Last Friday, New York Times television critic Alessandra Stanley wrote an op-ed about acclaimed producer Shonda Rhimes, which became a hot topic on the Web, in offices and on TV shows.
Stanley, writing about Rhimes’ whose new show on ABC is premiering, How to Get Away With Murder, indicated that the executive producer should “call her
autobiography ‘How to Get Away With Being An Angry Black Woman.'” Almost instantly, social media got a hold of the story and chimed in on the matter defending the 44-year-old Chicago creative.The human vessels that portray the characters she created also stood up for Shonda, as Rhimes herself made sure that she set the record straight. Sharing her thought over Twitter, Rhimes expressed displeasure for how the critic failed to give any credit to the other characters she has created, instead focusing only on the Black ones who lead her biggest programs to date.
Needless to say that Stanley’s piece invoked a discussion on the “preconceived notions about the depiction of diversity” involving Black women on television. As the chatter grew on the web, we spotlighted ten of the most on-point reactions to the Shonda Rhimes / New York Times beef for you to check out. Later on today (9/24) at 12-noon, Black Enterprise will be holding a special Twitter chat to break down this conversation further. Be sure to follow @BlackEnterprise to join in on the tête-à -tête.
Without any further ado, please scroll through the gallery and leave your comments in the section below.
Be sure to tune in to our social media feed (@BlackEnterprise) for our Twitter chat regarding this subject at 12-noon EST.