And on the seventh day, God said, "Let there be Issa Rae and Yvonne Orji." The Insecure [1] stars are truly a gift to this Earth, showing us what true friendship is all about, both when they're in character as Issa Dee and Molly Carter (in seasons one through three, at least) and when the cameras stop rolling. Sometimes you never really know if actors who play BFFs on a TV show are actually close in real life, but in the case of Issa and Yvonne, I'm delighted to report that they absolutely are.
Their IRL relationship dates back to 2012, when Yvonne moved to Los Angeles and first began crossing paths with Issa at various events around town. "We were just two Black girls in LA who appreciated each other as content creators," Yvonne told Hot 97 during an interview back in 2017 [2], noting that she was mostly doing standup comedy at the time. When Yvonne auditioned for Molly's role on Insecure, Issa decided to give her a chance, despite the fact that Yvonne had no agent or prior acting experience, because she was impressed by Yvonne's work on a series she produced called FirstGen [3].
Four seasons of Insecure later, Issa and Yvonne are practically family. "Issa's the dopest person in the world. We're the perfect ying to yang . . . she's an easy person to love," Yvonne gushed on Jemele Hill's podcast earlier this year [4]. They support each other's careers, celebrate birthdays together, stunt on the red carpet, and are pretty much always cracking jokes. In honour of Yvonne and Issa's friendship, I'm taking a look back at all the footage of them doing what they do best: serving up serious friendship goals. Here's to hoping Issa and Molly patch things up and figure out their sh*t in season five of Insecure [5], because we need more onscreen moments with these two.
Would it be weird to frame this photo of them in coordinating sparkly outfits? Asking for a friend.
They're always sharing laughs, and I love them for that.
They literally invented candid red carpet photos.
I meannnn, could they possibly be any more beautiful?
Phew, the beauty jumped out!
OK, let's be real: the beauty is always jumping out with these two.
The things I'd pay to know what Jay Ellis was saying when this photo was snapped . . .
Man, I wish I were on that stage with them.
Here's even more evidence of their expertise in truly candid pictures that aren't cheesy.
Can I photoshop myself into this pic, or . . . ?
This right here is the look of love.
Find someone who looks at you the way these two look at each other.
Please enjoy this sequence of them seeing each other on the red carpet. First they scope out their dresses . . .
. . . then they share a hug . . .
. . . then they pose together for the cameras looking like absolute queens.
What a beautiful trio.