Shonda Rhimes talks money, misogyny, racism & her ‘no a–holes’ policy

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It was just three weeks ago when the New York Times published their “astonishingly tone-deaf” think-piece, the thesis of which can be summed up with this line: “When Shonda Rhimes writes her autobiography, it should be called ‘How to Get Away With Being an Angry Black Woman.’” The Times later apologized (but the writer, Alessandra Stanley, did NOT). In the immediate aftermath of the NYT piece, Shonda responded on Twitter but she didn’t harp on it too much, mostly because every media critic and writer was horrified on Shonda’s behalf.

Now Shonda covers the new issue of The Hollywood Reporter. When she sat down with THR, the NYT piece had just been published a few days prior. Shonda leads with that conversation (you can read the full piece here)

In early August, Shonda Rhimes read a draft announcement for an event where she was set to appear. It called her “the most powerful black female showrunner in Hollywood.” She crossed out “female” and “black” and sent it back.

As the mastermind of Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal and the producer of top-rated newcomer How to Get Away With Murder, all for ABC, she didn’t believe either modifier was necessary — or relevant. “They wouldn’t say that someone is ‘the most powerful white male showrunner in Hollywood,’ ” she contends, her tone turning momentarily stern on this morning in late September. She pauses to gather her thoughts and then continues: “I find race and gender to be terribly important; they’re terribly important to who I am. But there’s something about the need for everybody else to spend time talking about it … that pisses me off.”

As for the New York Times piece, Rhimes says: “Some really amazing articles were written that had the conversation that I’ve been trying to have for a very long time, which, coming from me, makes me sound like I’m just, ‘Rrrraw!’ ” she mimics a roar, her painted nails clawing the air. Her inbox has been deluged with notes from concerned friends and colleagues, many of whom called for the piece to be retracted. Rhimes would prefer it remain: “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.”

[From THR]

I think she’s dead on. Shonda’s perspective reminds me a lot of what Mindy Kaling says about her success, how people are always like “I can’t believe you’re so successful because you’re so Indian/not-a-size-zero/female.” Shonda is aware that her success is seen with those same kinds of modifiers. Why should Shonda waste time justifying herself as a black woman in her industry?

But the biggest headline from the interview is when Shonda goes HARD on Katherine Heigl. Heigl had a very public falling out with Shonda and with the Grey’s Anatomy writers and producers and Shonda cites that as a teachable moment for how she runs Scandal with a “no a–holes policy.” Shonda says, regarding Scandal: “There are no Heigls in this situation… I don’t put up with bullshi–t or nasty people. I don’t have time for it.”

Interestingly enough, the THR article also has a fascinating discussion about money and just how much ABC is willing to hand over to Shonda. Earlier this year, Shonda “made the rounds to other studios earlier to assess her options” because she had been working exclusively with ABC Studios this whole time. Shonda says: “It wasn’t really about money, though don’t get me wrong, it’s very important in a world in which women are paid 77 cents on the dollar to be paid in a way that felt correct. I wanted more control. I wanted the autonomy. And I wanted to feel like if I was making shows, I could sell them anywhere.” But the moral of the story is that Shonda scared the hell out of ABC and in May, they locked her into a lucrative and mutually beneficial four-year contract to develop her shows, plus she gets a backend. GO SHONDA.

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Photos courtesy of THR.

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35 Responses to “Shonda Rhimes talks money, misogyny, racism & her ‘no a–holes’ policy”

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  1. Tiffany27 says:

    She did exactly what any man would do when he knows he has a good show on his hands. Good for her. Love her! HTGAWM on tonight y’all!

  2. Jenns says:

    I’m not a huge fan of her shows, but I love her. Her commencement speech at Dartmouth was awesome.

    • J says:

      Same! I start out liking her shows, and I love me some crazy, however hers take the crazy a bit too far. But Shonda is awesome and I will support anything she does because she is just so smart and we need more women like her in the position she is in.

    • lucy2 says:

      I agree as well. I usually liked her shows for about a season or 2, but then they just go too off the rails for me. I do, however, respect the hell out of her for the career she has built, and she seems to handle things in a very good way.

      I’m surprised she called out Heigl by name. Certainly everyone knew things did not end well there, but I don’t call SR ever being so blunt about it. Good for her for not allowing that type of behavior though, I’m sure it makes for a much more harmonious and productive environment.

    • katy says:

      Same. I’ve never gone out of my way to watch her shows, but she seems like an extremely well-educated lady who is also very aware of the goings-on around her (not many people are, or care to be). I think I love her (and her no bullshit attitude).

  3. Kiddo says:

    “There are no Heigls in this situation… I don’t put up with bullshi–t or nasty people. I don’t have time for it.”

    That’s some straight shooting right there. BAM.

    • Jaderu says:

      Ya, she called her out by name. LOL. Game over.

      • msw says:

        Hah. Normally I would think that is a bit unprofessional, but the gossip hound in me loves it, and Heigl dug her own grave without help. She put that a hole display on it front of the whole world long before Rimes publicly called her out on it.

  4. Luca76 says:

    She is just so awesome!

  5. AuroraO says:

    I love her and her shows.

  6. MCraw says:

    I want to be her when I grow up! In my field, that is. She’s just SO kick-ass! Love her. Need more women like her.

  7. Artimis says:

    I admire her drive and some of the work she’s done (apart from the Grey’s musical episode, gurlll, NO.) I actually think she could have gone a lot harder on Heigl (damn, she really is persona non-grata, eh?)

  8. Jh says:

    She is so awesome. So smart. So savvy. So beautiful.

  9. Virgilia Coriolanus says:

    Oh, I wanna be Shonda Rimes when I grow up. She is so awesome. So inspiring.

