It seems for every nod actor/activist Jesse Williams got for his impassioned plea for racial equality at this year’s BET Awards there is a detractor who didn’t exactly fancy his fiery words.
From FOX analysts to ‘Clueless’ star Stacey Dash (read more on that here), Williams’ words ignited a surprising firestorm of debate amongst viewers – some of whom have slammed the ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ star for ‘spewing blatant racism.’
Banding together, the actor’s critics started a Change.org petition to see him booted from the prized ABC series (as of time reported the petition has collected over 15,000 signatures). Tuck in below to see Shonda Rhimes’ – the series creator – and Williams response to the hoopla:
The petition states:
The petition reads:
Jesse Williams spewed a racist, hate speech against law enforcement and white people at the BET awards. 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
**A special note to all the people making assumptions: Who said I was white? Who said I’m a Trump supporter? This is not about politics. This is about equal consequences for racist behavior. If this was an Asian, Mexican, Caucasian or whoever saying the same exact words as Jesse Williams did, I would be against it and petitioned them to be fired if they did not suffer the same consequences as others have suffered for their irrational behavior. We’re all adult human beings. Why not act that way? Instead of lashing out with immature and obnoxious name calling, do something about getting everyone to look at everyone in the same light. Make a difference!
Rimes response: