Donald Glover revealed that Tina Fey had told him he was a “diversity hire” on 30 Rock after he a job writing for the show back in 2006
The actor and rapper – also known as Childish Gambino – discussed the incident in an interview with GQ on Tuesday.
Donald Glover Says Tina Fey Told Him He Was A “Diversity Hire” On 30 Rock
But even after getting the writing job, which he got when he was still a resident assistant in Goddard and living in a New York City dorm, he says he always felt like an outsider.
“It definitely didn’t feel like I was supposed to be there,” he told GQ. “I used to have stress dreams every night where I was doing cartwheels on the top of a New York skyscraper with the other writers watching me.”
He later learned that he was actually only brought on as a diversity hire, a fact that series creator and actress Tina Fey confirmed to him, although he says he doesn’t harbor any animosity towards her.
Introducing GQ’s second Global Creativity Awards cover star, @DonaldGlover https://t.co/M4OXLye0cq #GQCreativityAwards pic.twitter.com/M3HATZ6k4C
— GQ Magazine (@GQMagazine) April 4, 2023
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“No Animosity Between Us Or Anything Like That” Glover Says
He went on to say that the job was up for both him and Kenya Barris, adding “I didn’t know it was between me and him until later.”
“There is no animosity between us or anything like that, but [Tina Fey] said it herself… It was a diversity thing,” he said. “The last two people who were fighting for the job were me and Kenya Barris. I didn’t know it was between me and him until later. He hit me one day and he was like, ‘I hated you for years!’”
Glover has since gone on to much success and critical acclaim in his own right and even debuted his latest series, Swarm, last month.
The program, co-created by Glover and Atlanta writer Janine Nabers for Amazon Prime Video, also includes the acting debut of pop icon Billie Eilish.
Glover even created and realized an EP of music as a part of the horror series.
