Jojo Gibbs is a part of history. 3

The first show in primetime TV, 4

where a queer black woman will be the protagonist. 5

Starring in Twenties on BET. 6

She is very stylish, or he, 7

or maybe that's a they, unclear. 8

It wasn't easy for her to get here. 9

And it's a far cry from her growing up in South Carolina, 10

where she said she had to come out to her mom twice. 11

First time I tried to come out to my mom, I was 19. 12

And I was on break, and I was at her house. 13

And I was watching True Life... 14

On MTV, I'm Coming Out. 15

And I thought it was a sign from God, 16

I was like this must be God telling me to come out. 17

'Cause all the parents on True Life 18

was just like seeming chill and cool with it. 19

(girl mumbles and cries on TV) 20

That was not the case for me. 21

I walked up the stairs. 22

Interrupted my mom while she was watching First 48, 23

and enjoying herself, 24

so not the best time to interrupt your mom. 25

I honestly couldn't bring myself to straight up say, 26

I think I'm X, Y, or Z. 27

I was like, "I don't think that I connect with men 28

the way I think I should." 29

And she was just like, "What?" 30

And my mom is 5'11", so she stood up on the bed, 31

and I was like, Oh, okay, you gonna get up, you standing up. 32

And she muted the TV, and I just remember thinking, 33

"It ain't worth it." 34

At that time, I had never ever dated a woman, 35

or even done that, I just knew I had feelings and... 36

I was like, "Girl, abort this mission, it is not the time. 37

You ain't even got a girlfriend to call to console you 38

after this or nothing. 39

You just need to go ahead..." 40

Just be alone in the dark. 41

Yes, like you're gonna have to deal with this yourself. 42

So I ended up being like, "You nevermind, nevermind. 43

I'm just gonna go back downstairs." 44

And she was like, "Okay." 45

And I left, and we just never talked about it again. 46

We just kind of swept it under the rug. 47

It's like my mom blacked it out, I think. 48

And I think I did too a little bit. 49

Seven years would pass 50

before Jojo mentioned it again, after moving to Los Angeles. 51

And I called her, and I was like, 52

"Look, this is what it is, this is how I feel." 53

And I just kept it real straightforward, 54

and it was emotional. 55

And eventually she was just like, "All right." 56

She was like, "You ain't gonna say nothing 57

to your grandma, is you?" 58

I'm like, "Girl, the whole point of me telling you, 59

is that I ain't gotta hide no more, that's the whole thing." 60

She being the amazing, incredible person 61

and mother that she is, got through her own hangups 62

around it, and was like, "I love you, regardless, 63

and I'm here for you and I support you." 64

What helped Jojo get through it 65

was stand up comedy. 66

I ain't no ugly (beep), I could get a man. 67

I ain't brought nobody home, come on now. 68

(crowd laughs) 69

You know what I'm saying? 70

It was just one of the many gigs 71

Jojo took including teaching and working at Gold's Gym 72

on her way to becoming an actress. 73

Fact, it was comedy that landed her on Lena Waithe's radar. 74

After Jojo and some friends started crowd-funding 75

for their comedic series, "No More Comics in LA". 76

I didn't have a manager or an agent, so I was like, 77

"You just gotta create the opportunity yourself." 78

♪ You a baby, stinky baby ♪ 79

And we took the rest of the money 80

and create these merchandise boxes with merch in them 81

and USB drives with our Sizzle, and our trailer, 82

and our why video, so people could understand 83

why we doing this, and we sent them out. 84

Lena got one of them, and liked what she saw. 85

She called Jojo and told her about a show 86

she wanted her to audition for. 87

I'm sick of running errands all day. 88

So you a writer on the show? 89

Nah, I'm a writer's PA. 90

Yeah, I mean, it's nothing but God from there. 91

Because they were auditioning not even during pilot season. 92

How closely does your real life track? 93

Very, very close actually. 94

In a lot of regards, I'm similar to Haddie 95

because I have those two friends, 96

that are like my best friend, Rashanda. 97

Jojo landed the lead role on Twenties. 98

The show follows Haddie, a writer's production assistant, 99

who desperately wants to become a writer on a popular show, 100

after she's thrown out of her apartment. 101

She definitely, Haddie, my character, 102

definitely represents a chapter in my life, for sure. 103

What's the worst thing about your 20's? 104

Definitely being broke. 105

I was broke, broke. 106

Like $1.15 sitting in the account broke. 107

But I'm gonna go get this hamburger doh, 108

and see if this card work. 109

That was the scariest part was, 110

learning that money is fluid 111

and that it comes and it goes 112

and that it's not worth stressing about. 113

And having to learn that, 114

you gotta humble yourself sometimes. 115

I very much so had to swallow my pride, multiple times, 116

and ask for help. 117

For anybody on the verge of being 20, 118

or if you're still a teenager, I will say... 119

Be malleable and... 120

be willing to learn, 121

and be willing to... 122

Move forward regardless of what the outcome is. 123

As that chapter for Jojo closes, 124

a new one opens. 125

On my way to my destiny, can I make it there? 126

Can I make it to my destiny? Okay please stop complaining 127

I'm getting you there, I'm-- 128

Along with it, more opportunities, 129

proving the stars are aligning, 130

to possibly produce the next big one. 131

For InsideEdition.com, I'm Stephanie Officer. 132

(chill jazzy music)