black women
Journalist: “I hate Olivia Pope,” she’s a “Home-wrecking gold Digger”
Scandal is one of the most widely-discussed shows in the country, especially among African Americans. The show, starring Kerry Washington, has been a ratings bonanza and the subject of a great deal of controversy. Some have stated that Olivia Pope’s character makes it cool to be the side chick and that she gives the “other woman” hope. The other comments lie on all sides of the spectrum.
On the show, Pope is having an affair with the President of the United States, Fitzgerald Grant. Grant is white, and Pope is black, reminding some of the interesting relationship between former president Thomas Jefferson and his slave, Sally Hemings.
As Pope’s character is being revealed more deeply on the show, some are wondering why a portrayal of a woman of color in such a prominent role would lead to her being so nasty and deceitful. David Dennis of TheGuardian.com questions the show, stating that he actually hates Olivia Pope. His remarks were made in response to a black woman commenting on YourBlackWorld.net, who felt that black men were threatened by Pope’s power and independence:
Well, allow me to retort. I am a black man. I hate Olivia Pope. And I’m totally justified.
I’m not threatened by Olivia Pope’s power, influence or perceived strong will. I’m not bothered by the fact she’s involved with a white man. I don’t get upset at her ability to outsmart those who would oppose her.
Olivia Pope is a home-wrecker. She’s a mistress with no regard for a standing marriage where three children are involved. Sure, the president is just as, if not more, despicable than Olivia – but I don’t get called a self-hating womanizer for voicing my disdain for him.
Dennis doesn’t stop there, he continues on explaining why people like Pope are simply bad for society at large:
In fact, every character on the show is pretty much devoid of moral fiber. That is part of what makes Scandal so compelling. Pope, though, is barely an anti-hero, much less a hero. On top of sleeping with a married man, with hopes of breaking up his family (again, in collusion with the man himself), she joined forces with a group of villains to rig a national election, works for the highest bidder – including dictators – regardless of whether they’re right or wrong, and has no problem with lying whenever it fits her end game.
Dennis simply defines Pope’s character is a gold digger with daddy issues. He says that this background is used to justify the way she dates a specific brand of older, powerful men. But he says that people might see her differently if she were on a reality TV show.
As we learned last week, Pope has severe “daddy issues”, which led her to become a party girl in college and date a string of powerful, rich, older men; if she were on a reality show with that sort of dating history, there wouldn’t be much resistance to the idea she was a “gold-digger”.
I don’t see strength or sexual independence when I see Olivia Pope. Sure, her speech to Fitz that he has to “earn” her gained plenty of Twitter applause, but the monologue fell on deaf ears in light of the fact it came after he’d had a quickie with her in a janitor’s closet mere episodes before, followed by the fact he only saw her as relief for his erection.
Jacob
October 12, 2013 at 12:21 pm
I agree with the journalist I also don’t think this show would be nearly as popular if Olivia was a white woman. I have a real problem with a black woman being the side chick of a white guy. Just my opinion
SANDRA
October 14, 2013 at 1:15 pm
AGREE.
blackd
October 12, 2013 at 7:11 pm
any black man that supports this nygger bed wench tomfoolery is a simp sellout.
J
October 14, 2013 at 8:34 am
You can’t be a sell out for watching a show. That implies you are paid to continue ignorance. Choose a different word BlackD…
pressure
October 16, 2013 at 11:39 am
@blackd,You couldn’t have said it better. The show is beyond degrading.
Henri Gaither
October 12, 2013 at 9:09 pm
That is why its called ACTING, its not real. Relax people!
Jfe
October 12, 2013 at 9:20 pm
I don’t know why “everyone” takes this show to heart The ratings are HIGH, because evidently folks find it entertaining. It’s better than all of these “reality” and dance shows every night of the week…geez!
kenneth
October 12, 2013 at 9:31 pm
Some believe that so many black women like the show because it has been a secret fantasy of a lot of black women to be the lover of a powerful white man.
