Zainab Johnson’s 'Hijabs Off' comedy special aims for authenticity and laughs

LOS ANGELES — If Zainab Johnson hadn’t been standing in the mirror at the Hollywood Improv there would’ve been no other Black female comedians on the wall.

Johnson stood on a box looking into a mirror during a recent photo shoot, alternating between serious vogue looks, smiling and posing just so — she truly looks like a model — with praise from her team as they looked on. Her reflection gave the optical illusion that her face was one of the famous stand-up comics the club proudly endorsed like George Carlin, Jay Leno, Sarah Silverman and Chris Rock. But none of the iconic stand-ups mounted in the halls of the famous club on Melrose Avenue looked like Johnson or had life experiences that were anything like hers.

But she hopes to have her name and face recognized among comedy legends someday soon.

“You can’t have a conversation without mentioning certain comedians, and I want to make sure that when you have a conversation about comedy in this era, that you have to mention Zainab Johnson,” she said.

Johnson sees her Amazon Prime Video comedy special “Hijabs Off” as an opportunity to show viewers and her fellow stand-up comedians who and what she is all about.

Johnson plays Aleesha Morrison in the science fiction comedy television series “Upload,”