Queen Latifah coming to her defense, Candace Owens, Emmanuel Acho’s comments about Angel Reese, and how her expectations for dating differ drastically from Shannon’s.

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Elsewhere in the three-hour clip, Seales blasted sports commentator Emmanuel Acho, who used to be Sharpe’s colleague at FS1 before his departure from “Undisputed.” Acho recently made headlines for his criticism of former college hoops star Angel Reese. “She is a young person! Do you know how disgusting that is? That cornball… who loves to make himself look like he’s the white people’s savior,” Seales stated in response. “Cut it out! It’s ridiculous.”

Seales’ interview sparked plenty of discourse on social media, with many defending the Cali talent for not holding her tongue about her truths. “Is Amanda Seales really that problematic or is she just direct, educated, and informed, therefore intimidating to the average mind in an industry hell-bent on silencing those kinds of people?” asked Twitter user milepierre. Another user, LRNROSE, was more critical. “Amanda Seales does stand 10 toes down,” she wrote. “[With] that being said, in what world does someone who refuses to play the game [get] invited [with] open arms?”

Check out some other responses to the exchange below.