As we discussed yesterday, I kind of hated the Emmys. They were sad and budget and it just felt like people hadn’t really rehearsed and everyone was missing their cues and even Neil Patrick Harris was sort of phoning it in. Now everyone wants Tina Fey and Amy Poehler to host everything, now and forever. But still… even if we finally get some ladies down with some major hosting gigs, does Hollywood still have a diversity problem? Um… yes. That’s not even a question. The whole reason why Kerry Washington’s Emmy nomination was such a big deal was because network television barely puts minority actors in lead TV roles. Forget network television – television in general, even subscription channels, rarely puts minority actors in lead roles (or any roles). And that’s why I’m slow-clapping for Ellen Pompeo today. I think it’s interesting that a white actress on a network drama is using her place even make a comment about race and television.
Safe to say, Ellen Pompeo was not a fan of the Emmy show on Sunday night. During an interview with the Associated Press on Monday, the “Grey’s Anatomy” star shared her startlingly candid views on the telecast, which featured a lackluster performance by host Neil Patrick Harris, a little singing and dancing, and several surprise wins.
Pompeo told the AP that she was “really disappointed” by the show. But she didn’t leave it there. She actually elaborated on what she disliked.
“I didn’t see any diversity in the Emmys at all,” she said. “The Emmys felt so dated to me.”
She even had it in for the song-and-dance number in the middle of the broadcast, saying, “That dance number was embarrassing. Did you see one person of color in that dance number?”
Pompeo herself has never been nominated for an Emmy, but she did pick up a People’s Choice Award earlier this year as favorite dramatic TV actress.
Despite mixed feelings about the actual content of the show, enough curious viewers tuned in to make it the highest-rated Emmys since 2007.
Not-so-subtle shade with the “Pompeo herself has never been nominated for an Emmy” comment, LAT. They manage to make a perfectly legitimate criticism seem like sour grapes. And it might be sour grapes except that I kind of believe that Ellen is speaking from the heart. Minus Kerry Washington and Sofia Vergara, the Emmys were very WHITE this year. Archie Panjabi – usually an Emmy voter favorite in The Good Wife – didn’t even get nominated. Mindy Kaling and The Mindy Project didn’t get nominated for anything either, despite breaking new ground for women of color on a network sitcom. Don Cheadle was the only black man who got nominated in any of the acting categories too. I’m not suggesting actors of color get nominated for merely showing up – and I don’t think that’s what Ellen Pompeo is suggesting either. I think it’s about changing the conversation about race and entertainment so that it’s more representative at every level?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
newsflash.
She was on WWHL last night and told Andy Cohen that her remarks were not actually during an interview, but off the record before an interview, but that she stood by it. These awards shows are the same BS every year, they really need to change it up a bit already.
she’s lucky she’s employed, i bet she would change her tune if someone nominated her
Nope she seems very sincere to me. Aside from the fact that she is stating obvious undeniable facts, she also has a very personal stake in this fight for diversity being married to a black guy.
Pompeo is married to a black guy, has a mixed race daughter. In addition, she’s well acquainted with Shonda Rhimes (the AA showrunner who gave her a job- before that she was Ellen Page in Daredevil- a blink and you’ll miss it role). So yeah, I can understand why Pompeo would say that. It’s a definite turn around from her poo pooing the NAACP awards, though.
Pardon me, duchess…
Don’t forget her OTHER blink-and-you’ll-miss-it role in Old School!!!
Strangers With Candy!
What does that even mean? That she’s a bad actress who would otherwise suckle up to the nominating committee? But how? The awards, by design, are the same and she is completely correct and legitimate to point that out- short if it being an opinion. I’m not sure if the intent is to imply that somehow she’s making that comment to be “edgy” or get attention, but either way I doubt that’s the case. It’s a boring show that invests in high fiving people it likes while PR works its magic, not the Nobel Prize.
Maybe having worked on a show that embraces diversity she doesn’t get the exclusion on most other TV shows. It’s sad you look at it cynically and not that she is someone honest enough to state the obvious.
meh, it is no worse than when greys was getting some emmy noms, i dont remember her complaining then
I dont watch Greys but I know its a very diverse show. Besides didnt one of the black actresses win at some point. I distinctly remember that in her speech she pointed out that women with her coloring and body type never win and how surprised she was to have won.
