Speaking out. Sara Ramirez took to Twitter on Thursday, February 16, to slam The Real O’Neals for a joke about bisexuals.
The Grey’s Anatomy alum, 41, who came out as bisexual in October last year, spoke out about a January 17 episode of the ABC sitcom that featured Noah Galvin‘s character, Kenny, who is openly gay, comparing bisexuality to having “webbed toes” or “money problems.”
“Dear @ABCNetwork @TheRealONeals: own it, address it, clarify it, empower our #Queer #Bisexual youth & community w/accurate positive reflections,” Ramirez, who left Grey’s last May, tweeted Thursday afternoon.
“As someone who worked 4 them 4 10 years+, am truly disheartened & disappointed quite frankly. I will invest my brand where I’m respected.”
Real O’Neals star Galvin, 22, addressed the joke after the episode aired, tweeting that the show “respects and loves the bi community,” adding, “I am sorry if we offended anyone. I hope you know our show fights for visibility and inclusivity and we will do better in the future. BUT, we also have to remember, it’s a comedy.”
PFLAG, which partnered with the show for the acceptance episode, also released a statement last month. “We were so focused on the family acceptance portion of the episode that we completely missed the joke,” Liz Owen, director of communications for PFLAG National, said in a statement.
“We were really proud on partnering on the episode. It blew by as a teen looking for acceptance from his family. In hindsight, we should have caught it and we blew it. We should have done better and we will definitely do better next time. As allies, we have a responsibility to own it when we mess up.”
Ramirez shared the statement on Twitter on Thursday and wrote, “while @PFLAG response was amazing, where is network’s response? The actor’s response wasn’t enough 4 me. @ABCNetwork was in the same room.”
The actress also shared a petition on Change.org calling on ABC to end bi-phobia and bi-erasure on The Real O’Neals.