Gigi
October 13, 2013 at 11:55 am
That’s utter nonsense. Yes, women love a take-control powerful man ESPECIALLY if he’s black. Nothing sexier than that. Color has nothing to do with it. But the problem is even in dating, black women hit a ceiling because there aren’t many black men in power other than pastors of churches and athletes (and they aren’t powerful, only rich). What’s the likelihood of a black woman dating another potential black president or black CEO of a Fortune 500 company or the next black Steve Jobs? Very unlikely.
Eric
October 14, 2013 at 12:11 pm
Well said Gigi
jsmith
October 12, 2013 at 11:08 pm
But Love and hip hop and basketball wives is the be all of end all, I suppose. It’s a fictional show. And it’s no wonder someone would think black women would have fantasies about a white man (though I don’t know any). Especially after being referred to as a n&gga wench. Its amazing to me how Black folks will demand a fictional character to be morally and strikingly upright, but not themselves, their households or their own communities. Olivia Pope should listen to you as soon as Pookie and Ray Ray on your corner does!
nelly
October 14, 2013 at 7:37 am
you are so right, people please
Erika
October 18, 2013 at 9:06 pm
I dont see the big dang deal! Its a tv show its called entertainment. I suppose if we continue to support Honey Boo Boo or Real Housewives its ok? And to respond to the one who says if the president were white and Olivia were black we’d be upset, no we would not again its tv ergo entertainment. It seems you naysayers are the ones with the issues. I don’t hear any of you complaining about Law & Order SVU with all the different perversions. I suppose its a problem that the creator is a black woman, would u you feel better had Ron Hoard or Steven Spielberg been the creator? Pick your battles.
Joe Blow
October 12, 2013 at 11:21 pm
Now come on fellas she is just a whore…we all know if we were in the main character’s position and we have a freak like that at work we would all be banging her…but that don’t mean we respect her…and we would all tell her we are leaving our wives…but it would never happen….and since we would be rich like the president we would know our wives are not going anywhere either…this is fictional but it is true in a lot of cases around the world. I am happily married and do not do that type of thing but, I won’t lie and say I have not fantasized before…that is just human nature but you do not have to act on all of your urges that is call having moral fiber. I’m done!!
Diva
October 13, 2013 at 9:40 am
I love Scandal! It is a great work of FICTION. I think the show gets so much flack because it is great work by a black woman and a black woman is it’s leading role. Adultery runs rampid on Mrs.Rhimes other show, Grey’s Anatomy (another great work of fiction), but where were the protestors then? Maybe they didn’t notice because the cast is mostly white. Both shows are fiction and both are great. Did you put that juicy book down when one of the characters cheated? I doubt it. Did you not watch the soaps back in the day when everyone was acting like sex crazed rabbits? I doubt that too. What’s the difference? FICTION is fiction. Kerry is great in her role as Olivia. Whenever we move an inch forward, our own people knock us a mile back. Shame. We can’t get past color, which means it will take Shonda Rhimes even longer to get recognized as a writer and her leading actors of color to get noticed for their craft.
dee
October 13, 2013 at 10:20 am
people are taking tv shows way to serious that’s so stupid that guy really needs to get a life
Paul H
October 13, 2013 at 10:30 am
We must keep in mind that the white mainstream media is the enemy, not the friend, of black people and our images. What it does is simply repackage old stereotypes in new wrappers that get black males and black females fighting with each other over something most of us have no power over.
for example, Ms Pope — a fictional character– is a stereotype of the educated, successful black female: she’s “not normal” (a line right out of Pope’s mouth; she doesn’t have a man; she’s sleeping with white men to get ahead; and she doesn’t want a black man.
Notice, only one black female with a speaking role can be on the screen at any given time. Does Olivia Pope have any black girlfriends, or know any black females who are more stable or “normal”? Does she have any black male friends or former lovers?
People can tell themeselves this is “just entertainment” but is it really? Are we so starved to see ourselves in these pseudo-powerful roles that are frankly totally unrealistic that we blind ourselves to the real messages being pumped into our brains?
that successful smart black females are white men’s whores and psychological misfits
Why couldn’t Pope have a husband? Why couldn’t Pope be in love with a black male — married or single?
