How That 'Scandal' Abortion Scene Showed Tony Goldwyn The Female Perspective

A conversation with Shonda Rhimes challenged the actor's thoughts on Olivia Pope's tough decision.
LOADINGERROR LOADING

Earlier this season, Olivia Pope's powerful abortion scene on "Scandal" sparked Twitter reactions of all sorts. And with season 5 of the show wrapping tonight, actor Tony Goldwyn, who plays President Fitzgerald Grant, reflected on the controversial episode.

Goldwyn sat down with The Huffington Post on Wednesday and said he was first conflicted about Olivia's decision, despite being pro-choice, because she didn't consult Fitz about it.

"Abortion is a very profound and massive decision ... emotionally," he said. "So as a man, I felt very offended personally. Not in a judgmental way, but it really impacted me negatively that Olivia made this choice without including Fitz in it. It really hurt. I had a problem with that."

But he said that a conversation with showrunner Shonda Rhimes opened his eyes to the female perspective on the issue in a big way.

[Shonda and I] talked about it and she was like ... "It's her choice. It's her body. Who are you to judge?" She said it in a group. ... I suddenly saw the perspective of, like, oh ... there's a position to say, "This is my decision. It's my body and I choose not to do this. And why am I responsible to include you in this?" I never considered that. And it's not easy for me to process it. I don't know how I feel about it.

Looking back on it, Goldwyn told host Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani that he had a feeling the episode could hit a nerve with some viewers, but applauded Rhimes for telling the story so fearlessly.

"Oh yeah. I just thought that it was so bold of Shonda to do that -- especially to kind of throw it away like that. I mean, she just did it. It just happened. There was no big drama about it. There was no big discussion," he said. "It just was [Olivia's] choice to make that decision about her life and her body and her relationship."

Hear more from Tony Goldwyn's HuffPost interview in the clip above.

Before You Go

Kerry Washington

'Scandal' Stars Before They Were Gladiators ... And Villains

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot