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"General Hospital" star Nancy Lee Grahn finds herself in hot water Monday (Sept. 21) after criticizing Viola Davis' acceptance speech when Davis won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for "How to Get Away With Murder."
I wish I loved #ViolaDavis Speech, but I thought she should have let @shondarhimes write it. #Emmys
— Nancy Lee Grahn (@NancyLeeGrahn) September 21, 2015
Grahn lamented that "Grey's Anatomy" and "Scandal" creator Shonda Rhimes, who is an executive producer on "HTGAWM," didn't write Davis' speech. This tweet in and of itself earned Grahn some strong reactions, but it was her other tweets that really became a problem.
RELATED: The best and worst moments of the 2015 Emmys
Grahn writes to one person who was interacting with her on Twitter, "@MelioraEsq and i heard harriet yTubman and I thought Its a f***ing emmy for gods sake. She wasnt digging thru a tunnel."
And when another Twitter commenter points out thatShonda Rhimes herself said she loves listening to Viola Davis speak, Grahn responded by saying that Davis has never been discriminated against.
@nxssy I do 2. I think she's the bees knees but she's elite of TV performers. Brilliant as she is. She has never been discriminated against
— Nancy Lee Grahn (@NancyLeeGrahn) September 21, 2015
A few eagle-eyed tweeters found Grahn's status update from the 2015 Oscars, when Patricia Arquette used her speech to champion gender equality and one Twitter user writes to Grahn, "Until you can figure out WHY you had such disparate reactions to Patty & Viola using their moment, you should probably STOP."
Good @PattyArquette use ur win to champion women. Make ur moment matter. I like that #Oscars2015
— Nancy Lee Grahn (@NancyLeeGrahn) February 23, 2015
RELATED: Tracy Morgan's Emmys appearance has everyone in tears
Grahn eventually tried to walk it all back, saying she wants equality "for all women," not just actors. However, Grahn eventually realized that wasn't really the point either.
Viola Davis winning lead actress Emmy's historic. My upset is acting awards dont fix racial injustice. As an actor I see how irrelevant we r
— Nancy Lee Grahn (@NancyLeeGrahn) September 21, 2015
I never mean to diminish her accomplishment. I wish I could get her roles. She is a goddess. I want equality 4 ALL women, not just actors.
— Nancy Lee Grahn (@NancyLeeGrahn) September 21, 2015
I apologize 2 anyone who I offended. I'm women advocate since I became one. After reading responses, I hear u and my tweet was badly phrased
— Nancy Lee Grahn (@NancyLeeGrahn) September 21, 2015
Schooled. As surrogate 2 last democratic presidents I thought I needed no lesson in equality. I was wrong. Please accept my apology.
— Nancy Lee Grahn (@NancyLeeGrahn) September 21, 2015
On Twitlonger, she writes, "I apologize for my earlier tweets and now realize I need to check my own privilege. My intention was not to take this historic and important moment from Viola Davis or other women of color but I realize that my intention doesn't matter here because that is what I ended up doing. I learned a lot tonight and I admit that there are still some things I don't understand but I am trying to and will let this be a learning experience for me."
3am.Tried 2 respond 2 u with love as I should, Gotten mostly condescension & vitriol.Tomorrow, new day. Wont begin it with anything but love
— Nancy Lee Grahn (@NancyLeeGrahn) September 21, 2015
30 yrs an advocate 4 human rights & now i'm a racist. Color me heartbroken. Twitter can bring out the best & sadly tonight the worst of us.
— Nancy Lee Grahn (@NancyLeeGrahn) September 21, 2015
