How to Get Away With Murder actress Viola Davis became the first black woman to win the Emmy Award for outstanding lead actress in a drama series during Sunday’s ceremony. Her emotional acceptance speech, in which she declared that “the only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity,” was widely considered one of the evening’s highlights.
Count General Hospital actress Nancy Lee Grahn among the few who weren’t moved. “I wish I loved #ViolaDavis Speech, but I thought she should have let @shondarhimes write it,” Grahn tweeted. Later, she wrote, “I think she’s the bees knees but she’s elite of TV performers. Brilliant as she is. She has never been discriminated against.” In response to another user, Grahn also said she wished Davis had “brought every woman in the picture” instead of focusing on women of color.
Read next: Viola Davis Says ‘How To Get Away With Murder’ Sex Scenes Should Be Uncomfortable
Those comments were quickly met with sharp criticism, prompting Grahn to issue several apologies from her Twitter account. Here’s one of them:
“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.”
Grant stayed up responding and apologizing to Twitter users throughout the evening “as penance,” but she made it clear that her apology didn’t get the reaction she was hoping for.
“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…
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.”
Read next: Viola Davis: ‘The Opportunities in Film are Still Few and Far Between’
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