Shonda Rhimes does not plan on bending the knee to President Donald Trump, but warned that creatives and executives in the entertainment industry have self-censored their storytelling because of him.
The television titan behind “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Bridgerton” told an audience at the Edinburgh TV Festival that, though she had no comment to offer on Paramount and Disney settling with the president, she has felt a shift in the industry.
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“It definitely feels that way to a lot of people, that there is self-censoring going on,” she told Mishal Husain, former BBC Radio 4 “Today” show host.
Rhimes was one of the last creatives left on the Kennedy Center board ahead of Trump’s self-appointment as chair. The Shondaland creative said she remained on the board to fulfill her responsibilities as treasurer.
“It was my duty as treasurer of the Kennedy Center to ask all the smart fiduciary questions while they were making that transition,” she said, per Deadline.
The “Scandal” creator was also notably one of the first creatives to leave on her own accord from her involvement with the Kennedy Center, as many were simply kicked out and replaced by Trump loyalists. Rhimes noted that with Trump at the helm, the board and the Center just did not feel the same.
“But once that transition was made, I literally was the only person left who was an artist, who was of the old regime of the Kennedy Center,” she said. “Therefore, in my mind, it wasn’t a board anymore. It’s certainly not the board with the same mission as when I came in.”
As Rhimes navigates Trump-era television, she told the Edinburgh audience that she still has the power to “make the shows that matter to me” and has no plans on reigning that in. She added that she has been off X, formerly Twitter, since 2022 and tunes out the hate and Internet buzz that any of her shows receive.
Rhimes was the first recipient of the Edinburgh Fellowship, awarded to her during the 50th anniversary of the Edinburgh TV Festival on Wednesday. The fellowship honored her significant cultural and creative impact in the world of television. Rhimes sat down for a 30-minute career retrospective and provided insights into where she thinks the industry is moving.
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