The cast and creator of hit ABC series Grey’s Anatomy became the latest television stars to protest by taking a knee in a photograph posted to social media.
Grey’s cast members Ellen Pompeo and Jesse Williams and series creator Shonda Rhimes all posed on bended knee for the snap, which Rhimes posted to her Instagram account late Tuesday.
“…and we took a knee in solidarity of racial justice,” Rhimes, who will celebrate the 300th episode of the long-running series this season, captioned the photo.
Athletes, actors, and musicians have taken to social media this week to post photographs of themselves kneeling in protest in various environments, in apparent solidarity with NFL players who demonstrated during the National Anthem ahead of games both this season and last, and in an apparent show of defiance against President Donald Trump, who last week called for NFL team owners to fire players who took a knee on the field.
Musicians Stevie Wonder and Pharrell Williams posed on one knee during their respective concerts this week, while other musicians, including Latin singer Marc Anthony, have criticized the president and lent their support to the ongoing protests.
But television stars have also been outspoken with their own protests. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, stars of the sci-fi series The X-Files, posed for a photograph on the set of their show this week while on their knees, as did the cast of CBS’ Star Trek: Discovery.
In an appearance on MSNBC Tuesday, Grey’s actor Williams — a vocal supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement — described the pre-NFL game National Anthem ceremony as a “scam.”
“This has nothing to do with NFL or American pastime or tradition,” Williams said. “This is to get boys and girls to go fly overseas and go kill people. They’re marketing. They’re pumping millions and millions of dollars into the NFL to put on a pageant in front of NFL football games to get you to go off and fight.”
The 14th season of Grey’s Anatomy premieres Thursday, September 28.
Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum