Kerry Washington: ‘The United States is ready to turn the page on the culture of hate, fear, racism and bullying’

Being an actress, producer, writer, and political activist for Kamala Harris in the final stretch of the U.S. election campaign is not easy. In fact, it’s exhausting. Kerry Washington, 47, clearly shows signs of fatigue as she sits down for a Zoom chat in Los Angeles, fresh from promoting her next lead role in 6888, a Netflix film about a group of women in World War II. She feels proud to be “honoring their legacy.”

Just a few hours earlier, she participated in an event in Michigan advocating for reproductive rights, where she reunited with the entire cast of Scandal. “We’re still all so close; we text each other. We’re family,” she shares happily. Despite her exhaustion, she quickly shifts into an enthusiastic conversation. She smiles, asks for a cell phone charger and a cup of tea, and settles into an armchair, wearing a simple blue cotton T-shirt with her hair in a ponytail. After a quick “how are you,” she states: tired, yes, busy too, but above all, very grateful.

Question. Why grateful?

Answer. There’s always something to be grateful for. I’m grateful because I woke up this morning. I’m grateful for the life I have. To be right now part of a community and working on campaigns, traveling the country and supporting volunteers and the candidates for president and vice president. There is so much to be grateful for. I’m tired, but grateful. To be working as an actor and to have work that I am proud to share with the world. That’s such a privilege.

Q. In December, 6888 will be released, a little-known story about a battalion of Black women in World War II. You’re also an executive producer on the project. Is this the kind of story you’re passionate about telling?

A. It was a battalion of all women of color. There were some Latinas and Afro-Latinas among the Black women. Some women were from Puerto Rico, from the Dominican Republic. It’s not so much that I want to tell stories about historical women, but that I’ve been really lucky to be part of projects that are very entertaining, but also are about something significant. When I think about producing, I tend to think less about the idea of control and more about service. The role is to be of service to the creative forces around you and to build a space where other people have a chance to pursue their best work. For me, I feel most successful as a producer when I have created a space where other people get to chase excellence.

Q. 6888 is directed by Tyler Perry.

A. He’s so talented. One of the things I admire most about him is his capacity to dream big, and that he has such a huge vision. He’s been able to turn his success into opportunities for others. He’s used his talent to not just change his life but really change the lives of millions of people. If you think about the people who watch his content and engage in his work, he’s really a change maker. It’s exciting to watch him work and see up close how he executes that vision of dreaming big.

Q. What’s next for you after this?

A. I’m really excited about being able to bring 6888 to the world. It’s a film that resonates for anybody, anywhere, who has ever felt underestimated or doubted or who’s been put in a box and told that they can’t do something. Because these women surpassed all expectations and they achieved what everybody thought was impossible. They did it as sisters, as a real team, and for the love for their country, for everyone who looks like them and who has felt like they might not be enough. So I’m excited for people to experience that story and to also honor these very real women in history who are such heroes and who have not gotten enough credits and celebration. With every scene that we shot, we were honoring their legacy. It was like a prayer of gratitude.

Q. You don’t have to be a Black woman in the 1940s to identify.

A. That’s right, and that’s part of what’s so magical for me about film and television. As you watch the film, you see yourself, your own humanity, your fears, your desire to belong to a community, to fulfill your potential, to not let people down. You see yourself in a person who you thought had nothing to do with you.

In those moments, we feel a deeper connection to the human experience because we get to see that what’s special about each of us is that we are so different and our differences make us unique, beautiful and extraordinary, but also deep down we’re the same: that’s the magic trick of being human. Nobody else has your DNA, you are unique, there is nobody in the world like you, every single one of us is a miracle. And yet, deep down, we all are dealing with the same thing. With our mortality.

Q. What’s the most fun for you: working as an actress, director or producer?

A. I like them all... they’re all different. Whenever I’m working as an actor, I learn things that make me a better director. Whenever I work as a director, I learn things that make me a better producer. Whenever I’m the producer, I learn things that make me a better actor. It’s a cycle, they inform each other.

Q. Everything becomes intertwined, even more as we get older. Do you feel more selective about the projects you take on?

A. Yes, and I think that’s partly because I really enjoy working with people. I enjoy being part of a team and I think teams work well when you understand each other’s position, because you come to the work with more compassion, you support your team members more when you have an understanding of what they do.

Q. Do you think the representation of women, especially women of color, has changed over the three decades you’ve been working? Are these characters more complex today?

A. I think so. Yes, the characters are more complex, and there are more characters of color than before, and more opportunities than before to see how much diversity there is within each culture. When we’re able to tell lots of different stories, it’s harder to hold on to stereotypes because we see different versions of humanity.