Wins like those shouldnt be one offs. Of all the Asian, Black and Latina actors on tv they cant find any worthy???? What about dancers? Because that dance number was ridiculously monochromatic.
@Rosie, I’m pretty sure the actress who plays Miranda won several years ago. She’s a great actress. There are a lot of good actors on that show. Too bad the show has jumped the shark.
yeah srsly, what does that even mean? if she were nominated, she’d get in line behind all the whites where she belongs? wtf?
don’t put words in someone’s mouth, especially when she’s made a sincere effort to explain her view. All you’re doing is revealing your own ignorance.
oh please, this is the first time anyone has talked about her in a while. the emmies have never been very different in all the other years she has attended. sure she may be sincere, but having people mention her for the first time in a long time isnt hurting her feelings either.
She made the statement off-mic and it was reported widely afterwards. She said she stands by her statements. She was not out for publicity or good PR.
Your comment proves that no good deed goes unpunished.
I agree with her. It all seems so generic and blah. She has a valid criticism and they flipped, to make her sound like a snot. I don’t care about a dance number, or the normal lame jokes that always happens. Give me good actors and diversity.
Lisa.. I agree with you. If you’re not nominated, it sounds like sour grapes. I can’t believe the show is still on? It’s certainly paid her bills for all these years.
I don’t think it’s sour grapes. She has a mixed raced child and is married to a black man that probably makes her more aware than the average white actress. Kudos to her.
I love that she said this, and it’s true. I don’t want to generalize a whole race of people–so I’ll try and say this as best as I can. A lot of white people don’t really get what a lot of black people have to go through. Like my dad. He wasn’t racist, just ignorant. When we moved to where I am now, he didn’t really know how to handle some ignorant, racist comments about us (his family). He was a 25 year old white guy with a black (dark) wife, who had five kids (two with him, three previously). And his side of the family didn’t know how to deal with it either–comments by other people. As time went on, as he learned more and more about civil rights, etc–he became more aware, and knew why my mom was always pissed off.
Plus, my grandfather went through it as well. His older sister (he’s in his late fifties) LOVES black men—I mean that she’s a white woman who’s been dating and having kids with black men since the seventies. My grandma told me that the first time she introduced one of her black boyfriends to her father, he asked her if she was introducing her butler to him.
Yes, yes, yes to this!^
That story reminded me of a story (sort of) my own. I don’t remember the context and it was in a room full of people and we all knew each other. One woman talked about a night when she watched the Oscars with her Russian grandmother and the awkward conversation that followed this little tidbit. It was in the midst of the Pulp Fiction explosion (so if was Oscar award time, I think it would be 1995) and there was shot of John Travolta sitting next to Samuel L. Jackson. Her grandmother remarked that it was so sweet that he brought his butler along to the ceremony.
Daaaaamn…
In my experience white, middle class liberals are pretty racist. They feel that their sociopolitical tolerance qualifies their views and they don’t have anything else to learn. Ugh.
I would much rather deal with a bigot than someone who “embraces diversity”
Please do not wind me up on this one lol. Great post VC!
How is it sour grapes when she is white but complaining about a lack of people if color?
It isn’t. It’s a malapropism to use ‘sour grapes’ in this instance.
Ellen Pompeo has an African-American female mentor (Shonda Rhimes) as a boss, an African-American husband, many non-white colleagues, and a mixed-race child. She’s spoken up about this issue before – I used to subscribe to Allure and she actually reference the lack of opportunities for inner-city kids from the part of Massachusetts she and her husband grew up in. She’s a sensitive person and this matters to her and it should matter to all of us as entertainment consumers. I don’t get a whiff of bitterness AT ALL in her comments.
LOL Ellen guuuuuurrrrrllll it’s not news, it’s cool that you say it but eh… nothing has changed, from the Oscars to the Emmys to the GG… all White Supremacy in Hollywood, a plain fact LOL!
+1
there needs to be more diverse roles for people of color to play on tv.
White is so normalized everywhere.
