Abbott Elementary star Janelle James gave Chris Rock his flowers during a Nov. 20 appearance on Vulture’s Good One podcast with Jesse David Fox. Reflecting on her climb through Brooklyn’s alt-comedy scene in the mid-2000s, James, 46, credited Rock with supporting her early on with a life-changing makeover, when she was still struggling to make ends meet.
RELATED CONTENT: Quinta Brunson Makes History At 2023 Emmys, Chatter Swirls About Her ‘Wrinkled’ Dress
Around the 40:20 mark of the interview, James recalled how Rock offered her the chance to tour with him after seeing her perform at The Comedy Cellar in New York City. At the time, money was tight, and she later joined the Saturday Night Live alum on his Total Blackout tour in 2017. When the shows kicked off, James said her boots were “dusty,” and the cardigan she wore was something she had “wore to threads.”
“My clothes were ratty,” she told Fox.
James explained that she had grown “used to looking bad” as a way to avoid unwanted attention as a female comedian, noting that wearing mini skirts early in her career often led to certain “remarks.” For a period of time, she admitted, she “forgot who I was.”
During the tour’s first leg in the South, the One of Them Days actress noticed Rock staring at her worn-out boots. Not long after, she received a message from Rock’s assistant inviting her to fly to Los Angeles to get “glammed up.”
“I didn’t take it any kind of way,” she said. “I was like, ‘This is amazing.’ Like Pretty Woman or whatever.”
Much like the 1990 rom-com, James was presented with racks of luxury clothing to choose from, items she said she had “never even seen things that expensive” before. Though she felt proud showing off her new look to Rock, she appreciated that he never directly addressed the gesture.
“He didn’t say anything, which I appreciate,” she said of the once-in-a-lifetime makeover experience. “He wasn’t like, ‘See what I’ve done for you?’ He just looked at me. He said, ‘You’re doing well for yourself.’ That’s what he said. And then we continued on with the tour.”
James has continued to do exactly that. In 2021, she landed her breakout role as fan-favorite Principal Ava Coleman on Abbott Elementary, which is currently in its fifth season. James told Fox earlier on the Good One podcast that she knew the show would be a hit “immediately” after she read the script during the auditioning process.
“I knew! I remember, I told my agent, I said, ‘You know, even if I don’t get this, it’s going to go.’ I was like, ‘This is good.’ I knew it would at least make it to pilot, and then if they made a good pilot, it would go.” The comedy icon added, “The script is good. I remember reading it and being like, ‘You know how hard it is to make somebody laugh out loud from the written word?”’
RELATED CONTENT: Donald Glover Compliments Quinta Brunson On Abbott Elementary Success: ‘I Was So Jealous’
