By Sonia Montalvo
Scandal star Kerry Washington doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon. This summer, the versatile actress will play Anita Hill in the HBO film Confirmation.
Hill, now an attorney and law professor, rocked the world in 1991 when she accused then-Supreme Court justice nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment. Hill worked for Thomas as his assistant for two years at the Department of Education as well as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
In 1991, Hill sent a statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee of her account with Thomas, alleging that she had been sexually harassed by him 10 years earlier.
According to The Washington Post, “Hill’s claims triggered a three-day investigation, and included Hill’s nationally televised testimony. Despite Hill’s detailed and disturbing testimony, less than a quarter of Americans believed Hill’s claims at the time …”
Washington has been known to be a supporter of Hill. In 2014, when the documentary about Hill was released, Washington issued a statement on Twitter encouraging everyone to see it and “Go get inspired.” Though the documentary had a limited release in only major cities, HBO’s original film will have a bigger audience.
Hill stated in an interview on The Daily Show that “a generation of people who don’t even know that it happened are now going to work and experiencing this.”
HBO has released a picture of Washington as Hill. Washington took to Instagram this week to express how happy she was to take on the role:
“Dear @HBO, Thank you for the profound opportunity of getting to inhabit Anita Hill and help tell this story! Yours Truly, K-Dub (aka super excited Exec Producer) #Confirmation.”
Washington is executive producer on the project. A release date has not been determined yet.
