Issa Rae turned an awards-stage honor into a call for purposeful action Wednesday, declaring that she is “never going to stop trying” to use her influence for the benefit of others despite feeling discouraged by turmoil in the entertainment industry and beyond.

The Emmy-nominated actress, writer, producer and entrepreneur received the Entertainment Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the L.A. Power of Women event in Beverly Hills. U.S. Bank senior executive vice president Courtney Kelso presented the award, praising Rae for putting “her own community here in L.A. front and center across her incredible ventures.”

Rae opened her acceptance speech with humor, admitting that she had not prepared anything inspirational. She said she had been distracted by events across the country, politics, climate disasters, the rise of artificial intelligence and an industry that was eating itself.

She then offered a blunt diagnosis that drew laughter from the room: “This is all men’s fault. Rich, white men to be specific.”

“It is hard to feel like a powerful woman when men keep fucking everything up,” Rae added.

But the creator, executive producer and star of HBO’s “Insecure,” which concluded its run in 2021, quickly moved beyond the joke. Rae acknowledged the emotional toll of confronting problems that can appear too large for any one person to change.

“It’s hard to feel inspired when you feel helpless and useless,” she said.

Rae explained that she frequently experiences those feelings as a writer. Her response has been to focus her attention on choices within her reach, from the collaborators around her to the people and stories she chooses to support.

“I can decide who I’m around, who I work with, who I champion, who I invest in, whose stories I tell, who I platform, who I respond to,” Rae said. “I can use the power I do have to pour into my little community to make sure whatever success I’m lucky enough to have doesn’t stop with me.”

That commitment, she made clear, does not disappear when the larger cultural or professional landscape leaves her exhausted or frustrated.

“Even when I’m tired, pissed off or deeply uninspired by what’s happening around me, I can honestly say that nothing can stop me from trying to figure out where I can be useful,” Rae said. “Because as discouraged as I may get, I’m never going to stop trying.”

She closed by broadening that message to everyone in the audience, urging people to identify the influence they already possess and put it to constructive use.

“Maybe that’s all any of us can do — is just figure out where we have some power and use it the fuck for good, please,” she said. “So that’s what I’m going to do. I hope you guys do too.”

A career spanning screens and production

Rae’s award recognized a body of work extending across acting, writing, producing and entrepreneurship. In addition to “Insecure,” her on-screen credits include Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” Cord Jefferson’s “American Fiction,” the “Black Mirror” episode “Hotel Reverie” and “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” which she also executive produced.

Her voice roles include Jessica Drew in Sony Pictures’ “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” and Angela in the HBO Max series “Young Love.”

Behind the camera, Rae worked as a producer on the 2023 film “Gray Matter” and executive produced the HBO Max series “Rap Sh!t.” She also produced “One of Them Days,” starring Keke Palmer and SZA.

What Happens Next?

Rae is set to write and executive produce a new HBO comedy pilot. The untitled project is described as a “male friendship show.”

For Rae, that next step arrives alongside the principle she emphasized in Beverly Hills: concentrating on the people she can support, the stories she can tell and the community into which she can direct her success.