Why Kerry Washington thinks the scandal would never have happened today

It originally appeared on E! online

Kerry Washington has an outrageous hot take.

While the scandal The star received critical acclaim for her groundbreaking portrayal of crisis manager Olivia Pope in the ABC political drama, the actress was blunt when asked if she thought the show would be made today.

“No,” Washington said during a panel at the Bloomberg Screentime conference on Oct. 10. “100 percent not. For so many reasons.”

When the series premiered in 2012, Washington was the first black woman to lead a network drama in 38 years, after Teresa Graves in Get Christie Love!which debuted on ABC in 1974, and only the third in American television history.

“I was thirty at the time, so it hadn’t happened in my life,” he said. Django Unchained pointed star “I hadn’t seen it, and everyone called it a risk. The studio thought it was a risk, the network thought it was a risk. Everyone was proud of ABC (and) Disney for taking that risk.”

“Shonda Rhimes he’s talked about it publicly,” Washington said scandal creator “When they first read the script, the executives said, ‘This is a great role for Connie Britton.’ And I love Connie, but the show is based on a real woman named Judy Smithwho is a black woman.”

She continued: “If it hadn’t been inspired by a real woman who is a black woman, then everyone would have said, ‘Let’s make her white.’ You didn’t have a choice to say that.”

Although Britton ultimately did not take on the role as Rhimes’ vision ultimately won over ABC, the Nashville alum has quite a connection to the series: Katie Lowes she worked as a nanny for her son Eyobwho is now 13 years old, before being cast in the role of Quinn Perkins.

“I was really upset when he got that little pilot,” Britton joked to E! News in 2014. “I think it was very selfish of him, I’ll be honest.”

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Describing the current TV climate as “risk averse,” she added: “I don’t know if it would have been greenlit with me, with a black woman at the center of it.”

The 47-year-old also noted that executives initially had a different actress in mind to take on her now-iconic role, for which she earned two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

“Shonda Rhimes he’s talked about it publicly,” Washington said scandal creator “When they first read the script, the executives said, ‘This is a great role for Connie Britton.’ And I love Connie, but the show is based on a real woman named Judy Smithwho is a black woman.”

She continued: “If it hadn’t been inspired by a real woman who is a black woman, then everyone would have said, ‘Let’s make her white.’ You didn’t have a choice to say that.”

Although Britton ultimately did not take on the role as Rhimes’ vision ultimately won over ABC, the Nashville alum has quite a connection to the series: Katie Lowes she worked as a nanny for her son Eyobwho is now 13 years old, before being cast in the role of Quinn Perkins.

“I was really upset when he got that little pilot,” Britton joked to E! News in 2014. “I think it was very selfish of him, I’ll be honest.”

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