Scandal star honours “straight ally” Shonda Rhimes as she receives equality award
By Ryan Love
Scandal
star Guillermo Diaz praised showrunner Shona Rhimes for being a “straight ally” last night, as he honoured her at the Human Rights Campaign’s gala in Los Angeles.
The actor, best known for playing Huck in the hit drama, presented Rhimes with the Ally for Equality award.
“She did it!” Diaz exclaimed. “Shonda took a chance and cast a gay latino from Washington Heights to portray this amazing character. She saw past all those things that people in this business usually see first.”
He recalled how he had initially been hesitant to reveal his sexuality, before sharing a story from when he had partied with fellow castmembers at the GLAAD awards in San Francisco.
“When this guy that I didn’t know started to dance kind of close to me, Shonda came up to him and said quite firmly, ‘He has a man. You need to back off’,” he said. “Talk about a straight ally.”
Accepting her award, Rhimes said that she wants people to be able to “turn on your TV and see your tribe”, explaining: “Your tribe can be any kind of person, anyone you identify with — anyone who feels like you, who feels like home, who feels like truth.”
The Grey’s Anatomy and How To Get Away With Murder boss also discussed her recent Twitter exchange with a user who questioned her inclusion of gay characters.
“I’m very proud of what I said to the person who tweeted me the nasty comment about the gay scenes. Sometimes I wish that I thought first and tweeted later because think of what an even more awesome thing I [could have] said with a rewrite and some notes,” she said.
“I’m going to accept this award as encouragement and not accomplishment. I don’t think the job is finished yet. I have a lot of lesbian and gay friends whose marriages I would like to see recognized in every single state in the country.”
Mariah Carey also performed at the event, while Lena Dunham presented the HRC Visibility Award to president of HBO Programming Michael Lombardo.
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