Kerry Washington Says She's "Scared at Times" That People Will Call the Police on Her Kids
Kerry Washington Just Won Her First Emmy Award
It's about time.
She may be one of the biggest stars on TV, but Kerry Washington says that it doesn't keep her from facing racism as a Black person in America. During an appearance on the Jemele Hill is Unbothered podcast, Washington said that even now, with Scandal and Little Fires Everywhere on her résumé, she's still wary of going places with her kids, because she doesn't know if someone will see them and call the police for no reason at all.
"It's crazy when somebody says like, 'How dare you, Kerry Washington, have a voice. You're a so-privileged Hollywood actor person,'" she said. "No matter what I do, no matter how many Emmy nominations, I am still scared at times to scooter in neighborhoods with my kids where I feel like somebody could call the cops. Because that cop may never have seen Scandal. I still have that very real fear."
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Washington has a son, Caleb Kelechi, and daughter, Isabelle Amarachi, with her husband, Nnamdi Asomugha. She is also stepmother to Asomugha's teenage daughter.
She noted that her high profile allows her to speak out, so she takes advantage of that, even if there are viewers out there that want her to stick to just acting.
"I have to be extra responsible in ensuring that what I say comes from my heart and is me speaking for me and not on behalf of any other organizations or ideologies, which I don't," she said. "Whenever somebody says to an entertainer or an athlete or an actor, 'You shouldn't have a voice,' to me, that's a reminder to stay in my voice because I can't let people silence me."
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And while she is aware that she can only speak for herself, she says that she's more than just an actor. She's a mother, a woman, and a Black person.
"When I speak about this country, I speak as a mother, I speak as a woman, I speak as a Black person," she added. "I speak as a kid who grew up in the Bronx, across the street from the projects. I don't speak as a Hollywood elite. I speak as somebody who's the mother of Black children, as somebody who had student loans way longer than I thought I would. I speak as somebody who's the mother of Black children, as somebody who had student loans way longer than I thought I would. I speak as somebody who cares about my community and the community that my family lives in, my extended family."
