Grey’s Anatomy’s Kelly McCreary Calls Out Photo Agencies For Frequently Misidentifying People of Color.
by superselected · celebrities, Jerrika Hinton, Kelly McCreary ·

Kelly McCreary Jerrika Hinton

Earlier this week, Grey’s Anatomy actress Kelly McCreary shared a passionate essay via Instagram, in which she expressed frustration at how photo agencies like Getty Images don’t always do the best job when it comes to identifying people of color.

When McCreary went searching for images of herself at a Pre-Emmy party, much to her dismay, she realized that she could only find the red carpet snaps if she searched under her co-star Jerrika Hinton.

“Saturday morning, I searched the internet for my carpet photos so I could post them here and give credit to my glam team who straight KILLT it, but I could find none,” McCreary wrote.

“Finally, with a sinking feeling, I searched for the name of my castmate, Jerrika Hinton, who did not even attend the event. Lo and behold, there I was!! How did I know I would find them there? Well, because this isn’t the first time this has happened.”

LONG READ. I had the best time at the EW party Friday night, getting hyped for the Emmy’s, our upcoming Grey’s season premiere this Thursday, and celebrating artists who have created visionary, groundbreaking television for us to enjoy this fall. Saturday morning, I searched the internet for my carpet photos so I could post them here and give credit to my glam team who straight KILLT it, but I could find none. Finally, with a sinking feeling, I searched for the name of my castmate, Jerrika Hinton, who did not even attend the event. Lo and behold, there I was!! How did I know I would find them there? Well, because this isn’t the first time this has happened. Now Jerrika is a beautiful lady, inside and out, with talent for days. I would be flattered to be mistaken for her, if it didn’t seem like the all-too-frequent occurrence of this “mistake” indicated the careless conflation of two black actresses with curly hair on the same tv show. 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. The noise of the internal debate with myself is, as Maggie Pierce said last season, “like a low buzz.” Such is life for people in marginalized groups— including those of us with many privileges— noisy and draining. This morning, I discovered that Getty Images and some other outlets have corrected the error, and I am appreciative. So I’ll just take this as an opportunity to do a quick PSA—Check your unconscious biases today. We all have them. Managing them takes discipline, vigilance, and self-awareness, and you can practice it anytime. Why not do it today? And in the words of my castmate, I simply ask the folks who are in the business of identifying distinct and unique human beings to Do Better. That is all. Thanks.

A photo posted by Kelly McCreary (@seekellymccreary) on

“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?” she continued. “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. The noise of the internal debate with myself is, as Maggie Pierce said last season, ‘like a low buzz.’ Such is life for people in marginalized groups – including those of us with many privileges – noisy and draining.”

McCreary also pointed out that several agencies and outlets, including Getty Images, have since fixed the error, for which she was appreciative.

“So I’ll just take this as an opportunity to do a quick PSA – Check your unconscious biases today,” McCreary added. “We all have them. Managing them takes discipline, vigilance, and self-awareness, and you can practice it anytime. Why not do it today?”