Q. How do you cope with often being identified with the characters you’ve played, such as Olivia Pope from Scandal?

A. I’ve learned so much from the characters I play, they’re like teachers to me. They come into my life and ask me to learn something about myself and the world so I can bring them to life. And they change me. I get to benefit from their life journey, you know? It’s almost like reincarnation, but in this lifetime [laughs]. I’ve learned big life lessons without having to die. So I’m very, very grateful for the characters, and I don’t mind people seeing them. And they always change me for the better. No character I’ve ever played has ever made me a worse person. Even if they make terrible decisions and I don’t want to be them. The characters make me a better person.

Q. Scandal was a huge part of your life for over six years, with Olivia Pope being such an iconic character. Do you ever get tired of people calling you Olivia on the street?

A. It’s fine, I love it. She changed my life. Personally, professionally, on every level. I’m very grateful to her.

Q. When you were 13 years old, you went to see Nelson Mandela, when he was released from prison, at Yankee Stadium. Did that have an impact on you, did it plant a seed?

A. Yes. I was lucky enough to grow up in a home where we talked about civil rights and human rights. I remember I wanted sneakers and my mother said, “No, we don’t buy that brand because it’s connected to apartheid.” And I was like, “What? What does that mean?” I remember watching the movie Gandhi as a very little girl. So yes, human rights and civil rights were often talked about in my home. My mother was a teacher, she was always looking for teachable moments, especially when it came to history and humanities.

Q. Shoes can spark a great lesson.

A. Yes. We have to understand that as consumers — beyond voting, which is very important — we vote with our dollars: where we spend our money is where we express our values. Where we spend our money, what we buy, what we see, what we wear. Those are all opportunities to express who we are and what we believe in.

Q. Because as the Harris campaign says: “When we fight, we win”?

A. From your mouth to God’s ears.

Q. Are you excited about this moment? Hopeful?

A. I am hopeful. But also very aware that we have a lot of work to do, and it’s not going to be easy. I just want more people to understand not just how important Kamala Harris and Governor [Tim] Walz are. I want them to understand how important they are in this process. I think too many people choose not to participate in the political process because they don’t understand how important their voice is to this democracy, that we need everybody. Everyone to show up and to have their values expressed.

Q. Especially this year?

A. If ever there was a moment, this is it. The whole world is watching the United States, hoping that we do the right thing.

Q. What would change with Harris as president?

A. I believe this country is more than ready to turn the page on the culture of hate, fear, racism and bullying. It’s time to have a president who is prepared and wants the best for everyone, not just her friends, fellow billionaires and corporations, but somebody who wants what’s best for working class people and middle class families, for people of all ages, races and genders. Someone who, when they say “the people,” means all the people, not just some of them.

Q. You’ve just been out in Michigan, advocating for reproductive rights. What’s it like to hit the campaign trail, throw on your T-shirt, and really connect with people face to face?

A. It’s very selfish for me. When I start to be afraid or anxious about the future, what helps me the most is to be of service, to volunteer, get out there and support the people who are doing the hard work of making the world a better place. When I show up in the community and say, “Tell me what to do. Use me. Tell me how I can help you,” I feel a little better. It makes me feel less alone and that I’m part of the solution. So that’s part of why I do it, because I’ve found that action and activism are really good anti-depressants [laughs]. Sometimes people need to combine them with medication, I’m not saying do it instead of taking medication if you need it. But for me, it’s a mood lifter just to be in connection with community, service and the solution.

Q. And when you ask how you can help, what is the answer?

A. It depends. Different communities need different things. I spend a lot of time supporting and cheerleading grassroots organizers on the ground, the people knocking on tens of thousands of doors, encouraging them, donating money, making phone calls, making hard calls that organizers might not be able to make on behalf of the community.... There’s a saying that you can give “your time, your talents or your treasure.” If you have a special talent, maybe you’re really good at backing cookies, then bake cookies and take them to the volunteer offices, because that will lift their spirits and they’ll make 300 more calls. Or money: if you don’t have time to volunteer, or you don’t think you have a special talent, sign a check, contribute money or vital things.

Q. You were a speaker at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August. Was it fun, challenging?

A. It was all those things. Being at the convention is always amazing because it’s such a huge space, you’re standing there and you think, “Goodness, this is what rock stars do every night.” There’s a lot of energy, it’s exciting and I was happy to be, again, just to be of service to the campaign and maybe bring some hope, inspiration and smiles to people in these challenging, sometimes scary times.

