LOS ANGELES _ Tiffany Haddish arrived backstage resplendent in a custom-made rainbow-striped dress inspired by the colors of the Eritrean flag, an homage to her late father's heritage. ("This is the only one that's out there right now," she said. "This is an original.")
"Hi everybody," she greeted the crowd of journalists.
Haddish was announced as the winner of the guest actress in a comedy series award last week at the Creative Arts Emmys for her "Saturday Night Live" hosting gig.
"It was hard to believe that you were actually the first African American woman to host 'SNL ... '" one reporter began.
"I wasn't the first African American woman, I was the first African American female stand-up comedian," Haddish corrected.
The reporter continued by suggesting the hosting gig was responsible for Haddish's quick ascent to stardom.
"Girl, my career had took off when I got onstage for the first time," Haddish said, politely but firmly. "I knew I was going to be something, I just didn't know how long it was going to take. And it's been almost 20 years."
However, she admitted that it was difficult finding a role model to glean advice from regarding her "SNL" hosting job.
"I was doing my research when I found out they wanted me to host and I wanted to ask advice from other women who've done it," she said. "I was looking for female comics who've done it that I could relate to and I couldn't find any. I even called Whoopi Goldberg and was like 'OK, so tell me what it's like.' She was like, '... You the first.' I was like, 'What?'"
It was also difficult adjusting to the pace of "SNL," Haddish admitted. Though she'd come prepared with ideas, "this is a machine that's been happening and I had to, like, let go and let them guide me," she said. "I just made sure my monologue was on point because I'm a stand-up comedian first and I just needed to make sure that was the main thing. And I did that."
Haddish was also asked about this year's record-breaking diversity among her fellow nominees and whether she had ideas for how progress could be furthered.
"Girl no, I don't know how to do that," she said. "I didn't go to college for that ... If you was asking me how to structure a joke, I could help you with that part. But what you talking about right now, I don't know. I don't know. All I know is how to do my job. That's somebody else's job, I don't know how to do that."
