Jesse Williams received a lot of support and equal criticism after his speech at the BET Awards where he was honored with the Humanitarian Award in June. After speaking out about violence and racism against black people, a petition was started by a group of angry fans who called his words “racist” and calling for his immediate firing from ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy.
“Jesse Williams spewed a racist, hate speech against law enforcement and white people at the BET awards,” the petition reads. “If this was a white person making the same speech about an African American, they would have been fired and globally chastised, as they should be, but there has been no consequences to Williams’ actions. There’s been no companies making a stand against his racist remarks and no swift action condemning his negative attitude. Why was Burke’s character fired from Grey’s Anatomy after his inappropriate homophobic slur, but nothing for Jesse Williams? Why the one-way street? Why the support for a hater? Why the hypocrisy? #AllLivesMatter All humans bleed the same color. #EqualConsequences4RacistBehavior”
Show creator Shonda Rhimes responded to the critics with a Tweet via her official account on Monday.
“Um, people? Boo don’t need a petition. #shondalandrules”
To date, the petition has received nearly 7,000 signatures of support. With Rhimes clearly on #teamjesse, Dr. Jackson Avery is staying put in ShondaLand for the foreseeable future.
Watch the speech again below:
