Kelly McCreary and Jerrika Hinton, two Grey’s Anatomy actresses, are constantly being confused for the other—and McCreary is tired of it. The star explains in an Instagram post that when she couldn’t find any photos of her red carpet look at the Entertainment Weekly pre-Emmys party in an online archive, she knew exactly why.
“With a sinking feeling, I searched for the name of my castmate, Jerrika Hinton, who did not even attend the event… and there I was! How did I know I would find [myself] there? Well, because this isn’t the first time this has happened,” she writes.
Apparently, Getty Images—a website dedicated to publishing thousands of photos daily—frequently and carelessly confuses the pair. And while McCreary acknowledges that the incidents may be purely accidental, she also explains why it is extremely problematic. “I wonder, does this happen when there are two blonde women in the same cast? When there are two dark-haired white dudes with blue eyes? Maybe it does. But I’ll tell you what—to constantly wonder whether I’m facing a micro-aggression I should call someone out on, or a harmless mistake I should let slide, is a real energy drain.”
According to Refinery29, the two actresses aren’t the only victims of what McCreary calls “unconscious biases.” And Getty Images isn’t the only offender. Also related to Sunday’s Emmy awards is a scandal involving The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, who tweeted a photo of Terrence Howard and tagged him as Cuba Gooding Jr.
When the @TelevisionAcad calls you Cuba Gooding Jr. even though you're actually Terrence Howard pic.twitter.com/usCZqqp2fe
— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) September 18, 2016
Both organizations were quick to correct the errors, but neither apologized.
Like McCreary, we are disheartened and we couldn’t agree more when she says, “I simply ask the folks who are in the business of identifying distinct and unique human beings to Do Better.” This is unacceptable.