Q. Why do you think people, including many stars, find it hard to get involved in politics?

A. I think a lot of them wonder how much of a difference they can make. I worry that people don’t understand their power enough and maybe they have been disappointed by the process because the process is not perfect. Sometimes people feel disappointed, forgotten or pushed aside. So part of what’s most important to me is to remind them how much power we have and how important they are in the process.

Q. With seven million Instagram followers, your voice carries a lot of weight. It’s not just, “Oh, another celebrity speaking out.”

A. I agree. I don’t think everybody has to do what I say because I’m an actress. I don’t speak up because I think actors have all the answers to all of our greatest social problems, that’s not the case. But as an American, I think each of us has a responsibility to participate in the process, because that’s what democracy is. It’s supposed to be by the people and for the people, and that means people need to participate.

Q. Are you excited that a woman could be the next U.S. president?

A. Yes. It’s crazy to me that the United States is one of the only industrialized nations that hasn’t had a woman head of state. Wild. I’m very excited to have a woman in power, but it’s also not just any woman. You can have people in power sometimes who may be of a particular race and still the policies that they support and the values that they hold may not be best for that race or that gender. So I think it’s important to also look past just who she is in terms of her race and her gender, her nationality, but also what she believes in, what she has accomplished and what she intends to do.

Q. What will you do on November 5?

A. It is important to realize that we may not have an answer on November 5; as in many recent elections, it may take time. We need to be patient with the process so it can be right and fair. On November 5, I’m just going to keep breathing, I’m going to keep breathing [laughs], and I’ll be in service to my country and my community.

Q. What is your biggest fear in this election?

A. I want people to show up, to vote in record numbers to protect the ones they love, to protect the rights of all of us, our voting rights, our reproductive rights, our right to work, our right to live. I really hope that. Not only that people show up to vote, but that those votes are respected in an honest and ethical way, that our process is upheld to honor the sanctity of every vote.

Q. You are particularly concerned about social rights: reproductive, LGBT, health. Why?

A. I guess it has to do with being an actor where my job is to step into somebody else’s shoes. Literally, creatively, emotionally and psychologically. I’m often thinking about people’s experiences, my work requires me to think not just about myself but about how people live all over the world, and I think that has led me to be susceptible to compassion, to care about other human beings. Every time I play a new character, it kind of cracks my heart open a little bit more.

Q. That compassion is seen in another of your projects, Daughters, a documentary about a prison where young girls come to dance with their incarcerated parents.

A. I think everybody needs to see this film. It’s an important film about the real impact of the criminal justice system on families. But most of all it’s a story about families and the importance of the relationship between fathers and daughters, which is a relationship that’s so near and dear to my heart.

Q. You published your memoir, Thicker Than Water, in September 2023. What prompted you to write the book?

A. I never would have imagined that I would write a memoir about myself. So never say never.

It was a joy to share my memoir because I worked so hard to be honest and transparent, vulnerable. Every time somebody reads it, I have the gift of instant intimacy with that person. It’s really been a privilege. My agent had been asking me to write for a long time, based on how much I love to read and also my speech writing, which I write myself. They suggested it to me and I always thought: “No, no, no.” It felt strange to write about myself because I never felt totally secure in who I was, it didn’t feel right to write as if I knew everything. When Scandal was over I decided I could write a fun book about everything I learned from Olivia Pope, what she taught me, that was the idea. But then my parents gave me some information about myself: that my father was not my biological father. It was a shocking revelation in my family, in my life. I had no idea and they hadn’t planned to tell me. So when I sat down to write about myself, I felt like a fraud if I wasn’t writing about this deeper journey of self-discovery. I tried to give the publisher all of their money back because I didn’t write a book that was that personal because I’ve been very, very private in the press. But eventually I felt I have to write this book so that I don’t feel like I’m hiding. I wanted to be big in my truth, in my life.

Q. In fact, you have said on one occasion: “We truly are a sick as our secrets are.” Was it healing to share your story?

A. Yes, it was very liberating. It’s very liberating to not feel like I have to hide or pretend to be anybody other than who I am. And we’re closer today because there’s no more secrets. We can be ourselves with each other.

Q. The memoir was striking because you keep your personal life very private.

A. Yes, and for me, it was important to make sure I was writing from my own experience. I can’t speak for my parents or my children. We all have our own perspective, our own experiences. But for me, I think I finally got to a place in my life where I was willing to be the lead character in the story of my life. I had never done that before. I had been the lead character of a TV show and of a movie, but not in my own life; I was still a supporting character. I love being the supporting character in my children’s story of their lives, in my husband’s story of his life, but I also need to have my own story. That’s my story, when they get to be supporting characters. Each of us deserves that.

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