Kerry Washington Recalls Taking Responsibility For Her Healing After Learning Her Dad Wasn't Her Birth Father
Kerry Washington has bared her talents before audiences for over 20 years in roles like Scandal and Ray, and now the 46-year-old acclaimed actress is going even deeper by shedding light on a hidden family secret.
In light of her debut riveting memoir, Thicker Than Water, the Little Fires Everywhere star joined The Breakfast Club to discuss the lessons in healing she’s undergone since uncovering the shocking discovery that her father, Earl Washington, is not her biological father.
Kerry Washington On Healing After Finding Out Her Father Is Not Her Biological Father
The recent revelation set Washington on a path of soul-searching to reconcile with the weight of the truth while learning to accept the decisions of her parents despite the impact on her life.
“It’s been good to understand who they were to have compassion for their choices, but I can’t blame them for where I am now,” she tells the co-hosts. “Now that I have awareness, I have to say, okay, they gave me everything they could, with as much love as they could.”
Washington continues, “In the places that I feel like I don’t have the tools that I needed… part of being an adult is to say, how do I give myself those tools? How do I ask for help — in therapy, in reading, in coaches? How do I now close the gap between what they gave me and what I need? That’s my responsibility as an adult.”
Kerry Washington on 'Finding Your Roots'
During her appearance on the PBS series Finding Your Roots in 2018, Kerry Washington reveals that she received a call from her parents, who had something they wanted to urgently discuss.
In her book, she says that her father began having panic attacks in fear of what the show would uncover, to which her parents eventually disclosed the truth about her conception: they had faced fertility issues and chose artificial insemination, and preferred not to know the biological father's identity.
Years of living her life in the shadows of her parents' secret has since inspired Washington to reclaim a life of her own as opposed to being the supporting character of her parent’s story. “It was time for me to step into being the lead character in the story of my life,” she says.
“To not let my life belong to them. To say that I deserve to be on this journey, this quest, because I have my own story,” she adds. “It’s my turn to kind of take this narrative and figure out what my life means for me.”
This unearthing has provided Washington with deeper empathy and compassion for her parents' decisions while embracing the importance of living in your truth and not being confined to the shame of the past.
“I think when we can let go of the things that keep our true selves hidden, we can let go of our shame,” she says. “I want people to know that you deserve to live in your truth and be in your truth.”
“Not everyone has to know everything,” she continues, “but you deserve to be loved for who you are, so find those safe spaces.”
Kerry Washington Talks New Book, Finding Biological Father, Jamie Foxx's Advice, Scandal + More
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Aley Arion is a writer and digital storyteller from the South, currently living in sunny Los Angeles. Her site, yagirlaley.com, serves as a digital diary to document personal essays, cultural commentary, and her insights into the Black Millennial experience. Follow her at @yagirlaley on all platforms!
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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You've Never Seen Luke James In A Role Quite Like This
Over the years, we've watched Luke James play countless characters we'd deem sex symbols, movie stars, and even his complicated character in Lena Waithe's The Chi. For the first time in his career, the New Orleans-born actor has taken on a role where his signature good looks take a backseat as he transforms into Edmund in Them: The Scare—a mentally deranged character in the second installment of the horror anthology series that you won't be able to take your eyes off.
Trust us, Edmund will literally make you do a double take.
xoNecole sat down with Luke James to talk about his latest series and all the complexity surrounding it—from the challenges taking on this out-of-the-box role to the show's depiction of the perplexing history of the relationship between Black Americans and police. When describing the opportunity to bring Edmund's character to life, Luke was overjoyed to show the audience yet another level of his masterful acting talents.
"It was like bathing in the sun," he said. "I was like, thank you! Another opportunity for me to be great—for me to expand my territory. I'm just elated to be a part of it and to see myself in a different light, something I didn't think I could do." He continued, "There are parts of you that says, 'Go for it because this is what you do.' But then also that's why it's a challenge because you're like, 'um, I don't know if I'm as free as I need to be to be able to do this.' Little Marvin just created such a safe space for me to be able to do this, and I'm grateful for everything I've been able to do to lead to this."
Courtesy
Them: The Scare, like the first season, shines a light on the plight of Black Americans in the United States. This time, the story is taking place in the 1990s, at the height of the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. While the series presents many underlying themes, one that stands out is Black people and the complicated relationship with the police. "For the audience, I think it sets the tone for the era that we're in and the amount of chaos that's in the air in Los Angeles and around the country from this heinous incident. And I say it just sets the tone of the anxiety and anxiousness that everybody is feeling in their own households."
James has been a longtime advocate against police brutality himself. He has even featured Elijah McClain, the 23-year-old Colorado man who died after being forcibly detained by officers, as his Instagram avatar for the past five years. So, as you can imagine, this script was close to his heart. "Elijah was a soft-loving oddball. Different than anyone but loving and a musical genius. He was just open and wanted to be loved and seen."
Getty Images
Luke continued, "His life was taken from him. I resonate with his spirit and his words...through all the struggle and the pain he still found it in him to say, 'I love you and I forgive you.' And that's who we are as people—to our own detriment sometimes. He's someone I don't want people to forget. I have yet to remove his face from my world because I have yet to let go of his voice, let go of that being [because] there's so many people we have lost in our history that so often get forgotten."
He concluded, "I think that's the importance of such artwork that moves us to think and talk about it. Yes, it's entertaining. We get to come together and be spooked together. But then we come together and we think, 'Damn, Edmund needed someone to talk to. Edmund needed help... a lot [of] things could have been different. Edmund could have been saved.'
Check out the full interview below.
Luke James Talks Ditching Sex Symbol Status For "Them: The Scare", Elijah McClain, & Morewww.youtube.com
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