Deadline’s The Contenders Emmys Video: ‘Confirmation’ Story Personal For Kerry Washington

A prime Emmy TV movie contender this year for HBO is the recently premiered Confirmation, which details the 1991 Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Clarence Thomas and the firestorm of publicity they received when Anita Hill testified and levied charges of sexual harassment. At Deadline’s recent all-day The Contenders Emmys event at the DGA Theater, I spoke with star and executive producer Kerry Washington, writer Susannah Grant and director Rick Famuyiwa about the hot-button issues their film brings up.

Washington remembers growing up as a teen at the time and discusses the very different opinions of her mother and father regarding who might have been telling the truth in this classic “he said, she said” confrontation. Famuyiwa was drawn to the material because of the politics and issues of race and gender it explored, while Grant vows the research in her script — as well as its truthfulness — was 100% vetted. Famuyiwa also discusses how the hearings were one of the first live TV events of its kind, one that kept the country riveted and to this day engenders controversy.

Click on the video above to see our conversation.