Because the mainstream media is devoted to tearing down black images not building them up.
and anyone who has brought into this nonsense that there are black females like Pope who have the run of the city, who make white district attorneys shake in their boots, who could barge into the President’s office and demand to see him and wind up kissing him in the Oval Office
well, I’ve got a bridge I want to sell you
wake up, people, they are running game on us
Devon
October 13, 2013 at 10:34 am
My people never cease to amaze me. I remember my older black people and elders protesting shows that showed black people in a negative light. Now we just sit back and accept any old nasty ugly portrayals of us. My family still talks about how Turner Movie Classics tried to bring back those old movies that sterotyped our people and when black people threatened to boycott the station and the sponsors products TMC backed down. Today people accept blacks portrayals of whorres and mammies and coons and this is cool to them. I wont support any black show or film that portrays us in a bad way. I wont give my quality time or money to anyone who portrays black women as sluts or black mammies or ignorant women and i wont support the portrayals of black men as coons and fools. I have better things to do with my time and money. Screw Scandal and Kerry too.
Irvin Cohen
October 13, 2013 at 11:43 am
So if Oliva Pope is ok why do we get upset about Flavor Flav in the Flavor of Love? All of the premises are still in tact its “acting” its “TV” etc. If you find the later counterproductive then you should find the former. Just because you dress in nice clothes and have a level of sophistication attached to you should not make the issue of what you portray on TV any less morally reprehensible. Personally I would not want my kid being either just based off the moral principles.
Robin Bryant
October 13, 2013 at 11:53 am
Not true flav was portrayed as “reality” tv. Big difference. (I didn’t watch). Scandal is FICTION. SCRIPTED TV.
Robin Bryant
October 13, 2013 at 11:50 am
I find it interesting that it seems to be the MEN that are mostly offended by OP. The women seeem to be able to sit down for an hour escape their lives, turn it off and let it go. You all do realize the show was created and is written by a black woman. Furthermore the fixer she is based on is alao a black women. I don’t need all of you black men to be indignant for me . I can think for myself thank you. Go crawl back in front of you’re football game.
Robin Bryant
October 13, 2013 at 11:56 am
Not true flav was portrayed as “reality” tv. Big difference. (I didn’t watch). Scandal is FICTION. SCRIPTED TV.
Gigi
October 13, 2013 at 1:07 pm
Yaaawwwwnnnnnnn on all of this commentary on Scandal.We are starting to sound extremely obsessed and crazy over a fictional TV character.
olivia pope
October 13, 2013 at 2:29 pm
Another weak, pathetic male who has problems with powerful, successful, beautiful women, even when its a fictionalize character. Get over yourself. I love the show and love the fact that it is produced by a black woman.
Ann G.
October 13, 2013 at 3:19 pm
Some people flat out amaze me as to how they can get so upset with something that is not real on TV but for entertainment! You best be worrying about what is happening in real life for you can’t turn that off like you can if you don’t like a program on the television! I enjoy the show and should something happen on it that makes me not like it, I will just turn it off and you should do the same.
Bobbie
October 13, 2013 at 3:52 pm
I have yet to watch this show and never will. That is my choice. I am not suggesting that anyone else not watch the show. Everyone watches their own type of entertainment for different reasons. But we as black people need to be mindful of what we feed our minds on. Just like Tyler Perry’s show: “The Haves and The Have Nots”. This is not an attack on Tyler Perry. But I wonder why he deemed it necessary to have a black woman sleep with a man of power? A white man at that. I am not against interracial dating, I am purely pointing out that black men can be a source of power too…or is it too far removed from the minds of some of these producers and those who create these shows of “entertainment?” I am also not rooting for those who blatantly commit adultery regardless of the color. These people who bring entertainment into our lives are throwing us garbage just to line their pockets and we are lining up at the trash can waiting for our morsels. It appears that quality tv is a thing of the past. They are simply giving the people what they want without much forethought.
