Shonda Rhimes Gave A Powerful Speech On The Importance Of Diversity In TV
“It’s not trailblazing to write the world as it actually is.”
This past Saturday, Shonda Rhimes, the creator of a lot of your favorite shows, attended the Producers Guild Awards in LA and made some enlightening comments about diversity in television.
During her acceptance speech, Shonda stated, "It's not trailblazing to write the world as it actually is" — driving home the sentiment that content creators are not diversifying their stories and casts enough.
Jason Kempin / Getty Images
Rhimes talked about the main reason she wants her shows to be inclusive: She creates content that she wants to see, and what she knows to be normal.
During her speech, Shonda also talked about Norman Lear, the producer her award is named after. "[Writing about] strong women and three dimensional people of color is something Norman was doing 40 something years ago. So how come it has to be done all over again?" she sad.
Kevin Winter / Getty Images
And finally, Shonda jokingly weighed in on her own experience with being a showrunner and getting great actors of color on her shows.
"I have, against no odds, courageously pioneered the art of writing for people of color as if they were human beings," she said. "I've bravely gone around just casting parts for actors who were the best ones. I fearlessly faced down ABC when they completely agreed with me that Olivia Pope should be black."
Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images
"See, the thing about all this trailblazing that everyone says I've been doing, it's not like I did things and then the studio or the network gasped with horror and fought me. It was 2004," Rhimes added.
Mark Davis / Getty Images