Shonda Rhimes Owns Her Success
Shonda Rhimes tells it like it is. (Photo: James White)
Reading Shonda Rhimes’ acceptance speech at the Television at the Producer Guild Awards, it’s hard to imagine that this smart, fierce, outspoken woman was once terrified of public speaking. Rhimes used her time on the podium to question why featuring a diverse cast and strong women on TV should be considered out of the ordinary. Rhimes believes that TV should reflect the real world and it is something she wants to see all over TV, not just in Shondaland. “It’s not trailblazing to write the world as it actually is. Women are smart and strong. They are not sex toys or damsels in distress. People of color are not sassy or dangerous or wise. And, believe me, people of color are never anybody’s sidekick in real life.”
Interestingly enough, she says it just wasn’t that difficult to get a show with a strong, female, African American lead on TV to begin with. “When I came along, nobody was saying no. They were perfectly happy to say yes. You know what the problem was? I don’t think anyone else was asking them. I think it had been a very long time since anybody asked or even tried,” Rhimes said. “Maybe content creators were afraid, maybe they had been hitting brick walls, maybe they had had their spirits broken. Maybe their privilege had made them oblivious. Maybe. But for me, I was just being normal.”
Rhimes went on to call out the fact that writer Norman Lear was doing this 40-years-ago, which to her meant that the trailblazing had already happened, it was just up to writers and producers to make it reality. “I created the content that I wanted to see and I created what I know is normal. So basically, you are just giving me an award for being me, in which case I totally deserve it. Really, I am honored to receive it. The respect of this award does mean the world. It just makes me a little bit sad,” Rhimes admitted. “First of all, strong women and three-dimensional people of color is something Norman was doing 40-something years ago. So how come it has to be done all over again? What are we waiting for? I mean, I know this is a room full of producers, so probably you’re waiting for money.”
In Rhimes delightful book, Year of Yes, she writes about her transition from shy and introverted to confident and ready to take on a room full of Hollywood heavyweights. In the book, she talked about creating the word badassery (and added it to the dictionary on her computer). The concept involves knowing, accepting, and celebrating your gifts, living life with swagger, and not caring what anyone thinks about you. It’s a state of mind she worked to achieve after spending too many years feeling uncomfortable with being powerful and successful. “I strive for badassery. Men do it all the time. Take the compliment and run. They don’t make themselves smaller. They don’t apologize for being powerful. They don’t downplay their accomplishments. Badassery is a new level of confidence in both yourself and those around you.” In addition, to her powerful words, Rhimes said, “I completely deserve this” about her award. Badassery indeed.
Related:
Want to be Fierce? 10 Lessons from Shonda Rhimes
Shonda Rhimes: Losing Weight Made Me Feel ‘Shallow and Misogynistic’
Scandal’s Katie Lowes isn’t a Badass, But She Plays One on TV
