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Kerry Washington (aka… Olivia Pope) Power, Is It Real or Make Believe.

October 10, 2015 by  
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(ThyBlackMan.com) Kerry Washington (aka… Olivia Pope) is one of the most admired and hated women on network television today. How can she be both you may ask? Well as many of you know Kerry Washington plays the character Olivia Pope on the hit show Scandal.

Kerry Washington’s character Olivia Pope is a crisis management expert to politicians and power brokers who cleans up the mess of others. Many from the black community are upset because this woman that holds so much power is sleeping with the President of the United States who is also a married man.

In turn many from the black community are upset with Kerry Washington for playing such a role. They feel that she is selling out and making black women looking bad and unsavory. However, even with the negative publicity Kerry Washington has been nominated and won numerous awards for her popular character.

Critics have called Scandal outrageous and fast-paced filled kerry-washington-Olivia-Pope-Scandal-3-season-real-power-or-fake-2015unexpected twists and turns. The designer-dressed Pope, who has her own crisis-management firm, and her team of young “gladiators in suits” repair reputations and fix scandals, from kidnappings to murder. Pope is also the former mistress of President Fitzgerald Grant, or Fitz, a white married Republican played by Tony Goldwyn, which has caused controversy on and off the screen.

Scandal’s leading lady and heroine to some, Kerry Washington recently revealed in an interview that she wished Olivia Pope could just be seen as a powerful human being and not just a powerful woman of color. Well we wish it were that easy.

Regardless if you agree with the choices of Olivia Pope and the fact that Kerry Washington has chosen to play the character, one thing cannot be denied. Olivia Pope’s character has changed the game for black women on television. Kerry Washington has shared her views on the significance of Olivia Pope’s character.

“That’s not something that’s happened in almost 40 years. In my lifetime, it hadn’t happened!” Washington says, reflecting on the advancement that her character represents in the entertainment industry. She goes on, with conviction to say “I love that it isn’t part of the conversation anymore. We’re not really talking about how it’s rare to see a black woman on television anymore, because it’s all over the place. Olivia Pope is surrounded by powerful, strong and amazing women on television and so maybe she can stop being a woman of color and be a human being.”

While we understand what Kerry Washington is trying to say, why can’t Olivia be both? What are your thoughts?

Staff Writer; Shawna Brown


Comments

2 Responses to “Kerry Washington (aka… Olivia Pope) Power, Is It Real or Make Believe.”
  1. Anne says:

    I think the person who wrote this completely misunderstood Kerry Washington’s statement. This is particularly made evident at the end of the article by the question:”Why can’t she be both”. The writer seems to be saying that the actress does not embrace the “blackness” of the character, however she has said many times that Olivia Pope’s race is an important part of who she is. Though not focussed on, the fact that Olivia Pope is a black woman absolutely enters the dialogue on the program – and, thanks to the writing of Shonda Rhimes, often in powerful ways.

  2. jw says:

    people who complain about how certain black women are treated on tv shows think black women on reality shows like basketball wives and love and hip hop are great role models. Complain about both not just one.

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