Hiroader2
October 13, 2013 at 6:50 pm
LOL…., Funny a previous article described the accolades of the Scandal character… And here they’ve considered the flip- side of her actions…
Nell Barnett
October 13, 2013 at 7:58 pm
If all of you men are so upset about a fictional tv character where is your anger when it comes to all the black men of athletic and musical positions when they hookup and marry white women in real life? I don’t see much commentary on or chastising of that reality. Why? Too many of you have the same desire? Did the white male have you penned correctly when he knew that so many of you wanted his woman all along? Additionally, boundaries are pushed in fictional entertainment to make it more alluring. Most rappers know and understand this dynamic. Relax brothers, what goes around comes around:)
Traci404
October 13, 2013 at 10:12 pm
Such strong emotion over a scripted tv show. One that shows a Single, Entrepreneurial- Business Owner.
Who is degreed, cultured and connected.
Finally a Black Woman, who not snatching off another woman’s wig, being vindictive or stabbing another sista in the back.
I have yet to see of hear Olivia Pope ask a man to pay her bills, cover her financially, or send her a child support check.
Yes, she is a harlot, and and a home wrecker. But a smart one.
I enjoy the complexity of ALL the characters on the show.
Daddy issues – yep, so do so many of us.
Glad to see Daddy Pope is a powerful Black Man as well.
I love this show.
Jackie
October 14, 2013 at 12:58 am
How can people be so stupid over a TV show that’s fictional, but enjoy that reality crazy shows. If you don’t like it don’t watch period.
Sue
October 14, 2013 at 9:44 am
damn it aint that serious people
Devon
October 14, 2013 at 10:20 am
2013 and we’re still playing the roles of butlers, maids, slaves and hoes only now the hoe has power, disrespects marriage and rides a white mans dyck. We’ve come a long way (sarcasm).
David Dennis, Sr.
October 14, 2013 at 11:02 am
It is good that people are having this discussion. The article really goes to the moral fiber of us as a people and society. There are a lot of Black women, such as Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Fannie Lou Hamer, Shirley Chisolm, Bessie Smith, etc, in history whose stories need to be told but are not because Hollywood will not produce them. They are not profitable…people will not go to see them. Also, we need to become more aware of the roles and recognition that Black actors receive or do not receive. For instance, Denzell Washington received an oscar for playing a roque cop but little recognition for his roles in Cry Freedom and Malcolm X–Halle Berry received an Oscar for her role in Monster Ball.
I watch Scandal and found it entertaining and did not really realize what I really was watching until this article came out. Thanks to the writer for causing me to give more serious thought to this TV show. This is more than entertainment. Our children need more positive role models.
Kina
October 14, 2013 at 2:19 pm
Wow, Kelly Washington is hot, I like the show and find it fascinating, but I am no critic to racial discrimination. More success for Kelly Washington I am sure that she have a kid and a family. Let it work with out it getting so personal, move forward.
tralynn
October 14, 2013 at 7:27 pm
Its a tv show….if u dont like it, dont watch it. If your moral compass is somehow based on this show then u my friend have a serious problem. Olivia Pope, the character, is a fixer…yet she cant fix her own life. It shows that although she is a fixer, and a damn good one, she herself needs fixing. She has issues just like the rest of us…as the bible says, He who is without sin let him cast the 1st stone…go ahead, ill wait!!!! I applaud Ms Kerry. And Ms Rhimes #ScandalRoxks
tralynn
October 14, 2013 at 7:30 pm
And as far as a role model for kids….its what she does off screen that matters. Look up her bio…smart lady. Very smart. Oh but wait, being that im a mother, i set the example for my daughters. I dont allow tv to do that!!!!
au
October 15, 2013 at 12:27 pm
this show is a disparaging show against black women, even of status. i don’t support by watching it at all. black men with white women are uplifting white women. white men with black women degrading black women. black women are being degraded all over the nation. funny how black women don’t see what’s going on??
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