Viola Davis Responds to Soap Opera Star's Critical Tweet

Emmy-winning actress Viola Davis responded firmly to a soap opera star from Skokie who criticized her speech at the 2015 Emmy award show.

On Sunday night, Nancy Lee Grahn of General Hospital tweeted “I wish I loved #ViolaDavis Speech, But I thought she should have let @shondarhimes write it,” and later, in a reply, “I think she’s the bees knees but she’s elite of TV performers. Brilliant as she is. She has never been discriminated against.”

Davis became the first black female to win an Emmy for best lead actress in a drama and in her speech referred to the discrimination faced by black actresses.

In a New York Times interview, she stated this when asked about “inclusion:”

“If there has been any backlash, it’s that all people want to feel included in a speech,” she said. “I know there has been some backlash with an actress who didn’t feel she was included.”

When asked if she was referring to Grahn, Davis said, “Yes. I don’t know that I want to say more about that.”

Grahn has since apologized several times following social media backlash.

“30 yrs an advocate 4 human rights & now i’m a racist. Color me heartbroken,” was among the apology tweets.

more via the New York Times