Y'all do Realize Olivia Pope is Not Real, Right?: The Scandalous Lies About Our Love and Hate of Scandal

Okay, I finally took the bait and posted about the ABC series SCANDAL starring Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn and created by Shonda Rhimes. I think I avoided the topic of the show because it has been all over my timeline on Facebook and Twitter. Talking about what everybody else is talking about in the same way they talk about it bores me. 

I finally relented when this video showed up in my Facebook timeline about Olivia Pope telling her married lover to “earn” her. Brooke argues that he doesn't have to "earn" much because any woman who is sleeping with a married man does not value herself very much. 

And here is the scene from Scandal she's talking about:

So we got into a Beyonce-like debate on the WAOD Facebook Page this weekend. Here's what I realized. Everybody is lying!

Scandal haters don’t want to come right out and say that what they hate most about the show is that the lead Black character is the object of desire of a powerful White man. The second thing they don’t want to come out and say is that a Black woman who is not asexual has no business on broadcast television. If Olivia Pope was sitting at home every night eating a TV dinner and praying to the LAWD to send her a man, then they would perfectly fine with that. 

Scandal lovers don’t want to come out and admit that broadcast television is a powerful driver of culture - good and bad. An entire generation of Black girls is going to see their place in the world differently because of this character - in ways microscopic and massive. Much in the way that Top Gun increased interest in becoming a fighter pilot and Clair Huxtable increased interest in becoming a lawyer with a fly brownstone and A Different World increased interest in HBCUs. So yes, it is entertainment, but it’s also is a powerful driver of culture.  In a world where there are so few images of Black women on broadcast television that look, sound and act like Olivia Pope, it’s reasonable that people would want to psychoanalyze her role and discuss potential impacts. That doesn’t make them hateful oppressors trying to keep the professional Black woman down. Get a grip!

Here are some Facebook Comments and my response. 

I DESPISE IT AND ALL IT REPRESENTS. Wonder if our community would [like] Scandal as much if the prez was Black and Olivia a blond? -

What exactly does it represent? Also, I don’t know if the Black “community” loves Scandal. I know most of the Black women in my social circle love Olivia Pope. She’s their Carrie Bradshaw. Do you despise Nashville or Dallas or Revenge or 90210 or Dynasty or any other soap opera on television. What makes SCANDAL particularly loathesome?

A man shouldn't earn you, but he should demonstrate some level of commitment, loyalty, and show you he can put in the time and effort before you even start dating him: 

Dating shouldn’t be this high stakes. That’s probably your problem. It’s dating, not an engagement. And I think Olivia and Fitz are well beyond dating. 

All of my friends are raving about that show. Maybe I'll catch an episode. I don't really have patience with soap opera type writing. Plus I am not a fan of "she of the perpetual pout."

--Kerry Washington does pout a lot. 

Pope does act needy. And that white man playing Fitz looks like he is in pain when he has to hug/kiss her.

--- Yes, Olivia has issues. You want a protagonist who is flawed. Otherwise she’d be boring. I don’t know what’s fogging up your glasses, but from the short clips that I’ve seen of Tony Goldwyn looking at Kerry Washington he doesn’t look in “pain.” He looks as if he wants to devour her. I’m sorry, but I’m seeing major chemistry. But let’s get to the more important issue. WHY would you, a Black woman want to send the  message that a man would not find another Black woman desirable? How does that benefit you?

I do watch the show, but find the whole Olivia/President love story problematic at best (and enraging at it's worst). Let's talk about how entitled Pres acts towards Olivia's body, while being completely dismissive of her personally. Ugh. (Full disclosure, I am a white/mix woman, and probably don't have any business here, but I LOVE your work and share it with many of my friends and students. I'll keep reading, even if I'm not the target audience.)

--- Thanks for reading. 

Okay, I'm a big fan, but none of my friends see it my way. I think that the Prez is a weak man who is manipulated by his wife, his mistress and his chief of staff. As far as Olivia, I think the interesting quote from her is, "I want a painful, difficult, devastating, live-changing, extraordinary love." She said that to the man who wanted to put a ring on it. Love should not hurt or be an endurance exercise. Liv needs therapy.

--Yep. Television soap characters are usually a mess. I used to watch Dallas and the entire Ewing family was a mess. 

The thing liberating thing that I find about Olivia is that she has evolved beyond perfection, is ok with being flawed, and does not feel any need to justify or defend herself to anyone. Her sexuality does not define her. It's only a small facet of who she is. We have had to be concerned about our images for long enough. 

