Kerry Washington – Law Street https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com Law and Policy for Our Generation Wed, 13 Nov 2019 21:46:22 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.8 100397344 Shondaland is With Hillary https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/elections/shondaland-is-with-hillary/ https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/elections/shondaland-is-with-hillary/#respond Fri, 11 Mar 2016 17:39:03 +0000 http://lawstreetmedia.com/?p=51196

The leading ladies of ABC's Thursday night lineup step up.

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The leading ladies of Shonda Rhimes’ three current hit shows–“Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal,” and “How to Get Away with Murder” are starring in an ad for the Hillary Clinton campaign. The spot is called “Real Life,” and will air in the states that have March 15 primaries.

Check out the spot here:

It stars Shonda Rhimes herself, whose shows dominate ABC’s Thursday night lineup. Also in the spot are Ellen Pompeo, the star of “Grey’s Anatomy,” Kerry Washington, the star of “Scandal,” and Viola Davis, the star of “How to Get Away with Murder.” The ad was directed by Tony Goldwyn, who also stars on “Scandal” as President Fitzgerald Grant.

The ad makes a direct reference to the fact that strong, independent women are a strong theme throughout Rhimes’ shows–Pompeo, Washington, and Davis’s characters all certainly fit that bill. They refer to Hillary Clinton as a real life version of the “brilliant, complex, overqualified, get-it-done woman” they play on TV. In the ad, the three women state:

Our characters are on television. … But the real world has Hillary Clinton — a bonafide rolls-up-her-sleeves, fights-for-what’s-right, in-it-for-you, won’t-back-down, champion for us all

There are other parallels between Rhimes’ shows and Clinton’s campaign. For example (“Scandal” spoiler alert) the first lady on the show, Mellie Grant, goes on to become a Senator and run a presidential campaign.

It’s not really a surprise that the stars of Shondaland are supporting Clinton. Shonda Rhimes has been endorsing Clinton for a while–in fact, she joined with a number of other feminist female celebrities in a separate spot back in February. The video also included Jamie Lee Curtis, Lena Dunham, Amber Tamblyn, Rosie O’Donnell, Amy Poehler, Jemima Kirke, Katy Perry, Retta, Gina Rodriguez, Mary Steenburgen, Tracy Anderson, Constance Wu, Zoe Kazan, Shannon Woodward, Katie Lowes and Uzo Aduba. The women all explained “why I’m with her.”

The next big contest between Hillary Clinton and fellow Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders will be on March 15, when Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio all take to the polls to case their votes. We’ll see if the Shondaland endorsement has any affect on the turnout.

Anneliese Mahoney
Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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#StopHateDumpTrump: Celebrities Team Up to Defeat Trump https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/elections/stophatedumptrump-celebrities-team-up-to-stop-trump/ https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/elections/stophatedumptrump-celebrities-team-up-to-stop-trump/#respond Thu, 21 Jan 2016 19:05:29 +0000 http://lawstreetmedia.com/?p=50215

A new wave of "anti-endorsements."

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Image courtesy of [Gage Skidmore via Flickr]

Donald Trump may have received a bizarre endorsement from Sarah Palin earlier this week, but now he’s receiving a lot of “anti-endorsements” as well. A number of prominent American voices, including celebrities, academics, and activists have joined together to help defeat Trump as he attempts to win the Republican Party’s 2016 presidential nomination.

The list of people who have signed on to the “Stop Hate Dump Trump” campaign is rapidly growing–it currently includes Harry Belafonte, Cornel West, Danny Glover, Jane Fonda, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Michael Moore, Noam Chomsky, Kerry Washington, Reza Aslan, Eve Ensler, Connie Britton, Gloria Steinem, Cynthia Nixon, Rosie O’Donnell, Dylan McDermott, and many others.

The petition to “Stop Hate Dump Trump” reads:

We believe Trump is a grave threat to democracy, freedom, human rights, equality, and the welfare of our country and all our people.

We have witnessed Trump inciting hatred against Muslims, immigrants, women, the disabled. We have seen him evidencing dangerous tendencies that threaten the bedrock of democracy: unleashing a lynch mob mentality against protestors, calling for the expulsion of Muslims from the country, bullying, and fear-mongering.

History has shown us what happens when people refuse to stand against hate-filled leaders.

We pledge ourselves to speak out in every way possible against the politics of hate and exclusion he represents.

The star-studded cohort that is backing the petition collectively has a pretty large microphone, and the campaign has generated plenty of buzz since it launched yesterday. In addition to criticizing Trump’s consistently racist, xenophobic, and sexist statements, the movement also appears to be critical of the media’s willingness to cover Trump’s latest outrageous remark without real criticism. Liza Donnelley, a cartoonist for the New Yorker, has also lent her talented pen to the movement, and has created some Dump Trump-inspired cartoons for the movement–her work criticizes both Trump, and also that cyclical media coverage.

 

The celebrities, activists, and others lending their names and voices to the Stop Hate Dump Trump movement collectively have a pretty large microphone–it’s admirable that they’re using it for a worthy cause. As we get closer and closer to the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, we’ll have to see if they’re able to make any dent in Trump’s poll numbers.

Anneliese Mahoney
Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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