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Ashley Nicole Black Has a Big Flex for Body-Shamers
Why the politics of show business don’t apply to the breakout funny lady of ‘A Black Lady Sketch Show’
Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com.
You know that ultimate Swiss Army knife that has variety and usefulness you didn’t even realize you needed until you see it? That’s Ashley Nicole Black. Everything we love about women — bright, smart, beautiful — it all unfolds in one singular conversation with the California native. She’s an academic. (Black was well on her way to a PhD before she decided it wasn’t her path.) She’s politically astute. (She was a writer for Samantha Bee’s Full Frontal.) And on top of all that subtle, behind-the-scenes talent, she’s absolute comedic gold in front of the camera.
Her writing and performances on HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show are some of the best work you will find in sketch comedy. There are no pratfalls or caricatures here — more like women you know in real life, played to perfection. There’s “Annoying Woman,” a social media-obsessed woman who can’t see that she’s not nearly as important as she thinks she is. Her portrayal is so dead-on that it’s actually hard to watch. Then there’s her…
