Kerry Washington channelled Oprah Winfrey by buying mattresses for all the Scandal cast and crew to celebrate the end of the show.
The actress, who has portrayed lead character Olivia Pope in the political drama since 2012, finished filming the TV show after seven seasons in March (18), and as the end was approaching, she began to give the cast and crew presents. The gifts included items such as workout classes, food and books, things they haven’t had time to enjoy due to the show’s gruelling shooting schedule, and finished by giving them all a mattress each.
“So I was really worried that the last couple of weeks would be super weepy, that everybody would be sad, so I created this post-Scandal survival kit that was full of all the things we haven’t been able to do because we work 16-hour days,” she said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday (11Apr18).
“On the last day, everybody got these really cool sleep trackers… they help you get a better night’s sleep, and I said one lucky crew member was going to win a mattress and… everybody got a mattress!”
The 41-year-old then referenced Oprah’s infamous “You get a car” giveaway, when the talk show legend surprised more than 200 members of The Oprah Winfrey Show studio audience with a new car in 2004.
“You get a mattress! You get a mattress! You get a mattress! I was Oprah!” Kerry joked. “Oh it was so exciting, they picked the little paper out of a bowl and the paper said, ‘Everyone!’ and I was like, ‘Yes! Everybody’s gonna sleep!’ It was so fun. And they were like, ‘Where are our cars?’ and I was like, (sighs).”
Later on in the chat, the actress revealed it was a bittersweet feeling ending the series because it feels like the right time to finish the story, but she will miss the cast and crew, who all came down to watch the last scene being filmed at 3 a.m.
“Everyone came to be together so we ended as a family,” she smiled.
Scandal concludes on 19 April.
