Call Her Daddy

Kerry Washington: Power, Perfection & Olivia Pope

March 18, 2026

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  • Kerry Washington felt an immediate connection to the powerful yet internally conflicted character of Olivia Pope in *Scandal*, viewing the role as a training ground for real-life leadership. 
  • The success of *Scandal* was historic, breaking a nearly 40-year gap for a Black woman leading a network drama, and it subsequently opened doors for more diverse representation on television. 
  • Kerry Washington's decision to include her abortion story in her memoir was driven by a desire to fight against the secrecy and shame surrounding women's reproductive lives and bodily autonomy. 
  • Kerry Washington's experience playing a character whose storyline mirrored her own discovery of a major family secret (being born from a donor) while filming provided a profound opportunity for compassionate understanding of her parents' fear. 
  • The struggle with an eating disorder became critical when it manifested as suicidal ideation, highlighting that for some, the behavior is a tool to escape life rather than just a relationship with food. 
  • The conversation emphasizes that dismantling the societal pressure for perfection and embracing shared vulnerability, including secrets like abortion or donor conception, is crucial for women to stop tearing each other down and dismantle systemic inequality. 

Segments

Olivia Pope’s Impact and Leadership
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(00:05:32)
  • Key Takeaway: Olivia Pope taught Kerry Washington about on- and off-screen leadership as the show’s lead.
  • Summary: The role of Olivia Pope was historic, marking the first lead role for a Black woman on a network drama in nearly 40 years. Washington identified with the character’s duality: performing power publicly while being heartbroken privately. The role served as a training ground, teaching Washington what it felt like to be the lead both in character and on the call sheet.
Almost Quitting Acting
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(00:09:37)
  • Key Takeaway: Washington nearly quit acting due to the business politics and lack of agency actors face.
  • Summary: Kerry Washington loves the craft of acting but dislikes the business aspects, including politics and feeling like a pawn to executives. She found producing, starting with her company Simpson Street, freeing because it allowed her to create her own opportunities. This shift in power allows actors to change industry dynamics based on their prior negative experiences.
Shonda Rhimes Dynamic
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(00:12:28)
  • Key Takeaway: Shonda Rhimes created a supportive environment, contrasting societal expectations about powerful women.
  • Summary: Washington was initially nervous entering Shonda Land due to Rhimes’ comfort in her own power, but quickly became ‘obsessed’ with her generosity and genius. Rhimes demonstrated genuine support by being thrilled when Washington announced her pregnancy, committing to finding a healthy way to manage the schedule. This dynamic proved that powerful women do not need to be intimidating or dangerous.
Scandal’s Success and Representation
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(00:16:48)
  • Key Takeaway: The success of Scandal immediately prompted networks to seek out more Black female leads.
  • Summary: Washington felt most excited that Scandal’s success prevented another 40 years from passing before a Black woman led a network drama. The show’s success led to other networks quickly launching shows with women of color, recognizing the cultural value of centering Black women in stories. This provided fulfillment by offering audiences, especially Black women, representation they had been missing.
Iconic Fitz/Olivia Moments
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(00:20:25)
  • Key Takeaway: The first crisis Olivia Pope handled involved protecting a gay client in the military, setting an early bold tone for the show.
  • Summary: The pilot episode’s crisis, involving protecting a queer client in the military while dealing with an interracial relationship, immediately established the show’s willingness to tackle complex issues. Tony Goldwyn (Fitz) confirmed that his favorite romantic moment with Olivia was having sex in the electrical closet during a baptism, though Washington preferred the Vermont scenes.
Olivia Pope’s Abortion Storyline
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(00:33:14)
  • Key Takeaway: The Scandal abortion scene was groundbreaking because it showed the character’s inner emotional reality during the procedure.
  • Summary: Shonda Rhimes fought the network to keep the storyline, which showed Olivia Pope undergoing the procedure, a first for television. Washington, who had previously had an abortion, found filming the scene cathartic, allowing her to share her truth through the character. She felt it reduced her need to hide, even though she had not publicly discussed her own experience yet.
Personal Abortion Experience and Guilt
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(00:40:51)
  • Key Takeaway: Washington’s primary self-forgiveness journey was not for having the abortion, but for allowing herself to get pregnant due to lifelong issues with disembodiment and people-pleasing.
  • Summary: Washington realized her abortion experience was tied to a lifetime of disembodiment stemming from past trauma, leading her to focus on staying present in her body. She felt guilt for not advocating for herself more strongly in the moment, despite her background in sex education. She advocates that abortion is healthcare and women must retain the right to decide how and when they start a family.
Family Secret Revelation
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(00:49:33)
  • Key Takeaway: Kerry Washington learned her father was not her biological father after agreeing to appear on Finding Your Roots.
  • Summary: Washington’s parents panicked when she booked Finding Your Roots, leading Professor Henry Louis Gates to advise them they must disclose the secret before she found out independently. The revelation that her father was a sperm donor caused initial disorientation, but her first concern was reassuring her father that her love remained unconditional. This secret explained Washington’s lifelong struggle with staying present in her body.
