On the next episode of Oprah’s Next Chapter, Oprah sits down with actress Kerry Washington, who plays Olivia Pope on the hit TV series “Scandal.” A lot of you may not know this, but when the show debuted in April 2012 on ABC, Kerry became the first African-American actress to have the lead in a primetime show in almost 40 years.
“I didn’t know the exact statistics when I read the script,” Kerry says. “I didn’t know, because I wasn’t born in ’74. So not in my lifetime has there been…”
“Oh, do tell,” says Oprah. “Really?” — and the two women share a laugh.
“Humblebrag!” jokes Kerry. Then, on a more serious note, she says, “I didn’t know that it actually would be this momentous.”
“[Olivia Pope] is a fully realized woman,” says Oprah. “She’s not just in this role because she is African-American. [She represents] a new moment for our culture.”
Don’t miss Oprah’s Next Chapter with Kerry Washington, Shonda Rhimes, and Judy Smith this Sunday Dec 9 at 9pm EST on OWN.
