THE Scandal The cast took a stand for reproductive rights on Sunday and immortalized their reunion event in Michigan with a social media blitz.
Kerry Washington, who starred in Shonda Rhimes’ hit ABC political drama as Washington, D.C. fixer Olivia Pope, was joined by former castmates Tony Goldwyn, Guillermo Díaz, Bellamy Young, Katie Lowes, Dan Bucatinsky, Scott Foley, Portia de Rossi, George Newbern, Jeff Perry and Cornelius Smith Jr. The cast reunited, five years after their show ended in 2018, to promote the Kamala Harris-Tim Walz campaign’s Fighting for Reproductive Freedom Bus Tour that is traveling the country, with many of them sharing the day’s events on their Instagram Stories.
Since setting out in Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 3, the bus tour has made stops in key states, targeting both blue and red communities, to campaign for the vice president and his running mate in the upcoming 2024 presidential election. Scandal The crew arrived in Madison Heights for the first stop of their Michigan bus tour on Sunday.
“Why are we here? Because the cast of Scandal in Michigan?” Washington asked a crowd of about 130 people at the headquarters of Plumbers Local Union 98, according to the Detroit NewsThe actress, producer and activist shared part of her speech on Instagram, while the full speech was captured on TikTok by her production company, Simpson Street Impact, on their account.
“The reason we're here is because we know that Michigan is the place to be. We know that, even though we're told on a regular basis, because we've been so fortunate to be a part of such a special show, that we have to 'fix it,' that we have to 'handle it,' [that we need] to come in and take care of a crisis,” she said, borrowing familiar catchphrases from her character Olivia Pope, “the reality is that the real gladiators are you.” (On ScandalOlivia and her team of skilled fixers were known as the Gladiators.)
Smith Jr., a Detroit native, added: “We see you. We hear you and we are with you. This is our moment. We have to reclaim it with our time and our energy.”
Washington also warned, according to the Detroit Newsthat voters can choose Harris as president “or we can wake up to the nightmare of having a president we've had before, who we know will take away our rights. [A man] who has consistently attacked reproductive rights in the courts and made it excruciatingly difficult for women to obtain life-saving medical care.”
When he took the stage, Goldwyn, who played Republican President Fitzgerald “Fitz” Grant in Scandalhe told the crowd, “I'm not just here as a former president,” to much laughter, “I'm here as the husband of a woman who has fought all her life for equality and for equal footing with the men in her life, especially men in the workplace. I'm here as the father of two daughters who are less free and have fewer rights than a generation before them. I'm here today as an American man who is outraged that a third of American women of reproductive age live under Trump's abortion ban.”
In 2015, Scandal aired a groundbreaking episode on abortion that changed the narrative around the topic for broadcast TV. The episode addressed legislation aimed at defunding Planned Parenthood and showed Olivia (Washington) having an abortion, the baby most likely belonging to Fitz (Goldwyn).
Washington recently said The Hollywood Reporter of his involvement in the 2024 election, “This isn’t just about candidates and election cycles. This is about building a future where everyone understands their voice and their power within our democracy.”
On Monday, when the Reproductive Freedom Bus tour continues, Separation star Adam Scott will appear in Ann Arbor to speak to supporters and volunteers on the University of Michigan campus.
THE Scandal reunion, meanwhile, follows Washington and Goldwyn recently reuniting at the Democratic National Convention, where they were among Hollywood's evening guests and surprised with a joint onstage appearance. Goldwyn hosted opening night; Washington hosted final night when Harris officially accepted the party's nomination.
This is the latest example of Hollywood coming out in the open for Harris-Walz. Next up, the HBO cast Vice President will gather for a virtual read-through event on Sept. 29, hosted by Wisconsin Democrats, of an episode that went viral when President Biden abandoned his reelection bid and endorsed Harris. Vice President Star Julia Louis-Dreyfus previously hosted a debate during DNC week with the country’s eight Democratic governors.