Right? I mean people should get real here… As much as I’m happy to see films such as Fruitvale Station, Twelve Years A Slave, Mandela and Belle all coming out at the same time, there is no change here, it’ll dry right back up unfortunately and White Supremes shall give themselves a pat on the back for being so “generous”…
I honestly don’t understand why more people don’t see the obvious: ALL WHITE=ALL BORING.
Totally. And it’s one of many reasons why I stopped watching TV many years ago and haven’t had cable for 13 years.
Not a coincidence that my favorite show of all time, The Wire, happened to feature one of the most talented, diverse casts I’ve ever seen.
I stopped watching Friends years ago when I realized that these New Yorkers had very few friends of color. Like seriously. This is New York and they didn’t have any non-white friends until Aisha Tyler and Ross’ Asian girlfriend. Really?
Yeah, I’m frickin’ bored too! Homogenized movies don’t get my money.
I think this is a bit of cart before the horse to be honest. Do the awards shows need to change or does there need to be better roles with more diversity? I can’t say there is any particular person of color on TV who I thought was robbed of a nomination this year. That’s a creative problem, not an award show problem.
However the show did suck for many other reasons.
There needs to be better roles with more diversity, no question.
In general, the Emmys are stuck in a rut to begin with (Modern Family AGAIN?) so they are never going to be the leaders in pushing for more diverse and realistic casting. It has to come from the networks, studios, producers, casting agencies, etc. Particularly the cable networks, where most of the nominations come from these days.
No offense but Mindy doesn’t deserve to be nominated. The show is fine and I’m happy to see an Indian American woman on TV in a non-steroetypical role but its just an okay show and Mindy is just an okay actress. It’s actually a disappointing show because it could be so much better than it is given the cast and writing pedigree (the girl who won an Emmy with Tina Fey is part of the writing team on Mindy). I wouldn’t want the actress and show nominated simply due to its minority representation.
TV shows definitely need to carve more space for minority characters and especially well written minority character but that’s not on the Emmys this year (prior years? yes because people from The Wire should have been nominated and never were) that shows aren’t particularly diverse right now. That’s more on studios and show runners.
All that said, Breaking Bad and a few surprise winners aside, the Emmys were lame. Even NPH was a disappointment.
Totally agree on The Wire thing. That show has the best acting, writing and directing out of any show that i follow(ed), including Breaking Bad, and it is a travesty that it was never recognized for the masterpiece that it is.
I agree. The Mindy Project is a fun show to watch, but it’s not the funniest show I’ve ever seen…neither is New girl though imo. But I at least hope that Mindy gets a globe for her “acting” because if Lena Dunham can get one…Mindy deserves one too.
I dont think Mindy Project is a great show, to be frank Mindy Kaling disappointed me with that show. HOWEVER, Big Bang Theory isnt a great show either and it gets all manner of awards anyway. If you are going to dish out undeserved awards why shouldnt you throw some diversity in the mix?
True enough. A lot of equally okay shows and actors are being rewarded while Mindy hasn’t been. But I guess I’m on a soapbox in thinking all these awards should be earned. I know its often just campaigning, etc that leads to the winner, but sometimes that coincides with merit.
I’d rather Mindy, or any minority, win because she actually deserves it rather than for the voters to make a statement. I never enjoy it when people accuse minority status for why a person gets the accolades, speaking as someone who has been in that position before. Yes, yes, soapbox.
I know what you mean. Truly. But it does strike me as fundamentally unfair that a PoC has to work twice as hard, be twice as good and be twice as talented as everyone else to escape the tokenism tag.
And ofcourse in the Arts, where there is no objective gauge for excellence, there really is no escaping those kind of accusations. I dont know a single PoC to win an Oscar who didnt have a balcony full of racist hecklers claiming affirmative action. Remember Denzel, Halle, Jamie and others? Even the nominations are contentious.
And ofcourse the people running around claiming tokenism will never admit that many many great performances by PoC are ignored precisely because of race.
“And ofcourse the people running around claiming tokenism will never admit that many many great performances by PoC are ignored precisely because of race.”
Wow, Westie! You make some excellent points!
Very, very good points Westie.
