Uh-oh! Is "Grey's Anatomy" season 13 star Jesse Williams fired from the show? The 34-year-old actor and activist is currently making headlines following his "racist" acceptance speech during the 2016 BET Awards on Jun. 26 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Jesse Williams, an actor best known for his role as Jackson Avery in the hit ABC series "Grey's Anatomy," is notorious for activism. As a matter of fact, Williams has been a Black Lives Matter movement advocate, a board of directors' member at The Advancement Project and Sankofa, as well as an executive producer of Question Bridge: Black Males, Entertainment Weekly notes.
In addition, Jesse Williams' activism was also displayed in his articles for CNN and The Huffington Post. That's why, Williams' 2016 BET Awards Humanitarian recognition doesn't really came as a surprise.
Jesse Williams' Controversial BET Speech
"Grey's Anatomy" season 13 star Jesse Williams is currently under fire after he bluntly talked about police brutality, racial discrimination and inequality in the United States during his acceptance speech at the 2016 BET Awards, according to Design & Trend. In his widely praised and criticized speech, Williams also mentioned the controversial cases of police violence on African-Americans, including Eric Garner and Tamir Rice.
"We've been floating this country on credit for centuries, and we're done watching and waiting while this invention called whiteness uses and abuses us, burying black people out of sight and out of mind while extracting our culture, our dollars, our entertainment like oil - black gold, ghettoizing and demeaning our creations then stealing them, gentrifying our genius and then trying us on like costumes before discarding our bodies like rinds of strange fruit," Williams said, as per Entertainment Weekly. "The thing is though ... just because we're magic doesn't mean we're not real."
Petition Calls For Firing Jesse Williams In 'Grey's Anatomy' Season 13
Unfortunately, Jesse Williams' blunt words over the discrimination in America has led for a Change.org petition to fire him in the hit series "Grey's Anatomy." As of writing, the petition has already gained more than 12,000 supporters, with some even commented about racial equality and equal consequences for racist behavior.
"Jesse Williams spewed a racist, hate speech against law enforcement and white people at the BET awards," the petition read, as per NBC News. "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."
Williams' racial slur also sparked the bias and hypocritical take from companies like ABC and the "Grey's Anatomy" team, noting Isaiah Washington's gay slur scandal. However, Williams appeared to have luck on his side since "Grey's Anatomy" executive producer Shonda Rhimes supported Williams on the issue., as she made it clear on her social media posts, another Entertainment Weekly article reports.
Um, people? Boo don't need a petition. #shondalandrules
— shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) July 5, 2016
In woods. Far from wifi. Get signal! What'd I miss? "Just because we're magic doesn't mean we're not real." @iJesseWilliams' speech. YES. — shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) June 28, 2016
'Grey's Anatomy' Season 13 Premiere Date And Spoilers
Meanwhile, "Grey's Anatomy" season 13 is set to premiere on Sept. 22 at 8 p.m. on ABC. As for the spoilers about the upcoming season, "Grey's Anatomy" season 13 plotlines suggest the possibility of blossoming romance between Meredith and Nathan, a reconciliation between Jackson and April and a baby for Owen and Amelia, Parent Herald previously reported.
Do you think ABC should fire Jesse Williams due to his 2016 BET Awards speech? Sound off below and follow Parent Herald for more news and updates.
