Black Girl Magic: Christian actress Yvonne Orji is a first-time Emmy nominee, and we love to see it

Awards Shows

Jul 29

Article By Rebecca Johnson // EEW Magazine Online // Entertainment

Christian actress Yvonne Orji is a first-time Emmy nominee, representing one of the whopping eight nominations for HBO’s hit show, Insecure. And we love to see her (and all of her Black Girl Magic) getting the recognition she deserves.

The 36-year-old actress, who learned Tuesday of her supporting comedy actress nod for her role as Molly Carter, told The Hollywood Reporter what happened the moment she saw her name listed online. “I don't know what happened. I just blacked out,” she said.

Orji told E! News, “I started screaming, then I started dancing, and then everything went blank.”

Since the big news went public, fans have been congratulating the Nigerian comedian and co-host of the Jesus & Jollof podcast nonstop. And while Orji has been soaking up all the love and reveling in the joy of this moment, she didn’t forget to say thank you to the woman who put her on: Issa Rae, the creator of the show.

“Issa called me and I kept saying, ‘This is your vision, your vision did this,’” shared Orji. “And then I thanked her, I was like, ‘Thank you for seeing something in me like five years ago to get to this moment.’ And she was like, ‘Girl, you're not about to cry.’ And I was like, ‘I am about to cry!’”

Issa Rae (left) and Yvonne Orji in "Insecure." (Merie Weismiller Wallace / Associated Press)

Those tears of joy came less than two weeks after the award-nominated entertainer, who is vocal about her faith in Jesus Christ, transparently shared with her social media followers that she had momentarily lost her joy. “Woke up this morning and wasn’t feeling it. Watched a sermon, and still wasn’t feeling it. Laid in bed scrolling online, and didn’t feel it then either,” she said.

“Finally decided to get up and said to myself, ‘something good will happen to me today.’ Showered, got cute, and bumped the essential Kirk Franklin playlist. That’s when I felt it: JOY.”

She had no idea that “something good” (like Emmys good!) was waiting for her soon after that.

Now that the big news is out, Orji is looking forward to the ceremony which may have to be scaled back, meaning doing away with the red carpet fanfare, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“I'm actually sad about that because this is the year that you want to stunt, when you get your first nomination you want to be like, ‘This is my best Emmy nominated outfit. You all see it?’” she told E!

Whatever the case, Orji has something special up her sleeve. “I'm Nigerian. We are queens and kings of extra-dom,” she said. “So it's possible that I may get dressed up and have a red carpet brought in, and that could be what I do.”

The whole cast of Insecure has something to celebrate, as the quirky comedy has been nominated for Best Comedy Series. See the full list of 2020 Emmy nominations here.