'Insecure' star Christina Elmore was 'shocked' by fans' reaction to Condola's choice to keep her baby and says it showed 'inherent misogyny'
- The latest episode of "Insecure" focused solely on Condola and Lawrence as they navigate parenthood.
- Insider spoke with Christina Elmore about the reaction to her character's surprise pregnancy.
It's no secret that when Condola revealed she was pregnant with Lawrence's baby last season on "Insecure," fans desperate to see him rekindle his relationship with Issa were very upset.
"Insecure" star Christina Elmore, who plays the character, said some fans' opinionated views of her character is a form of "misogyny."
"I was very shocked by some fans' reaction to Condola fighting to keep her pregnancy and to have a baby," Elmore said during a recent interview with Insider.
"It felt like people weren't mad at Lawrence at all. So then that means that you're not mad that there was a pregnancy, because if you were, then you need to be mad at both of them," she added. "It took two people to make a baby."
Condola was first introduced in season three as Issa's (Issa Rae) friend and potential business partner. She later became Lawrence's (Jay Ellis) brief love interest in season four, using the relationship to get over her recent divorce.
Many fans of the show were stunned in the season four finale when Condola told Lawrence she was pregnant with his child and wanted to keep the baby, throwing a wrench into Issa and Lawrence's recently renewed relationship. Lawrence was also shocked by the news that he was going to be a father, especially since he had just landed a dream job in San Francisco.
Elmore, who said she's "Team Issa and Lawrence all day," knew fans would be disappointed by the pregnancy and its effect on the main characters' relationship. But she was taken aback by the heat directed to Condola alone.
"I was just so surprised about the inherent misogyny in being mad at a woman who did not cheat, who did not, in any way, violate Issa or Lawrence's relationships," Elmore said. "She was very honest about the whole thing."
Elmore was bewildered by the lack of support for Condola's choice to have the baby rather than having an abortion, saying viewers would have been mad to see that storyline play out too.
"It says women are damned if they do and damned if they don't," Elmore said. "I think that anytime someone has sex they need to realize that it could lead to a baby."
When asked if Condola and Lawrence should have talked about what their choice would be if an accidental pregnancy happened prior to actually having sex, Elmore said that conversation would have happened in a "perfect world."
"It rarely happens," Elmore added. "When we find ourselves in a situation where there is a pregnancy and one partner feels one way and the other feels another way ... I lean towards 'It's Condola's body. It is her choice.'"
For more on the layers of Condola's character this season, read our deeper dive with Elmore into the newest episode that focuses on co-parenting gone wrong.
"Insecure" season five will continue with new episodes each Sunday on HBO at 10 p.m. ET.