Shonda Rhimes Responds to Ridiculous Jesse Williams Petition
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Shonda Rhimes has responded to one of the more ridiculous online petitions we've seen in some time.
Late last month, Grey's Anatomy star Jesse Williams was honored with a humanitarian award at the 2016 BET Awards.
Upon receiving his trophy, Williams gave a heartfelt speech that earned him a standing ovation and endless praise on social media.
Among the more stirring portions of his speech was the following:
We’ve been floating this country on credit for centuries and we’re done watching and waiting while this invention called whiteness uses and abuses us, burying black people - out of sight and out of mind - while extracting our culture, our dollars, our entertainment like oil, black gold, ghettoizing and demeaning our creations then stealing them, gentrifying our genius and then trying us on like costumes before discarding our bodies like rinds of strained fruit.
The thing is, though… the thing is that just because we’re magic doesn’t mean we’re not real.
You can watch the full speech here:
In response to these words, a woman named Erin Smith created a petition on Change.org that calls for Williams to be fired.
On what grounds?
Smith writes that Williams' dialogue was "hate speech" against law enforcement and white people.
She explained:
"If this was a white person making the same speech about an African American, they would have been fired and globally chastised, as they should be, but there has been no consequences to Williams’ actions," Smith wrote.
We don't even want to dignify this nonsense with a response.
But Rhimes has jumped on Twitter to at least assure fans that Williams isn't going anywhere.
"Um, people? Boo don't need a petition. #shondalandrules," the show's creator wrote to those who have stared a petition in support of Williams.
Shonda is clearly glad so many people have Williams' back... but she's also making it clear that they need not be concerned.
As of Tuesday, Smith's petition has received more than 3,955 signatures. The petition that supports Williams has 3,268.
Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.