Writer/producer Rhimes took to Twitter.com to vent her frustration earlier this month (Jun12) after watching the first episode of Bunheads, writing, “Hey… bunheads: really? You couldn’t cast even ONE young dancer of color so I could feel good about my kid watching this show? NOT ONE?”
Now Bunheads creator Sherman-Palladino, who also writes and directs the show about a small-town dance school, has called out Rhimes for failing to champion another female working in the industry.
In an interview with entertainment website TheLip.TV, she says, “Look, I’m not going to get into a p**sing match with Shonda Rhimes because she has 15,000 shows on the air, and she’s doing just fine for herself. (But) I’ve always felt that women, in a general sense, have never supported other women the way they should… I think it’s a shame, but to me, it is what it is.
“I wouldn’t do it. I wouldn’t go after another woman. I, frankly, wouldn’t go after another showrunner.”
Sherman-Palladino also discussed her struggle to launch the comedy-drama series, adding, “It is so hard to get a show on the air, (because of) what you have to do and the layers of bulls**t and fighting… and particularly this show because our budget was very small and our demands were so high.”