Secrets and Little Fires Everywhere
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(00:56:12)
  • Key Takeaway: Washington’s personal discovery of family secrets informed her attraction to roles dealing with hidden truths, such as in Little Fires Everywhere.
  • Summary: Washington realized that every family has secrets, and the revelation of truth often defines the family unit. She had already been cast in Little Fires Everywhere, where she plays a woman hiding the identity of her child’s father, before learning her own truth. Filming that project became a blessing as she stepped into her parents’ shoes, understanding their fear of revealing secrets.
Family Secrets and Imperfect Women
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(00:57:40)
  • Key Takeaway: Kerry Washington realized the theme of her show, Imperfect Women, mirrored her own life experience regarding family secrets and the pressure to present perfection.
  • Summary: Washington found resonance with the theme of women keeping secrets from loved ones, stemming from her own experience not knowing her parentage until later in life. This lack of transparency created a ‘veil’ between her and her parents, which was ultimately freeing for her mother once the secret was revealed. The show Imperfect Women focuses on friends who love each other but keep important truths hidden due to societal pressure to be perfect.
Recognizing Eating Disorder Struggle
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(01:00:51)
  • Key Takeaway: The critical realization that prompted Kerry Washington to seek help for her eating disorder was the presence of suicidal ideation, viewing food restriction as a tool to escape life.
  • Summary: Washington advocates for Equip, an online community providing democratized, team-based healthcare for eating disorder recovery, noting that people of color and marginalized communities often go undiagnosed. She stresses that eating disorders are fatal and require multi-dimensional care (psychological, biological, cultural). For her, the turning point was recognizing she was using food behavior as a means to self-harm and escape pain, rather than focusing solely on the food itself.
Navigating Conversations About EDs
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(01:05:27)
  • Key Takeaway: When supporting someone with an eating disorder, friends and family must be careful not to let concern about their body come across as criticism, and struggling individuals should trust their gut if they know they need help.
  • Summary: Washington shared that when she sought help, some people minimized her struggle, perhaps to avoid confronting their own food behaviors. She advises that parents should trust their instincts regarding a child’s need for help, as medical professionals can sometimes struggle to diagnose eating disorders due to misinformation about who is affected. Those struggling should not minimize their issues, as disordered eating exists on a spectrum, and asking for help is vital to avoid suffering alone.
Public Scrutiny and Female Competition
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(01:07:11)
  • Key Takeaway: The antidote to ruthless internet body shaming, often perpetrated by other women, lies in self-love and pausing to dissect the projection behind negative feelings toward other women.
  • Summary: Washington believes that criticism of other women often stems from a lack of self-love and a projection of internal issues. She advocates for pausing before reacting negatively to another woman, suggesting private conversations over public criticism to dismantle the ‘war against women.’ She recalls the overwhelming, supportive energy from Black women when she secured the role in Scandal, proving that collective support can help one person break barriers for many others.
Marriage and Partnership Insights
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(01:19:30)
  • Key Takeaway: Essential components of a lasting marriage include proactively engaging in couples therapy to establish communication norms and valuing independence, ensuring partners maintain separate interests.
  • Summary: Washington credits her long marriage to starting couples therapy preventatively, which helps establish a culture for discussing difficult topics before crises arise. She emphasizes that partners should learn how to love each other better by starting sessions by sharing appreciations, noting small gestures can mean a lot to the other person. Furthermore, maintaining independence—having separate interests—is powerful because it allows partners to bring new things to discuss when they reconnect.
Advice for Career and Family Planning
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(01:21:37)
  • Key Takeaway: Women pursuing careers and motherhood should strategically plan for life’s different phases, accepting Michelle Obama’s wisdom that one cannot have everything all the time.
  • Summary: Washington advises women considering starting a family while maintaining a career to be strategic about their life goals, acknowledging that readiness may never fully arrive. She stresses the importance of thinking about where other life pieces, like family, can fit into the overall plan. The key is to ensure that when the desired life milestones become available, one is still positioned to pursue them, taking the decision seriously as part of the overall life plan.
New Show: Imperfect Women
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(01:27:46)
  • Key Takeaway: Kerry Washington’s new show is a captivating psychological thriller featuring powerhouse actresses, told from multiple points of view to unravel deep secrets.
  • Summary: The new project is described as ‘water cooler television,’ a sexy, juicy psychological thriller starring Elizabeth Moss and Kate Mara alongside Washington. The narrative structure shifts perspectives between the three lead women, forcing viewers to self-reflect on the characters’ morally ambiguous actions. The cast frequently debated the characters’ choices on set, indicating the show provokes deep thought about friendship and morality.