Kerry Washington sees the impact #TimesUp and #MeToo have had on Hollywood, and she wants you to recognize it, too.
The actress is the star of ESSENCE’s May issue, where she talks the end of Scandal, the importance of representation, and how Hollywood is changing thanks to women speaking out.
Speaking with writer and editor Rebecca Carroll, Washington wholeheartedly agreed that the culture of Hollywood has gotten smarter since women have come to the forefront.
“A big part of that is actually resisting this idea of [us] being siphoned off and only allowing one of [us] in the room.”
The actress continued, “I have noticed in the last three years or so, we’re just reaching out to each other more. That’s been one of the most powerful parts, for me, of being involved with the Time’s Ups movement. It has changed the ways we operate. It changes what awards shows and parties feel like. We are becoming stronger as communities, as Black women, as larger circles of women of color, larger circles of women in Hollywood, larger circles of just people in Hollywood who give a shit.”
Washington, who has just wrapped up the final season of Scandal, also spoke to ESSENCE about wrapping up the series and playing Olivia Pope.
“I feel like whenever I play a character, I feel she comes into my life to teach me something. I’ve never had the privilege of playing a character for this long, but of the many things Olivia Pope has given me is this sense that anything’s possible, that there’s always a way through.”
She continued, “I think it’s one of the reasons why I started a production company. It’s one of the reasons why I’ve done a lot of the things that have required courage.”