Kerry Washington Wouldn’t Have Starred in ‘Scandal’ if the President was Black: ‘I thought it would be disrespectful’

Kerry Washington looks glamorous on the front cover of the latest issue of EBONY magazine. In the magazine she talks about her role on ABC’s hit show, Scandal and how she wouldn’t have played everyone’s favorite Olivia Pope if President Grant was Black.

I was a little concerned because [the character has] a scandalous relationship with the [occupant of the] White House,” the actress says of her role, which is based on a real-life Beltway insider. “I thought, ‘If the president on the show is Black, I will not do the show.’ Because to me, it was too important a moment. I didn’t want to do anything that compromised my relationship with the [president] or that made it seem like I had an insider view on the Obama presidency [...] I thought that would be so disrespectful and so against all the work that I had done.

Do you agree with Kerry’s stance? Do you think it would be disrespectful to the administration?