I don't know how many of us were old enough to remember Diahanne Carroll on the show Dynasty, but she was also a beautiful, flawed, black woman who had affairs with white men. She gave Joan Collins a run for her money as the first 'black bitch' ever on prime time. Ratings soared..

Anyway it's ok for us to do something out of the box from time to time to liberate ourselves. Olivia has already squashed all of the basic stereotypes. Let her do her thing...

--- Ah yes, but when Dynasty was on, television was a lot more diverse--- ironically. We have more channels than ever, but the depiction of Black women is narrower than ever :( 

Scandal is a soap opera tv show first & foremost. However, the reason why I and many bw like it is for once a bw is not portrayed as a mammy/mule/sister soldier. Her crew will lie, cheat, and fall on a sword for her with no questions asked. The angry/ guard dog bw role is played by a ww. The Olivia Pope character is shown as feminine, vulnerable, desirable and intelligent. I support the show because the main character is an unambiguously bw who's not being presented as filler/sidekick/comic relief/whipping post/mammy/mule/manly bw character. THIS representation of a NORMAL acting bw is a good thing. No neck rolling, eyes bucked finger snapping, stereotypical sassy bw behavior. Again, it's a soap opera and infidelity has been the crux of soaps since they started up on the radio in the 50s. Olivia Pope is definitely not a Tyler Perry caricature of successful bw. The show is my weekly cotton candy and I like it. Apparently, so do a lot of other folks and not just bw. Never cared for Grey's Anatomy, but I give Shonda Rimes mad props for this show. I'll take Scandal over anything on BET, TVOne, & Tyler Perry any day.

--And there you have it. Professional Black women are an underserved market and Scandal is resonating with them because they see a reflection of themselves on screen-Olivia is flawed, but so are they. 

She is fashionable!

I’m not going to start watching the show now. I’ll wait until its all over and watch a marathon in a few years. I kinda like saying I don’t watch it at this point. 

And a final thought from a WAOD Facebook Fan:

not my cuppa, but at least it's a popular show with a black woman who isn't a maid, crack head or best friend...

Hmmm and folks, I guess we can call that progress "At least the Black lady is not a crackhead!" Rosa Parks must be overjoyed at our standard of excellence. -- I may not agree with you about the show, but I understand :)

Case of Kiera Wilmot: Consequences and CONSEQUENCES

So do I even need to write that the response from school officials would have been totally different if Kiera Wilmot was White? No? okay. I  question the prosecutors willingness to basically throw this girl away like trash. And that's what you're doing when you saddle a 16 year-old girl with an adult felony. Her life is over. Period.Job options, colleges, even her ability to live in certain places is irrevocably altered. That kind of punishment is best reserved for teenagers who really WANT to hurt other people-- for whatever reason. I don't need to be protected from Kiera Wilmot... I AM Kiera Wilmot.

I used to shoot potatoes on the front porch with a pellet gun until my Daddy commented that that might not wise as I could shoot a neighbor if I missed. :) Notice he didn't take the gun away, he just mentioned that pointing a gun at my neighbors house while trying to hit a tiny target might not be wise. Aren't Daddies the best?

I mixed Comet and dishwashing liquid all the time ( don't do that kids- it's dangerous). We popped firecrackers and actually put fire crackers inside of things and blew them up ( don't do that kids, it's dangerous). I played with fire ( Don't do that kids, it's dangerous). I used to catch bees ( don't do that kids... not dangerous, but quite painful when the bees sting you). Basically dumb stuff that children do.

Severa of you have forwarded this story about Kiera Wilmot to me. The Blogmother is buried right now, so I have not done extensive research, but I did find this post which contains the police report. Hopefully the prosecutors will use their discretion in this case. It appears that the felony charge is the work of law enforcement. You should continue to watch to see if the prosecutors take up the charge. They may not. The school expulsion is an entirely separate matter. I'm glad people are speaking out about this. She's not disposable. She mixed some type of cleaner with aluminum foil and made the top come off of a plastic bottle. Scared to see how they would react if she got her hands on some baking soda and vinegar.

The school district says she needs to learn that there are "consequences." Well there are consequences and then there are CONSEQUENCES. There is a national problem with young Black girls being dealt with more harshly in the school disciplinary systems than our White counterparts. Consequences would be a suspension, possibly an expulsion. But jail and a felony.. that's a bit much.

