Donald Glover claims Tina Fey said he was a 'diversity hire' for 30 Rock
Topics: US News, Entertainment, Film and TV, Music
Dominic Smithers
Featured Image Credit: Alamy/Andia/Maximum Film
Topics: US News, Entertainment, Film and TV, Music
Donald Glover says that Tina Fey told him he was a 'diversity hire' on 30 Rock.
The actor worked on the hit series back in 2006, landing what was his first writing job in the business while he was still a resident assistant at Goddard School.
Just 23 years old at the time, Glover says he never felt like he belonged there, working alongside some of the biggest names in comedy at the time.
In an interview with GQ, the musician recalled how he got the job, claiming it was in part down to the colour of his skin.
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He told the outlet: "It was a diversity thing. There is no animosity between us or anything like that, but [Tina Fey] said it herself.
“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 went on: "It definitely didn’t feel like I was supposed to be there.
“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.”
But he definitely belonged, and quickly impressed the show's stars, such as Tracy Morgan, who said that he was blown away by Glover's talent.
He said: "When I first read his writing during 30 Rock, I was like, ‘He’s got it'. The things he wrote for me made me very funny. He got me nominated… twice!"
In a previous New Yorker profile about him, Glover also broached his insecurities about working on the show.
He told the publication that he often wondered whether he had been hired because of his diversity.
While Fey told him that she admired his talent, she admitted that he had a point, because funds from NBC’s Diversity Initiative 'made him free'.
But as mentioned above, Glover has proven to be one of the most talented comedy writers and actors of his generation.
Since he got his break on 30 Rock, has gone on to write comedy/drama Atlanta, winning two Golden Globes and a couple of Emmys, as well as starring in hit sitcom Community.
And this is before you even dip a toe into his well of musical catalogue, which saw him perform under the pseudonym Childish Gambino, and release the likes of Awaken, My Love!, which was nominated for album of the year at the 2018 Grammys.
UNILAD has contacted Tina Fey's representatives for comment.