Thursday, March 28, 2024

‘General Hospital’ Star Rips Viola Davis’ Emmy Speech: ‘She Has Never Been Discriminated Against’

Nancy Lee Grahn
General Hospital star Nancy Lee Grahn

*Nancy Lee Grahn, better known as Alexis Cassadine on “General Hospital,” did not appreciate Viola Davis’ acceptance speech at the Emmy Awards and fired off a series of tweets attacking the star for choosing the moment to highligh the plight of black women in Hollywood. Grahn even belittled Viola’s Harriet Tubman quote.

Needless to say, she has been shredded by Black Twitter.

Actress Viola Davis (C) accepts Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series award for 'How to Get Away with Murder' from actor Adrien Brody (L) onstage during the 67th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on September 20, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.
Actress Viola Davis (C) accepts Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series award for ‘How to Get Away with Murder’ from actor Adrien Brody (L) onstage during the 67th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on September 20, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.

After winning for best actress in a drama series, the “How to Get Away With Murder” star opened her speech with a Harriet Tubman quote:

In my mind, I see a line. And over that line, I see green fields and lovely flowers and beautiful white women with their arms stretched out to me over that line, but I can’t seem to get there no-how. I can’t seem to get over that line.

Davis went on to say, “The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is simply opportunity. You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there. …So here’s to all the writers, the awesome people — people who have redefined what it means to be beautiful, to be sexy, to be a leading woman, to be black.”

After the speech, Grahn vented via Twitter: “I wish I loved #ViolaDavis Speech, but I thought she should have let @shondarhimes write it.”

Grahn continued: “Im a f**king actress for 40 yrs. None of us get respect or opportunity we deserve. Emmys not venue 4 racial opportunity. ALL women belittled.”

The soap star even railed against Viola’s Harriet Tubman mention, tweeting: “i heard harriet Tubman and I thought Its a f**king emmy for gods sake. She wasnt digging thru a tunnel.”

Grahn deleted most of the tweets, but not before BuzzFeed captured and posted them. The outlet pointed out Grahn’s hypocrisy in tweeting praise for white actress Patricia Arquette when she used her Emmy acceptance speech to highlight the plight of women in Hollywood, while disparaging Davis for doing the same regarding black women.

Once the Internet convened to set her straight, Grahn tried to moonwalk back her comments – only making things worse.

She suggested that Davis hasn’t experienced discrimination in Hollywood. “I think she’s the bees knees but she’s elite of TV performers,” she tweeted to a fan. “Brilliant as she is. She has never been discriminated against.”

Amidst even more backlash, Grahn began a series of apologies.

“I never mean to diminish her accomplishment. I wish I could get her roles. She is a goddess. I want equality 4 ALL women, not just actors,” she wrote. “I apologize 2 anyone who I offended. I’m women advocate since I became one. After reading responses, I hear u and my tweet was badly phrased.”

She followed up with a lengthier apology.

“I apologize for my earlier tweets and now realize I need to check my own privilege,” Grahn wrote. “My intention was not to take this historic and important moment from Viola Davis or other women of color but I realize that my intention doesn’t matter here because that is what I ended up doing. I learned a lot tonight and I admit that there are still some things I don’t understand but I am trying to and will let this be a learning experience for me.”

But it was too little, too late. Below, a sampling of how Twitter sliced and diced this woman:

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