Why Kerry Washington Called the White House About Scandal Story Lines

Kerry Washington‘s story lines on Scandal required her to make some awkward phone calls to the White House.

During an appearance on the Wednesday, December 18, episode of The View, Washington, 47, recalled reaching out to the White House to make sure her role as Olivia Pope didn’t conflict with her responsibilities as a member of President Barack Obama‘s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.

“I had to call Valerie Jarrett — who worked for [Barack and Michelle] Obama, and say, ‘I just want you to know that I’ve been cast in this show. Lil awkward, because on the show, I’m sleeping with the president,’” she said. “But like, you know, it’s gonna be fine, right?”

Washington wanted to give the White House a “heads-up” about her more steamy scenes with Tony Goldwyn, who played the fictional President Fitzgerald Grant.

“I wanted to give them a chance to distance themselves if they needed to,” Washington added on Wednesday. “But they were like, ‘It’s fine. It’s TV.’ Again, for art, everything’s OK!”

Scandal, which aired on ABC from 2012 to 2018, followed the actress in the role of Washington D.C. fixer Olivia Pope who is involved in a long term affair with the president. In the past, Washington has discussed how the late President George Bush reacted when she told him about Scandal.

“I remember he left a message on the cell phone because he’s always a joker. It was like, ‘I love you. I want you. You left me. By the way, I’m the former leader of the free world. Call me,’” she told People in 2022. “I called him up. I said, ‘See, this is why I’m calling you now. Let’s stop joking about this stuff.’ And so I told him what the storyline was going to be, and he said, ‘Oh, yeah. No, yeah. I remember that.’ I said, ‘No, there’s nothing! There’s no relationship. Don’t even be joking that any of that stuff is true!’”

Washington added: “I had to tell him. I said, ‘It’s not good. It’s not going to be good. People are not going to take your joking.’ Because he was known as a jokester, he had a reputation of that. I was like, ‘This is nothing to play with now.’”

While fans were divided on whether they wanted Olivia with Fitz or Scott Foley‘s Jake, the trio has remained close since the show came to an end.

Goldwyn, 64, previously gushed about his “subliminal connection” with Washington.

“She is — in addition to being one of the best actresses in America — an extraordinary team leader on our show. She approaches her work with this ferocious enthusiasm and work ethic that’s not at all self-serious. She sets an example for all of us of how to be fun and work hard,” Goldwyn told Glamour in 2013. “So working with her is just — you’re always challenged by her and inspired. With some actors, you end up talking about the scenes, figuring it out. Kerry and I never have to talk about anything.”

He continued: “We always seem to be coming from the same place, and both of us are actors who tend to throw ourselves into whatever we’re doing. We just really trust each other, and it’s always thrilling, I think.”

More recently, Washington expressed an interest in joining Goldwyn on his new show Law & Order, telling Entertainment Tonight in July, “This is the first time I’m hearing [that] breaking news. Honestly, when Tony Goldwyn tells me to do something, usually the answer is yes. So we’ll just have to figure out the when and the how of it all.”