I wanted to like The Mindy Project, but…I can’t stand it. What happened to the woman who wrote the George Foreman Grill episode of The Office? And really, that show is just is homogenous as any other, save the titular character. I can’t be the only one who isn’t impressed by the fact that of the two (two!) times that I saw people of colour on that show, one portrayal was of a sassy black nurse who’s always blacking it up with her singing and a bunch of sports stars (black guys love me!) who turned out to be thieves.
This is the uncomfortable bit, why would this happen? Is it just about grabbing the ratings by giving people what they know? A bit. Now, if we were to venture to an ‘urban’ blog (but please, not Bossip), I predict–I just know, man–that there would be a discussion about people of colour seeking out white approval and putting them on a pedestal (as opposed to a pedal stool). There is a notion that’s often unaddressed because the implications are super icky that this is one of those cases wherein a person of colour becomes pleased with the idea of bagging the ‘gold standard’ of men, white men, and if they’re falling over themselves to be with her, the fantasy has been fulfilled. Let’s not pretend that there isn’t a desirability index or hotness hierarchy at work across many barrier. Do I think that that’s whats going on here? On this show, I think I do. That makes me squirm harder than an all-white cast (not that I think they’re super wonderful), benignly ignoring people of colour.
Plus it flat-out bores me.
Totally agree on The Wire! That was the best acted show ever, it was the best written show ever and it was constantly shut out, so why make an issue this year.
I totally agree with Ellen’s statement but this isn’t new and this year wasn’t the most offensive.
Posted my comment up-thread before I saw yours.
Michael K Williams (AKA Omar Little)–> one of the best performances I’ve seen. Was he ever nominated?
Not that it matters in the sense that the Emmy’s are about as accurate a gauge of talent as The Oscars, and that is to say, not so much.
Still, hard for me to say that talented actors of color have not been overlooked in the past.
No Michael K Williams was never nominated, neither was Idris Elba, Andre Royo or any other actor from the show.
which was a crime and a huge miss.
The only thing I am shocked about is finding out Grey’s Anatomy is still on.
Ellen isn’t just “some white girl” complaining about the lack of diversity at the Emmy’s as a way to pad her own ego. She’s in a biracial marriage, and I’m sure the issue is personal for her. I believe her husband is in the entertainment industry as well.
I agree. She also works on a show that uses blind casting and therefore has more diversity than most tv. Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s anatomy’s creator and producer) makes a point of having diversity and strong characters on her shows. This is clearly an issue that is important to her and has an impact on her life. Good for her for speaking up.
+1
What is blind casting?
@ Bubbles blind casting is the practice of casting a role regardless of the actor/actress ethnicity, say Will Smith was Jim West, in the BBC series Merlin although in the fictional story Guinevere is traditionally described in the legends as white, she was portrayed by Angel Coulby (biracial), say Idris Elba as Heimdall in Thor etc.
Even if Ellen wasn’t swirling, she, and every person, has the moral right to call out the racist practices in our entertainment industry.
I agree with her. I was watching the song-and-dance number thinking where are the people of color? The lack of diversity was also noticeable to me at the Emmy’s, but I’ve been complaining about it for a long time on TV. They put a token black person on the show in an ensemble or in a drama they are the judge, etc. Hispanics the same. Asian are a smaller population here but you don’t see them cast much either.
I have and will always applaud Grey’s Anatomy and Shonda for getting it right. Of course, it took a black woman to shake it up on TV and she got a hit out of it. It started out with three strong black characters, an Asian, Hispanic, etc. The show put out by anyone else, Sandra Oh would never have gotten the part, let’s face it, a minority and not the typical pretty girl.
Don’t insult America’s intelligence. Mix it up and stop with the whitewashing of the TV shows.
I am just a white girl who likes TV, and if I notice it all the time, then it’s glaring and disappointing.
totally agree!!!
I don’t care for her acting, but the comment was spot on.
I didn’t watch it, but isn’t that the Emmy’s pretty much every year?
She’s right but I have to remind myself that TV’s main function is advertising so if there is to be any change it won’t be because of any sort of artistic or moral reason it will be purely business.
