“As an ex-stand up, I can tell you that a comedy club isn't a place you go looking to get the abuse you just can't seem to find in daily life. The stage is a performer's domain. You protect that domain. You are not on stage to take what's given just 'cause you're getting paid. If you are attacked, you retaliate.”

American screenwriter, television director, novelist, and showrunner

John Ridley is an American screenwriter, television director, novelist, and showrunner. He is known for writing 12 Years a Slave, which won him the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and for creating and running the anthology series American Crime. Ridley has worked across film and television as both a writer and director. He directed the documentary Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982 to 1992 in 2017, and his work is closely associated with drama rooted in history, race, and American life.