Overview
- Tracee Ellis Ross told Trevor Noah she was once told by Jay Leno’s team, “We love Tracee. Call us when she gets something,” a remark she shared as a memory from the Girlfriends years.
- Ross said Girlfriends and its cast routinely missed invitations to high‑profile platforms, noting they did not appear on The Tonight Show or David Letterman and had never attended the Emmys during the series run.
- She contrasted Girlfriends’ audience and cultural impact with shows that received late‑night bookings, specifically naming Tony Shalhoub’s Monk as an example that puzzled her.
- Multiple outlets published Ross’s podcast remarks and Page Six reported it contacted Leno’s representative for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
- Girlfriends ran from 2000 to 2008, earned numerous NAACP Image Award nominations and one Emmy nod, and Ross later won broader mainstream recognition with Black‑ish and consecutive Emmy nominations, a shift that has deepened discussion about historical industry gatekeeping.