Ellen DeGeneres is winding down her long-running talk show, and Kerry Washington is one of the famous faces who stopped by for one of the last episodes. While the actress was there, she shared some secrets about her time on the popular TV show Scandal.
Washington Recalls A Question From Ellen That Left Her Co-Stars ‘Pissed’
Washington and DeGeneres reminisced about the actress’ past appearances on the soon-ending show, from playing silly games to being a victim of the talk show host’s famous scare pranks. They then started talking about Scandal, with DeGeneres pointing out that it had been ten years since the show premiered.
“I got in a lot of trouble here because you asked me who I liked to kiss better on the show between the two male leads,” Washington remembered. “And I said—I thought I was keeping the peace—by saying, ‘I don’t like kissing either one of them.’ But they were both pretty pissed for years. [They were] like, ‘Why would you say that on national television?’”
“You could’ve gone the other way and said, ‘I like kissing both of them equally,’” DeGeneres pointed out. Washington replied, “Who says that? No.” The studio audience laughed along with the actress before DeGeneres pressed for more details. “There’s clearly one better kisser. Who is it? Now that the show’s over,” she asked. Washington mimed zipping her lips as the audience continued to crack up.
How ‘Scandal’ Influenced Washington’s Real Life
Washington began acting in 1994, showing up in hit movies like Save The Last Dance, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and Django Unchained. However, she didn’t become a household name until she was cast as the lead in the hit ABC drama Scandal.
Washington played Olivia Pope, a crisis manager in Washington, D.C. who dealt with high-profile clients and had an on-off relationship with the President of the United States. In addition to making her a star, Washington told DeGeneres that playing Olivia Pope encouraged her to take an interest in real-life politics and activism.
“It was this idea that people kept saying to me, whenever something tragic happened in politics, people would say, like, ‘Olivia Pope, you gotta fix this!’” Washington explained. “And I was like, you know what? Real people have so much more power than Olivia Pope because Olivia Pope is not real.”
“She can’t vote and she can’t volunteer and she can’t really change her community, so [I’m] trying to get people to realize that you are the Olivia Pope of your community, your family, your neighborhood. And that was kind of how she inspired me,” Washington finished. Even though Scandal is off the air, it looks like the show continues to influence fans today—including a starring actress.
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