There were other ways to deal with this:

The real problem is with the school and the police. When a kid makes a mistake that’s not severe, it can be easily turned into a teachable moment. How about suspension instead of expulsion, with the requirement of a lab assignment based on the very experiment that was tried by Kiera? How about requiring a presentation by her to the class and/or principal to show mastery of the subject? This solution combines a reasonable punishment with additional academic work to help Kiera learn the proper way to conduct experiments. It also gives the adults involved another way to gauge her understanding of the scientific method. The penalties should go up for repeated offenses, up to and including expulsion. Shareef Jackson

I'm UnChilded, but if I did have kids, they would be members of  #TeamHomeSchool.... which is why I don't have kids- - - they are a lot of work.

Mona Scott Young is the Devil: Jonathan Landrum Jr. of the Associate Press is her Mouthpiece.

This post is about Jonathan Landrum, Jr. of the Associated Press. Mona Scott Young is the Devil so we really don't need to devote a great deal of our time debating the extent of Mrs. Scott Young's evil, just look at the anti-Black woman hate speech she is producing and disseminating in collusion with VH1.  You judge a tree by the fruit that it bears and Mona Scott Young's tree is the TREE OF STRIFE, the Tree of Ratchet, the Tree os Anti-Black Woman Propaganda. Young goes out and finds drug-addled, emotionally unstable, and possibly developmentally disabled Black women and exploits them ruthlessly for profit. But again, that's stating the obvious. 

Let's get back to the Associated Press. On last Monday, the Associated Press published a widely-reprinted article “Love & Hip Hop’ Overcomes Backlash. It was a glowing review of Mrs. Scott Young's triumph over good.  Jonathan Landrum Jr. didn't mention a single quote from a single critic of Mrs. Scott Young despite the fact that THOUSANDS of articles and possibly millions of social media status updates have criticized Scott Young's anti-Black woman hate speech. If I didn't know better I'd think Mrs. Scott Young wrote the article herself and Mr. Jonathan Landrum, Jr. just pasted his byline next to it. 

I was troubled by the lack of balance and the one-sided nature of this article so I emailed info@ap.org to point out the overt fawning by Mr. Landrum.  I sent this letter to the Associated Press:

I am deeply disturbed by an article the Associate Press published on Monday, April 22, 2012 titled, Scott-Young’s “Love & Hip Hop’ Overcomes Backlash. The article was “written” by Jonathan Landrum, Jr. If I didn’t know better, I would think that Jonathan Landrum, Jr. merely placed his byline next to the text from a press release issued by Mona Scott Young’s team. The headline of the article appears to suggest that Mrs. Scott Young overcame a backlash, yet there is not a single quote from any of Mrs Scott-Young’s critics. 

Many people believe that she is a peddler of filth and an exploiter of drug-addicted, emotionally unstable, possibly developmentally disabled Black women and the abusive men they are entangled with. Yet despite the fact that thousands of articles and perhaps millions of social media status updates have been written to criticize Mrs. Young, Mr. Landrum managed not to include a single quote from any of Mrs. Young’s critics and it is for that reason I think the Associated Press has failed.  If the Associated Press wants to become the publicist for Mrs. Scott Young, fairness and I would think “journalism” requires that critics be given at least a sentence to respond to Mr. Landrum’s  glowing profile of Mrs. Young. 

And the editors responsible for the headline should also be asked, what exactly it is that Mona Scott Young “overcame.” She was an incredibly rich Black entertainment executive who is now richer and more famous and the only challenge should could have possibly have overcome would be her conscience... if she had one.

I ask that you review Mr Landrum’s article to determine if it meets the standards of the Associated Press and hope that in the future if you decide to promote Mrs. Young’s work, that you also report on the destruction she is unleashing on Black women and girls across the planet who have to contend with the mass character assassination she is carrying out in collusion with VH1.

And that about says it all. Mona, you're not getting a redemption arc. Your children and your chlidren's children will know that their mother and grandmother did everything she could to destroy other Black women with her anti-Black woman hate speech. 

I also take offense at the editors who decided to use the word "overcome" in the title. Rosa Parks overcame. Fannie Lou Hamer overcame. Barbara Jordan overcame. Sojourner Truth overcame. Mona Scott Young just rolled into the mediocrity that is niche programming for cable television in the digital age. Anybody can get 2 million people to tune into something on cable. 2 million people would tune in to watch live executions or toddlers fighting with alligators, but that doesn't mean those things get aired.

WAOD 6-Year Anniversary Gift: I Want the Genarlow Wilson Trial Transcript

Today is the 6th anniversary of What About Our Daughters. If you appreciate the work we've done over the past 6 years, we're asking you to contribute towards our anniversary gift- A copy of the transcript of the Genarlow Wilson criminal trial.

