GH’S GRAHN SPARKS TWITTER CONTROVERSY
On September 20, HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER's Viola Davis became the first black woman to win the Emmy for Lead Actress in a Drama Series and spoke out about racism in Hollywood in her acceptance speech, noting, "The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is simply opportunity. You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there." Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis, GH) tweeted in response, "I wish I loved #ViolaDavis Speech, but I thought she should have let @shondarhimes write it." She went on to say in a tweet that she subsequently deleted, "Im a f–king actress for 40 yrs. None of us get respect or opportunity we deserve. Emmys not venue 4 racial opportunity. ALL women belittled." Replying to a fan, Grahn described Davis as among "the elite of TV performers," saying, "Brilliant as she is. She has never been discriminated against." The actress was inundated by negative responses and issued an apology, writing, "I never mean to diminish her accomplishment. I wish I could get her roles. She is a goddess. I want equality 4 ALL women, not just actors.… I apologize 2 anyone who I offended. I'm women advocate since I became one. After reading responses, I hear u and my tweet was badly phrased." Later, she continued, "I apologize for my earlier tweets and now realize I need to check my own privilege. My intention was not to take this historic and important moment from Viola Davis or other women of color but I realize that my intention doesn't matter here because that is what I ended up doing. I learned a lot tonight and I admit that there are still some things I don't understand but I am trying to and will let this be a learning experience for me."
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