Kerry Washington Would Have Declined if the POTUS was Black on ‘Scandal’

*Kerry Washington made a surprising statement in an interview with Ebony recently while discussing her role in “Scandal.”

Gracing the cover of the latest issue of the magazine, the most popular black woman on television says in the cover article that she wouldn’t have taken the role if the president (on the show) was black.

Diversity is Shonda Rhimes middle name and she’s been rewarded for her great writing and ability to relate to a variety of audiences. But her latest greatest work has caught some heat for glorifying a sticky love triangle and extramarital relationship.

Shonda responded to Star Jones’ concern about the show saying, “The scandalous nature of her relationship with the POTUS on the show does not escape Washington, who says that is exactly why she would have passed on the role if the character were played by a black man.

On the same issue, Kerry also had reservations at first.

“I was a little concerned because [the character has] a scandalous relationship with the [occupant of the] White House,” the actress said. “I thought, ‘If the president on the show is Black, I will not do the show.’ Because to me, it was too important a moment. I didn’t want to do anything that compromised my relationship with the [president] or that made it seem like I had an insider view on the Obama presidency. I thought that would be so disrespectful and so against all the work that I had done.”