Shonda Rhimes, the creator of the hit television shows Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and the newest How To Get Away With Murder, recently opened up about how she hates to be categorized by her race and gender.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the role of race and gender in Hollywood really “pisses her off.”
Rhimes recalled a recent even where she was sent a draft of how she would be introduced at an upcoming event. The draft read, “the most powerful black female showrunner in Hollywood.” Rhimes read the draft, crossed out black and female, and returned it.
“They wouldn’t say that someone is ‘the most powerful white male showrunner in Hollywood,’” she explained. “I find race and gender to be terribly important; they’re terribly important to who I am,” Rhimes continued. “But there’s something about the need for everybody else to spend time talking about it… that pisses me off.”
The issue of race and success was also brought up when The New York Times wrote an article about Rhimes. The article, written by television critic Alessandra Stanley, read, “When Shonda Rhimes writes her autobiography, it should be called ‘How to Get Away With Being an Angry Black Woman.’”
“Confused why @nytimes critic doesn’t know identity of CREATOR of show she’s reviewing. @petenowa did u know u were “an angry black woman”?” she tweeted at the time. “Apparently we can be “angry black women” together, because I didn’t know I was one either! @petenowa #LearnSomethingNewEveryday.”
Confused why @nytimes critic doesn't know identity of CREATOR of show she's reviewing. @petenowa did u know u were "an angry black woman"?
— shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) September 19, 2014
Apparently we can be "angry black women" together, because I didn't know I was one either! @petenowa #LearnSomethingNewEveryday
— shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) September 19, 2014
Rather than having the publication retract the article, Rhimes wants them to keep it. “In this world in which we all feel we’re so full of gender equality and we’re a postracial [society] and Obama is president, it’s a very good reminder to see the casual racial bias and odd misogyny from a woman written in a paper that we all think of as being so liberal.”