    And the one thing that I like about her shows are that even when the crazy gets too crazy–coughB613cough–her writing is still on point–her entire team’s. I would watch her shows just for the dialogue.

  10. TeamShonda says:

    There is not enough words to say how much I love her….. her shows and her vision.

    Her leadership style is my new template for people management.

    Team Shonda all the way

  11. Mia4S says:

    I’m in the odd position of really disliking her shows but really liking her. And I’m sure Shonda will cry into a pile of her millions of dollars about that. 😉

    • I Choose Me says:

      Same for me. I loved Grey’s for about three seasons and then I was like wha? I also tried to give the Practice a shot but it couldn’t hold my interest. Scandal didn’t do it for me either but I’m willing to give HTGAWM a shot.

    • jaye says:

      This woman is A-MAZING. I’m not a fan of Scandal and I’ve never watched Grey’s, but HTGAWM is my jam! Of course, it has my all time favorite actress, the incomparable Viola Davis as the lead. I’d watch her watch paint dry and be absolutely riveted.

  12. Ginger says:

    I’ve never watcher her shows but I love this woman’s attitude about life! And she’s savvy and successful too. BRAVO! “I don’t put up with bullsh-t or nasty people. I don’t have time for it.” ME TOO!!! She is fantastic.

  13. kri says:

    I love that she went and let the network know they weren’t dealing with some dum dum who was just so thrilled to be allowed to work that she wouldn’t even think of rocking the boat. SR is the defintion of a boat-rocker. Tear them, Shonda! And LOL on that KH remark.

    • Betty says:

      @Kri Thanks for saying this: “they weren’t dealing with some dum dum who was just so thrilled to be allowed to work.” I experience this as a black woman in journalism, and it’s so strange. Why should I behave in a docile manner when I have a skill set that benefits your company? Why should I not rock the boat when the situation warrants it–because I should just be grateful to be a minority working in a struggling industry? I don’t think so.

  14. Jess says:

    She is so freakin’ awesome! Love her shows!

  15. Sozual says:

    I think she could have worded it better, with the Heigl thing. From T.R. Knight he said that Shonda Rhimes didn’t want him to talk about him being gay. She wanted him to stay in the closet.

    http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/t-knight-reveals-left-grey-anatomy-article-1.427384

    I enjoy Shonda’s work, but she could have done a lot better wording. I don’t think she is as bad as Heigl apparently is, but she isn’t acting any better right now. I love Grey’s Anatomy and all that in fighting is distracting.

    • Mmmm says:

      Perhaps Knight has the same issues as Heigl. His comments appear self serving. I am surprised he and Heigl have not created a show of their own.

      They same to know it all 😉

    • I Choose Me says:

      I can get T.R. Knight’s annoyance about being asked not to talk about if he’s proud of who is and I can’t presume to know the mind of Shonda but I think she might have said that because his being gay wasn’t relevant to the character and she was trying to calm the whole situation after Isaiah’s homophobic slur and subsequent firing. Was he really in the closet though if cast and crew knew about it? It just seems like it was the mainstream public that didn’t know.

    • Hiddlesgirl85 says:

      Katherine Heigl’s unprofessional behavior often times overshadowed the success of Grey’s Anatomy (e.g., in hindsight, I think we can all gather that Heigl and Knight leaked the story about Isiah to the press.) Heigl also publicly insulted the writing staff of the show. Her behavior was so noxious that it permeated the set and created a tense working environment for many.

      So, I don’t think that Shonda was wrong to say what she did. I even think that her statements were not as bad as they could have been. Especially considering that Heigl’s antics could have ended Shonda’s first show (Grey’s) or Shonda’s control ver it for a variety of reasons.

      • holly hobby says:

        Yes you are so right. Yes what happened wasn’t right but I seem to recall Katie Heigel going to the nightly gossip shows and talking about the scandal ad nauseaum. Yeah you can see it as sticking up for your friend but on the other hand it raises her profile doesn’t it? Patrick Dempsey was one of the people involved in the initial altercation and I didn’t really see so much press from him at that time.

        Whatever happened with Hiegel, Knight and SR is between them. I really don’t think it’s cut and dry like they made it appear to be (except for the IW incident). TR should be glad he didn’t annoy Shonda enough for her to drag his name either.

  16. andypandy says:

    Although I stood up vigorously for SR when she was called an Angry black woman .I personally am not into her shows but respect the fact that there is a market for them and thus she is successful.
    My Pet peeve with her and in fact most other TV writers(Greys Private Practice Rush, House , ER Covert Affairs etal is that they are all pursue diversity in TV at the expense of a positive black male/female dynamic
    It seems 90% of the time the black character especially if male are seen pursuing romantic interests with Non black partners not ( not against interracial unions just its highly disproportionate representation)
    The funny thing is the majority of interracial unions in the US is between Asian women and white men and that is hardly shown on TV

    But I will watch Viola read the telephone book so looking forward to that !

  17. Aminta says:

    WOOP WOOP! Go Shonda! <3

  18. NEENAZEE says:

    I wish I knew more people like Shonda… strong, straightforward, value-based and hardworking with exceptional output. She’s my new role model.

  19. SAKS says:

    I liked her, but she gained my massive respect with HTGAWM, where I saw the first Latina character which is not a Latin-cliché, “Laurel Castillo” (played by Mexican actress Karla Souza), her character resembles more a common girl of Mexico City, Bogotá, Caracas, etc. (Any big city in Latin America) than the daughter of immigrants. Now, that is treating minorities with respect.

  20. Veronica says:

    Damn. She didn’t just shade Heigl, she threw the whole tree at her. It sends a firm message, dunnit? This is a powerful woman, and she will not stand to be trifled with. Even if you don’t like her work, you have to respect that her no-nonsense stand on its financial worth.