Kerry Washington Remembers Giving the Obamas a Heads-up About Her Spicy Presidential Plot in scandal: ‘a Bit Awkward’
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- UPDATED DECEMBER 20, 2024
by Tasha Mayberry
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“On the show, I’m sleeping with the president,” she remembered telling President Obama’s senior advisor. “But, you know, it’s gonna be fine… right?”
Kerry Washington Reflects on an Awkward Call She Made After Landing Scandal Role
During a Dec. 18 appearance on The View, the 47-year-old Scandal star shared a memorable moment from when she first got cast as Olivia Pope.
Washington revealed that she once called the White House to ensure her role on the hit ABC drama wouldn’t interfere with her political duties.
Back in 2012, when Scandal premiered, Washington was serving on President Barack Obama’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.
“I had to call Valerie Jarrett, who worked closely with the Obamas, and say, ‘I just want you to know that I’ve been cast in this show. Lil awkward, because on the show, I’m sleeping with the president,’” Kerry Washington shared, referencing President Obama’s longest-serving senior advisor. “But like, you know, it’s gonna be fine, right?”
She continued, “I wanted to give them a chance to distance themselves if they needed to. But they were like, ‘It’s fine. It’s TV.’ Again, for art, everything’s okay!”
From 2012 to 2018, Washington and her co-star Tony Goldwyn played political fixer Olivia Pope and President Fitzgerald Grant II, respectively. In the show’s premiere episode, it was revealed that their characters were having an affair. Over seven seasons, Scandal fans lovingly dubbed the couple “Olitz,” a mashup of their characters’ names.
“I remember he left a message on my cell phone because he was always such a joker,” Judy Smith recalled. “It went, ‘I love you. I want you. You left me. By the way, I’m the former leader of the free world. Call me.’”
Amused but determined to set things straight, she called him back. “I said, ‘See, this is why I’m calling you now. Let’s stop joking about this stuff.’”
After explaining Scandal‘s upcoming storyline, she emphasized, “There’s nothing! There’s no relationship. Don’t even be joking that any of that stuff is true!” His response? “Oh, yeah. No, yeah. I remember that,” she recounted with a laugh.
“I had to tell him. I said, ‘It’s not good. It’s not going to be good. People are not going to take your joking,’” Smith continued. “Because he was known as a jokester, he had that reputation. I was like, ‘This is nothing to play with now.’”