Six years ago today, I launched What About Our Daughters to encourage Black women to "Stop Funding Foolishness" and defund the War on Black Women. Today I launch the latest phase in our advocacy- the Genarlow Wilson movie. A copy of the trial trial transcript is an essential element of the script development. 

No case that we have covered over the past 6 years quite exemplified the treachery of the institutions of the Black community more than the Genarlow Wilson case.   Some of the most powerful and well funded institutions in our community threw Black girls under the bus-- for no reason at all. They wanted to make a folk hero out of a sex predator who happened to get caught up in a seventh amendment argument about Georgia's sentencing scheme. While the Supreme Court of Georgia decided that Mr. Wilson's sentence was longer than the legislature had intended, his conviction was never reversed.  We've written extensively about Mr. Wilson's morally reprehensible behavior. Far more troubling are the views and attitudes about rape and sexual assault espoused by his supporters. 

They have repeatedly lied, omitted, mischaracterized, attacked, and abused. Most disturbing was the decision of the editors of Ebony.com to print an erroneous headline declaring Mr. Wilson to be "Glorious" and lying to Ebony.com readers about the fact that he remains convicted of child rape. 

The time has come to correct the record. We've created a campaign on Go Fund Me to raise money for a copy of the transcript and to cover the cost of me getting out of dodge and away from distractions to finish a shooting script. 

Our tentative timeline is to have the shooting script completed by the end of Summer. Select the crew in early September. Cast in late September and shoot in October. We hope to be able to make WAOD reader-hosted screenings available throughout the country by February 2014. 

Thank you again for your support. We would never have made it this far without you. 

Our Genarlow Wilson Coverage:

There is an US. There is a THEM: Solidarity is NOT an Excuse to be Stupid

Your Genarlow Wilson Refresher Course: You're Not Entitled to Your Own Facts

Zerlina Maxwell's Inconvenient Truth: L.M. and How Black Media Erased a Rape Victim

Their Silence Speaks for Itself: Zerlina Maxwell and Ebony Magazine's Rape Culture Hypocrisy

Follow-Up To: Zerlina Maxwell and Ebony Magazine's Hypocrisy on Steubenville Rape Case- Will Tom Joyner Give Steubenville Rapist Ma'Lik Richmond a Free Morehouse Education?

 Lessons from the Ebony 4 Debacle: The End of Plausible Deniability for "Journalists" Who Cover Genarlow Wilson

The Grownups at EBONY Tell "The Ebony 4" To Have 5 Seats: PullGenarlow Wilson Propaganda and Promise 3-Part Series.

Clear Ultra Shea Responds to Your Concerns About Ebony.com on Facebook - Genarlow Wilson Articles Disappear (AGAIN) From Ebony.com

Ebony Magazine Editors Don't "Condone Rape" -- Except When They Do! (Ebony Editors' Idiotic Statement on Genarlow Wilson)

UPDATE:Ebony.com's Editors Renew Their Support of GenarlowWilson- Issue "Official Statement" of Apology

Allstate and Tom Joyner Indoctrinating Young Black Children to Revere Sexual Predators?: Genarlow Wilson Refresher Post!

Making Goliath Bleed: Allstate Creates "Genarlow Wilson" Rule in Public Rebuke of Tom Joyner

We Know Ebony Magazine Refers to a Convicted Child Rapist (Genarlow Wilson) as "Glorious"

Morehouse Man? Genarlow Wilson, Rapist and Child Pornographer Gets a Fresh Start- -What About the Girls

Where's the Outrage over Kelly? Genarlow Wilson? ( Yeah, I went there)- UPDATE Where's the Outrage Over the Florida Gang Rape???

Zerlina Maxwell and Ebony Magazine's Hypocrisy on Steubenville Rape Case- Will Tom Joyner Give Steubenville Rapist Ma'Lik Richmond a Free Morehouse Education?

Yes, That's Me on the Cover of March 2013 issue of Black Enterprise :)

Yes, that's me on the cover of the March/ April 2013 issued of Black Enterprise magazine. The Facebook crew already knows about this, but I was holding off on posting about it on the blog until the magazines were actually available. You can also obtain the issue on your ipad since Black Enterprise has an iPad app.

It's their annual tech issue and were highlighting Texas-based tech entrepreneurs. I was selected as the founder of the Blogging While Brown conference. We'll be in New York this year, June 21-22nd.  You should register to attend. 

I just launched a second conference called the Black Social Media Summit and it was the best. conference. ever! It was so awesome that they convinced me to hold another one in Houston in November. 

I love bringing brillant Black people together. The nice thing about launching a second conference brand is that I get to learn from all of the mistakes I made with my first. We're having fun now.