Janelle James may be known as the super stylish principal on “Abbott Elementary,” but in real life, she wasn’t always the most fashionable. However, that all changed after a comedy tour with Chris Rock and a quiet good deed he did towards her years ago.
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Sitting down for a new interview for Vulture’s “Good One” podcast, James revealed that in 2017, she accompanied Rock on his “Total Blackout” tour. While on different stops, she intentionally wore “dusty” boots and a cardigan that had been worn “to threads.” Why…? To ward off any unwanted attention as a woman comedian as she’d learn early on that dressing in shorter pieces of clothing often led to her receiving certain “remarks.”
As a remedy, she dressed not as cute — or at least that was the case until Rock noticed her attire and decided to step in discreetly. After noticing her boots, his assistant reached out and invited her to come to Los Angeles where she was subsequently “glammed up.” Once she arrived, she experienced a “Pretty Woman”-like ordeal as racks and racks of more expensive (probably better quality) clothes were brought out for her to pick from.
When asked her thoughts about Rock’s gesture, James explained that she didn’t feel any type of way about it and instead was grateful that the “Spiral” star didn’t hold it over her head afterwards.
“I didn’t take it any kind of way,” she said. “I was like, ‘This is amazing.’ Like ‘Pretty Woman’ or whatever.”
She continued: “He didn’t say anything, which I appreciate. 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.”
Fast forward so many years later, and not only has James done well for herself–she’s garnered Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG, and more nominations. Recently, she took home the received the Comedy Award for her work on “Abbott” at the Celebration of Black Cinema and Television.
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