Porsha Williams is all about her coins. The reality star of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” recently secured an acting role on the fictional “Insecure” true-crime show “Looking for LaToya.”
The season finale of the HBO comedy drama premiered last Sunday. Folks who watch the show know “Looking for LaToya” is the true-crime series within the show about a young Black woman named LaToya Thompson who vanished without a trace. Viewers never found out what happened to LaToya, so “Insecure” dropped a “Looking for LaToya” podcast to investigate her story.
Singer SZA played the role of LaToya, while “RHOA” star Kandi Burruss and actor Carl Payne portrayed her parents. Ray J starred as her boyfriend, and Porsha played her best friend Tasha. Actress Terri J. Vaugh played Rose Cranberry, an investigative reporter following the case. In the latest episode, viewers found out that LaToya was never missing and was actually working as the first Black Ariel on a Disney Cruise.
In the scene, Porsha’s character was hurt that her best friend did not contact her. “But why you didn’t call me? Hello!” she said at the 1:24 mark. Her bestie apologized, explaining that she needed some space. Fans were impressed with Porsha’s portrayal. One user wrote: “Girl you can act! I thought Kandi was the actress? 👀,” followed by another that said, “You a star ⭐️ 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾.”
Issa Rae, the creator of “Insecure,” revealed in an interview with Entertainment Tonight that other true-crime podcasts inspired “Looking for LaToya.” Issa explained that she was obsessed with “To Live and Die in L.A,” a podcast produced by Tenderfoot TV that illustrated the media and law enforcement’s blind spots pertaining to missing Black people.
“One of the things a lot of these true-crime podcasts and true-crime shows in general have in common is that they’re always looking for missing white girls,” she said. “[This exposes] the idea that none of these are centered around black girls, and what it would look like if it were. And finding the dark humor in that,” she concluded.
Issa’s label Raedio teamed up with HBO and Tenderfoot TV to produce “Looking for LaToya.” The one-episode scripted series aired on podcast streaming services on June 12.
