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Tracee Ellis Ross is revisiting one of the most frustrating contradictions of her Girlfriends<\/em> years. She was leading a long-running network sitcom, yet says she still could not get booked on some of television\u2019s biggest late-night shows.<\/p>\n During an Aug. 13 appearance on Trevor Noah\u2019s What Now?<\/em> podcast, Ross recalled receiving no invitations from The Tonight Show<\/em> during Jay Leno\u2019s tenure or from David Letterman\u2019s show while she starred as Joan Clayton. As Page Six reported<\/a>, she remembered the response from the Leno-era show as, \u201cWe love Tracee. Call us when she gets something.\u201d<\/p>\n Her reaction decades later remains essentially the same: What else was she supposed to get? Girlfriends<\/em> ran for eight seasons from 2000 to 2008, yet Ross says its longevity and audience did not translate into the mainstream late-night and awards recognition she saw other television stars receiving.<\/p>\n Ross has told versions of the story before, but her latest retelling adds a pointed question. After recalling that Monk<\/em> star Tony Shalhoub appeared on Leno while Girlfriends<\/em> was being overlooked, Ross wondered aloud whether racism was behind the disparity.<\/p>\n Ross told Noah that the response made little sense to her while Girlfriends<\/em> was still on the air. She was already the lead of a primetime network comedy, yet the message she remembers receiving treated that accomplishment as insufficient.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a matter of fact, I have a story,\u201d Ross said. \u201cIt was Jay Leno, and I had Girlfriends<\/em>, and the comment was, \u2018We love Tracee. Call us when she gets something.\u2019\u201d Ross remembered wondering, \u201cGet what? What else do you have to get?\u201d<\/p>\nThe \u2018Tonight Show\u2019 Response Left Ross Asking What More She Needed<\/h2>\n