Issa Rae Says Dancing on the 'Barbie' Movie Was Her "Worst Nightmare"

She wishes she could dance the memory away...

Issa Rae attends the World Premiere of "Barbie" at Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall on July 09, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Issa Rae loved filming the Barbie movie—but definitely NOT every aspect of it.

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actress admitted that she high-key loathed being made to dance along to Dua Lipa's "Dance the Night," which was a scene in the film when all the different Barbies (plus Michael Cera, LOL) shook their booties to the catchy pop song.

"Dancing to it was my worst nightmare," Rae said, not being dramatic at all (relatable).

"It was the worst day of my life. It was the best day of my life being on that set. It was exciting, and then literally the first day, I had to learn the choreography to shoot the [following] day. And it was terrible."

She continued, "We also didn’t have the lyrics to the song. Greta was like, 'Oh, it’s going to be a Dua Lipa song.' But all we had was the instrumental, so I was just like, 'What the f*** is this? What am I dancing to?' And for that, I want 'Barbie World' to win because I didn’t have to dance to that."

In the interview, Rae, along with Rap Sh!t stars KaMillion and Aida Osman, were asked to issue their Grammy predictions. Her admission about dancing came after she was asked to predict the winner for best song written for visual media.

In the Barbie movie, Rae portrayed President Barbie, a name which she previously told The View has stuck, as people on the street now call her that when they spot her. "I didn’t know how much that would mean to me. I’m like, 'Oh, salute, yes!'" she said (via THR). So cute.

Iris Goldsztajn
Morning Editor

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.