ABC/Richard ForemannIf the cast of Scandal gasped when they found out what happens in the show, then you knows it's got be real good.
Bellamy Young, who plays the first lady Mellie Grant, tells me they had a table read of the script just yesterday that caused jaws to drop.
"There was sincere and sober gasping," she told me at the LoveGold pre-Oscar party honoring Lupita Nyong'o, adding, "Today was a clutch the pearls, bite the nails, 'Wait, is that the last page?' kind of situation."
And it's been like that every week. "It's nuts," Young said. "It's just been bananas. Every table read has escalated in ways I can't even quantify. It's banana pants gonzo crazy."
She teases that the Mellie will become "as evil as required" in the second half of this season (the mid-season return premieres tonight on ABC at 10 p.m.)
And pregnant Kerry Washington continues to impress. "Kerry is wonderful as always," Young said. "There's nothing Kerry can't handle. She's a presenter at the Oscars this weekend and she's going to be gorgeous and perfect. She's the best leaders and friend in the world."
But ask about Washington's recent baby shower and Young smiles, "Kerry's pregnant? What baby shower?"
Spoken like a true Gladiator.
Washington was on On Air With Ryan Seacrest this morning and said she was "super flattered and honored" that Michelle Obama gushed about her and the show when she appeared on the radio show last month.
"I do a lot of work at the White House and I never wanted to say, 'Hey do you watch my show?' while we are out there doing work in schools, so I've never asked her," said Washington, who will give birth to her first child later this spring. "So it was really fun to hear she watches the show and enjoys it."