Shonda Rimes remarks on lack of diversity in TV in the NY Times:
“In fact, except for a former assistant U.S. attorney, who lost his career thanks to Olivia, the leader of the free world is essentially the only straight white male central character on the show. From “Grey’s” to “Scandal,” Rhimes’s shows have been the most diverse on TV. Oprah Winfrey recently praised her in the Time 100, writing, “I grew up at a time when it was an anomaly to see people who looked like me on TV. [Rhimes] gets us — all of us! . . . Everybody gets a seat at Shonda’s table.”
Rhimes refuses to make an issue of her casting. “I think it’s sad, and weird, and strange that it’s still a thing,” she told me over the phone a few months ago. “It’s 2013. Somebody else needs to get their act together. And, oh, by the way, it works. Ratings-wise, it works.” In addition to its general success, “Scandal” is also rated No. 1 on network TV among African-American viewers.
While race on Rhimes’s shows is omnipresent, it is not often discussed explicitly. This has led to a second-order critique of her shows: that they are colorblind, diverse in a superficial way, with the characters’ races rarely informing their choices or conversations. Rhimes, obviously, disagrees. “When people who aren’t of color create a show and they have one character of color on their show, that character spends all their time talking about the world as ‘I’m a black man blah, blah, blah,’ ” she says. “That’s not how the world works. I’m a black woman every day, and I’m not confused about that. I’m not worried about that. I don’t need to have a discussion with you about how I feel as a black woman, because I don’t feel disempowered as a black woman.”
I stopped watching Grey’s around the time George and Izzy hooked up but I might give it a look again just to support Shonda. I love everything she had to say in that quote. Does anyone still watch? Is Sara Ramirez still on the show? Aside from the awesome Chandra and Sandra Oh, she was one of my favourites on the show.
Sara is still on the show. Her character is married to Jessica Capshaw.
I occasionally watch and Sara Ramirez is still on and consistently excellent. Sandra Oh is also still there but leaving by the end of this upcoming season.
Yeah, I bailed even earlier. But everyone on the show from that time is dead, so who knows? Perhaps it’s become bearable again?
Completely valid. Does anyone else feel like Greys Anatomy has had a longer run than it should? It feels like it on since the Carter administration….
OMG seriously. It was my favorite in college (feel so old saying that) and all of my friends and family watched too. I don’t know one single person who still does.
I don’t think these statements are being made from a “white actress” or a person in a biracial relationship. She is the mother of a child whom will be viewed as black. What does it say when things like the Emmy’s (and therefore the tv it is representing) are so whitewashed, it is telling people that there is little to no space for them. She is on a tv show that has a pretty fair amount of diversity and it is written by a black woman. Yea it probably won’t be winning anymore awards, but why isn’t that type of real diversity being shown at the Emmy’s?
“Mindy Kaling and The Mindy Project didn’t get nominated for anything either, despite breaking new ground for women of color on a network sitcom.”
Breaking new ground, yes. Making a good show, no.
Lots of shows that get noms for Emmy’s can hardly be qualified as ‘good.’
You’re both right.
“They felt so dated” says a woman wearing Elmo as an outer garment who stars on a show noone even knew was still on the air anymore. 🙂 I completely agree with her point that there needs to be more diversity in the television industry. But her use of the word ‘dated’ just kinda cracked me up.
I agree with Ellen, Show was boring and dated.As a member of biracial family it is probably more apparent to her now
I don’t get some of the anger toward her for making this point. What she said is a fact.
On a barely related note, I’m kind of digging the new Sleepy Hollow show on Fox. The male lead is a straight white male, but the main female character is a black woman, and it also has John Cho and Orlando Jones.
Sandra Oh should have been nominated for best supporting actress in a drama.
Having said that, she’s right that they are out of touch. Modern Family is not the even the 5th funniest show on tv.
I thought it was kind of okay during its first season–not great, but gently okay. After that? Heavens no. It’s as though someone said, ‘Now this time, make it screechier!’ How forced is it to have a Big! Family! Get! Together! each week when none of these people seem to like each other? Lame.
As an aside, regarding the remarks above about Modern Family always winning or Big Bang Theory, why does The Middle never get any love? I think that show is hysterical.
