Loaded! Kerry Washington finally addressed rumors of a possible split from husband Nnamdi Asomugha and debunked any speculation about trouble in their relationship on Sunday, March 13.
“I think it’s a double-edged sword,” the Scandal lead, 39, said of social media interest in celebrities at “The New Rules of Social Stardom” chat at the ongoing SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas.
“I think — and this is something Reese Witherspoon has talked about a lot — it’s a little different for me because I don’t talk about my personal life,” the resolutely private actress said. “Social media has actually been great for [other celebrities’] relationships with the weeklies or the gossip sites because people say things and they say, ‘That’s not true! Just so you know, that’s BS!’ I say ‘BS’ because it’s Sunday. So I’m thinking in some ways, it’s been great because people are able to maintain their voice.”
Washington, however, has no desire to overshare on Twitter or Instagram, which she uses mainly to promote her beloved ABC drama. “If I don’t talk about my personal life, it means I don’t talk about my personal life,” she explained. “That means not only did I not tell you when I was getting married, it also means if somebody has rumors about what’s going on in my marriage, I don’t refute them, because I don’t talk about my personal life.”
That includes social posts about the couple’s 22-month-old daughter, Isabelle. “It’s like I have these itchy fingers where I want to just show my daughter because she’s so cute and instead I like, send it to my shrink or send it to my mother,” Washington said. “I’m like, ‘Look at this picture! Look how cute, look at this picture!’ Get it out of my phone into the world, but not on social. So I get the desire to do that, but I want her to make her own decisions in her time and I feel like she already has a lot to navigate in life being the daughter of an actor and a former football player that she has a lot going on, so she should be able to enter this world when it feels right for her and not make that decision for her. Who knows that the next generation of Snapchat will be when she’s allowed to have a phone, you know? Who knows?”
Washington also revealed some insight about her dynamic with former Philadelphia Eagles player Asomugha, 34, at home. “My husband says that I’m funnier since I became a mom, and that luckily I was pregnant when I did SNL because I was really funny,” she joked. “I think something about being a mom has made me let go even more of ideas of perfectionism, like when you’re pregnant you’re just not in control of anything. Like every day you’re like, ‘What am I today?’” Us Weekly confirmed that Washington and Asomugha secretly tied the knot in June 2013.
While steadfastly private, Washington still occasionally reads the comments on her posts — depending on how soon she sees her therapist.
“Some days, I’m really vulnerable; I’m not going to read comments today,” she revealed. “Other days I’m feeling a little more like I can wrap my head around it, and I engage because the truth about comments that I’ve learned is that comments are not about me; that when somebody comments on something on social media, they are revealing something to me about themselves. If you don’t like something that I say or do, that’s really you sharing with me who you are; and if you’re nasty about it, that’s really you sharing with me who you are.”
