'Scandal' Writer Shonda Rhimes To Be Honoured With Human Rights Campaign's 'Ally For Equality' Award
Shonda Rhimes is yet again recognised for her powerful contributions on social issues such as race and gender through her scripts and shows. She is now set to receive an award from Human Rights Campaign in 2015.
With famous shows such as "Greys Anatomy," "Private Practice," "Scandal" and "How To Get Away With Murder," it comes as no surprise that Shonda Rhimes has received numerous awards and accolades in the duration of her career. In 2015, she is also set to be honoured by Human Rights Campaign with the "Ally for Equality" award at the Los Angeles Gala. This is in recognition of her portrayal of LGBT characters on television, which could be described as authentic and groundbreaking.
"We are thrilled to honor such a fierce and longtime advocate for LGBT equality at this year's HRC Los Angeles Gala Dinner," HRC president Chad Griffin's statement on the impending award reads. "Shonda Rhimes is not only politically outspoken on issues of equality, but has also created some of the most groundbreaking portrayals of LGBT people ever seen on television, helping to change hearts and minds around the world." The president added that the showrunner and writer's characters on "Grey's Anatomy," "Scandal" and "How to Get Away with Murder" all have incredible contributions to the movement toward equality.
Shonda has received a fair share of criticisms over gay sex scenes on her shows such as "Scandal" and "How To Get Away With Murder." In October, she had to respond to a tweet about "too much" gay scenes on the mentioned shows. On her Twitter account, Shonda expressed her side against people who cannot stand watching such scenes. She said that there are no "gay scenes" on her shows, just scenes with people in them. She then added that using the phrase "gay scenes" not only means being "late to the party, but also not [being] invited to the party." Following that, she encouraged one love and discouraged hate to her Twitter followers and said she had no idea why such kind of hate is out there.