Key Takeaways
- Tracee Ellis Ross says that at the height of Girlfriends’ success, she and co-stars Golden Brooks, Persia White, and Jill Marie Jones were shut out of major platforms like The Tonight Show, David Letterman, and the Emmys.
- Ross recalls Jay Leno’s team saying, “We love Tracee. Call us when she gets something,” and questions what more she needed when Girlfriends out-rated shows like Tony Shalhoub’s Monk that still landed late-night spots.
- Unable to explain the disparity in ratings, Ross wonders if it was “just racism,” even as Girlfriends earned dozens of NAACP Image Award nominations and continues to shadow her career, including her recent Broadway turn in Every Brilliant Thing, supported by former castmates.
Tracee Ellis Ross is looking back at the success of Girlfriends—and questioning why that success still wasn't enough to get her through the doors of late-night television.
During a recent appearance on Trevor Noah's What Now? podcast, Ross recalled how she and co-stars Golden Brooks, Persia White, and Jill Marie Jones were largely shut out of Hollywood's biggest platforms while Girlfriends was on the air. One snub in particular still stands out: Jay Leno's Tonight Show.
"No Tonight Show, no David Letterman, no Emmys. Had never been to the Emmys," Ross told 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.'"
That response left Ross with an obvious question: What exactly was she supposed to "get"?
"I remember thinking, 'Get what? What else do you have to get?'" she said. Ross was already starring as Joan Clayton on a successful network sitcom, yet she watched performers from shows with smaller audiences land the promotional opportunities that Girlfriends couldn't. She specifically pointed to Tony Shalhoub's Monk, claiming the series had "a quarter of our viewership."
"And I remember seeing him on the show, and I was so confused," Ross continued. "And I was like, 'I don't understand. Is it viewership?'"
With ratings seemingly unable to explain the difference, Ross said she was left questioning what did: "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."
Created by Mara Brock Akil, Girlfriends ran for eight seasons from 2000 to 2008, first on UPN and later The CW. Ross anchored the series alongside Brooks, White, and Jones as four Black women navigating careers, relationships, marriage, and friendship.
The show earned 29 NAACP Image Award nominations, while Ross won Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series during its run.
Still, Ross said she didn't attend the Emmys until years later, when Black-ish was nominated.
Her comments arrive as Girlfriends continues to follow Ross into new chapters of her career. Earlier this summer, White and other members of the show's extended family reunited to support Ross during her Broadway debut in Every Brilliant Thing.
White praised her former co-star's "mind-blowing performance," calling the experience of watching someone she loves command a Broadway stage a "brilliant thing" of its own.
