Maya Rudolph Wants People To Stop Bringing Up The 'Tragedy' Of​ Losing Her Mom In Interviews

“My whole career, people have always brought up my mom, which is wonderful. But then they also bring up the tragedy of losing my mother when I was little,” she said.

“And they ask me how old I was when she died. The other day, I said, ‘Why the fuck are we still doing this?’ First of all, if you know me and you know who I am, you already have that information. And the second thing is, who wants to be asked about their childhood trauma every time they talk about their career? I’m 52 years old, and I have survived my childhood trauma.”

With it being such a sad moment in her life, Maya doesn't understand the need to always talk about it in interviews and often wonders whether she should even answer the question. “I answer the question and then afterwards, I’m like, ‘Why the fuck did I do that again?’” she said.

“Maybe this is the day where we just go, like, ‘You can stop asking.’ It just makes a sad story. But we’re talking about great things, yeah, and humans are capable of so much more than one thing. But for whatever reason, people want to really focus on the sadness, and I’m like, ‘I good.’”

At 52, Maya has become more, in the words of Beyoncé (whom Maya frequently portrays on SNL), comfortable in her skin. Meaning she has no problem speaking up for herself when it comes to intrusive questions.

“I am a polite person, and I care about how I treat other people, obviously. And I try not to ruffle feathers. I like to be respectful," she said.

"But at a certain point, you have to stand up for yourself. It took me a long time to get to feeling more comfortable in this space, but I’m in it now.”

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