Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Shonda Rhimes is amazed by people who don’t understand diversity

On the latest Recode Decode, Rhimes says that for some people in Hollywood, “it’s Groundhog Day every day.”

TV producer Shonda Rhimes at the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s 48th Anniversary Gala Vanguard Awards.
TV producer Shonda Rhimes at the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s 48th Anniversary Gala Vanguard Awards.
Emma McIntyre / Getty Images

For TV producer Shonda Rhimes, the creator of “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal” and “How to Get Away With Murder,” hiring people of multiple races, genders and sexual orientations is a no-brainer.

“I don’t sit around having to think deeply, ‘Are we including people?’” Rhimes said on the latest episode of Recode Decode, hosted by Kara Swisher. “My world doesn’t work that way, because I am a person who is not included. Generally, a person who looks like me is not included.”

But for many of the people who have historically been included the most in Hollywood— white men — Rhimes said, “it’s Groundhog Day every day.”

“Every time a female-driven movie comes out and it does well, there is just shock that people went to see a movie about women and they were funny!” she said. “Or, people went to see a women-driven movie and it was an action movie, and people went to see it! And, oh my God, black people are on television and people are watching! It’s amazing how often that happens.”

You can listen to Recode Decode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Overcast or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Despite Hollywood’s continuing struggles with representation, Rhimes looks at the tech industry and thinks, at least we don’t have it that bad.

“In Silicon Valley, there is a problem,” she said. “It’s very different than here. I mean, there’s a problem here, but there’s a really big problem in Silicon Valley. There’s work to be done, and there’s work to be done here, obviously.”

“But that just comes from giving people more opportunities and more people recognizing the problem, which is probably why a lot of journalists spend time writing about it, because they know that every time they do, maybe somebody gets an opportunity,” she added.

The only way she knows to make Hollywood more inclusive is to keep making shows that include everyone — and hope the Groundhog Day folks figure it out eventually.

“Create content that makes what they’re saying sound stupid,” Rhimes said.

If you like this show, you should also sample our other podcasts:

  • Recode Media with Peter Kafka features no-nonsense conversations with the smartest and most interesting people in the media world, with new episodes every Thursday. Use these links to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Overcast or wherever you listen to podcasts.
  • Too Embarrassed to Ask, hosted by Kara Swisher and The Verge’s Lauren Goode, answers the tech questions sent in by our readers and listeners. You can hear new episodes every Friday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Overcast or wherever you listen to podcasts.
  • And Recode Replay has all the audio from our live events, including the Code Conference, Code Media and the Code Commerce Series. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Overcast or wherever you listen to podcasts.

If you like what we’re doing, please write a review on Apple Podcasts— and if you don’t, just tweet-strafe Kara.


This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Technology
The case for AI realismThe case for AI realism
Technology

AI isn’t going to be the end of the world — no matter what this documentary sometimes argues.

By Shayna Korol
Politics
OpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agendaOpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agenda
Politics

The AI company released a set of highly progressive policy ideas. There’s just one small problem.

By Eric Levitz
Future Perfect
Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.
Future Perfect

Protecting astronauts in space — and maybe even Mars — will help transform health on Earth.

By Shayna Korol
Podcasts
The importance of space toilets, explainedThe importance of space toilets, explained
Podcast
Podcasts

Houston, we have a plumbing problem.

By Peter Balonon-Rosen and Sean Rameswaram
Technology
What happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputerWhat happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputer
Technology

How they’re using AI at the lab that created the atom bomb.

By Joshua Keating
Future Perfect
Humanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious missionHumanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious mission
Future Perfect

Space barons like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk don’t seem religious. But their quest to colonize outer space is.

By Sigal Samuel