On ABC's Scandal, Kerry Washington stars as Olivia Pope, a political "fixer" whose personal life often gets mixed up in her professional business. But off-screen, the actor keeps pretty quiet, especially on social media — until now. On Saturday, Washington had a self-proclaimed "Twitter rant," which was a rare personal moment from the usually guarded star. Her rant comprised of seven articulate and classy tweets about the birth of her second child; Deborah Danner; Black Lives Matter; and the new film Moonlight. It was all handled quickly and eloquently — Olivia Pope would be proud.
Washington began her Oct. 22 postings by tweeting, "It's a quiet Saturday afternoon. So, a few things I wanna get off my chest..." which made the internet sit up and take notice. She continued by acknowledging her fans' best wishes to her after the birth of her second child on Oct. 5: "I saw all your very kind & thoughtful congratulatory tweets. So yeah [heart eyes emoji] we thank you. Xo." After this, her tweets took a more serious tone as she discussed the death of Deborah Danner, a black woman who was shot by a New York City police officer in the Bronx earlier in October. Washington grew up in the Bronx and she is passionate about Black Lives Matter, so the news clearly hit home for her.
"Also the loss of Deborah Danner has rattled my core. Not only [because] of painful truth that we must continue to affirm that Black Lives Matter," she tweeted. "My heart aches. For lives lost and for the lives we must protect. For the humanity we must work to illuminate and preserve and affirm."
Washington ended her rare outspoken moment with a recommendation to see the indie movie Moonlight, a coming-of-age film about a young black man discovering his sexual identity. "It is artful food for your soul," the Scandal actor tweeted regarding the movie. "At a time when so many of us need to be lovingly nourished."
As Scandal and Washington fans know, the actor is a very private person who rarely comments on or posts anything personal on the internet or otherwise. She told Elle magazine in a 2016 interview that she has become "a lot more guarded" about her personal life. According to the interview, Washington married her husband Nnamdi Asomugha, a former NFL player, in a secret wedding ceremony in 2013, and in early October, Washington gave birth to their second child Caleb Kelechi Asomugha, but the news wasn't reported by the press until Oct. 18.
Washington's personal expression on Twitter should definitely appreciated, so perhaps she'll share more of her eloquent thoughts with her fans again soon. But no pressure — her privacy should be respected, too.
