Lena Waithe Feels 'So Free' and 'Joyful' After Cutting Hair

Emmy-winning showrunner Letha Waithe, who was once known for her signature dreadlocks, explained why she chopped them off in a recent interview.

"I felt like I was holding onto a piece of femininity that would make the world feel comfortable with who I am," Waithe told VarietyThursdayon the red carpet. "I think I thought for a long time, 'Oh, if I cut my hair, I'll be a stud, I'll be--in the gay world, there's a lot of categories--I'll be a stud or I'll be a butch,' and I've always thought, 'Well, no, I'm not that, I'm still soft.' And I said, 'Oh, I gotta put that down 'cause that's something that's outside of me.'"

"I've gotten gayer, guys," she joked, adding that the haircut made her feel "so free and so happy and so joyful, and I really stepped into myself."

Waithe, whose film Queen & Slim starring Daniel Kaluuya is in preproduction, was named Artist of the Year byOut magazinein 2017. She now has first look deal with Showtime and series in development with HBO and Amazon.

"If people call me a butch or say 'she's stud' or call me 'sir' out in the world -- so what? So be it. I'm here with a suit on, not a stitch of makeup, and a haircut -- I feel like, 'Why can't I exist in the world in that way?'" concluded Waithe.