I agree with her completely and I think the immediate jump some people make to “sour grapes” is both predictable and stupid (in this case anyway).
Shonda’s shows are so diverse because she doesn’t give points for or against you based on your race. The three best actresses on Grey’s are Sandra Oh (5 Emmy Noms), Chandra Wilson (5 Emmy Noms), and Sara Ramirez (1 Tony Win). I know Sara has commented on the fact she left Broadway because no one knew how to cast her since she wasn’t white or black and there were no specific Latina roles. The only roles she got were the ones where there wasn’t a specific race for the role.
I think diversity for the sake of diversity is dumb and patronizing and I don’t support things like quotas either. I think that when someone is looking for the best talent and pays no attention to skin color, you actually end up with a diverse result. If for no other reason than the law of averages demands it.
So, when I see 20-30 dancers in the Emmys and only 1 is African-American, that seems weird to me. Maybe they weren’t looking for white dancers, but I don’t think it’s ridiculous to believe they were going for a certain “look”. My sister, who is hispanic and used to be a dancer, said it this way “They never want white or black or brown. They want wholesome and refined or they want urban.”
I hate that your last sentence is so true. Grace and refinement is for white people,’realness’ not coloured with technique of form or pedigree or discipline is for black people. And you get ‘Kwanzaa in February’.
This is BS. First off I would love to say that Ellen Pompeo is right on point with that. I applaud her for speaking her mind and doesn’t care who thinks or says about her. Someone has to get annoyed, shead some fury and speak up with their opinions.
Hollywood, Media and Society in America is full of ignorance and I am so sorry to say this but Sick and Twisted people living in this Great Country of ours and it gives me great sorrow to say this. But I believe that we as a people can not deter or diminish what all of us can conquer, but this problem is not a white people thing or a black people or other race people thing. This is our problem.
What make me so mad about My people (yes I am black if you must know) We sit down and talk about this issue, and do nothing, and white people who are not worry about this would sweep it under the rug and say well it is not my problem and do nothing.
EVERYONE HAS A PART AND JUST DO SOMETHING.
Has anyone really look at many of Woody Allen Movies and not a black person in his movies ever?
I will do something about because I would one day like to be a well respected actress.
AND NO ONE WILL TELL ME TO SHUT MY MOUTH BECAUSE OF MY OPINIONS, NOT EVEN YOU HARVEY WEINSTEIN.
For me hollywood doesn’t have more diversity because they want to sell their movies/tv show and at the moment they want to conquer the chinese market (weinstein came to china with all his puppies) and in their mind (and perhaps it’s a little true, I can’t say I don’t know enough chinese people) China want to see white people.
God, I hope that’s not true, Pasta Girl. Ugh, are the Chinese really that xenophobically racist?
Bottom line, it’s always about money, so this is the perfect opportunity to stop watching white washed programming. If enough people vote with their wallets, change will happen that much faster.
I don’t think chinese are racist, I know some of them have never see a black person (one of my friend, he’s black, went to China and they asked him why he’s like that.. weird) so because of money Hollywood thinks it’s easier to sell white actors. Yes money is everything and I’ve lost all respect for actors and actresses who accept to play this game
Faith in Humanity restored.
When my 6 ft. blonde husband went to Japan, he said people asked if they could touch him!
I do know that studios factor in race to projections for international box office. Many films make about 50% of their gross internationally, yet for example, Dream Girls raised only about 22% of its earnings from int’l box office.
Here is an article from the Guardian that goes into more detail.
http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2007/mar/02/whydreamgirlsisntracingup
“…according to a report in the New York Times, Hollywood marketing departments are finding it very hard to persuade any non-Americans to watch films with black stars. They’re even referring to “international” audiences – ie everyone who isn’t in America – as “the new south”. Reginald Hudlin, director of House Party and The Ladies Man, tells the NYT: “In the old days, they told you black films don’t travel down south. Now they say it’s not going to travel overseas.”
In Costa Rica small children actually pointed at me at the mall and in Japan I was treated like a rock star.
My bff is Chinese and she said that the well educated and upperclass in her country see their lack of racism as another thing that seperates them from the peasants.
This is very well-written post, Celebitchy.