Why doesn't Kerry Washington "enjoy" kissing Scott Foley and Tony Goldwyn?
Olivia Pope has two suitable suitors in Jake Ballard and President Fitzgerald Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III. The cast of Scandal stopped by The Ellen DeGeneres Show Thursday ahead of the show's fourth season premiere, and Washington explained why she's not a fan of locking lips with her onscreen love interests.
"Who do you look forward to kissing more?" Ellen DeGeneres asked. Foley teased his slightly flustered co-star, saying, "Give it up, sister!" Goldwyn egged Washington on, too, telling the actress, "Come on!"
"I don't," Washington stammered. "They're equally, um. I don't..."
DeGeneres asked, "Who is the better kisser? It's just a simple question." Goldwyn, 54, covered his ears, and Washington said, "I don't enjoy either one. I think they're both lovely men." The audience gasped, and Goldwyn said, "I covered my ears at exactly the right time. I actually didn't hear that." Foley, 42, informed his colleague what Washington said. Goldwyn recovered his ears, saying, "Blah, blah, blah."
Washington clarified her comments, saying, "I love my job and I like that I get to work with such talented, extraordinary guys but it's awkward." Foley decided to stop teasing her, saying, "She's a newlywed. Her husband is watching. She has to say that." Washington smiled and said, "That's true."
"How does your husband feel when you do that?" DeGeneres asked Washington. Then, opening up the question to the group, the host asked, "Your wives are cool with it? Your husbands cool? Or is it weird?"
"It's the job," Washington said. "It's the job."
"I mean, my wife is OK. Yeah, she's fine with it," Foley explained. "We actually had a viewing party of the first episode that I was in and Kerry and I had to make out. And we had a viewing party at Jeff Perry's house and my wife was there. And after the love scene, it was sort of quiet because no one knew how Marika was gonna act. And she broke the silence and said, 'Why don't you bring some of that home?!'"
"It was perfect," Washington recalled. "She's amazing. They both have extraordinary wives."
DeGeneres then told Foley, "You have a baby on the way—you brought some of it home!"
Later in the episode, DeGeneres asked the cast what it's like working with her wife, Portia de Rossi.
"Portia is a power player in Washington and we work together," Perry, 59, said of her character. Washington, 37, sang de Rossi's praises. "She is the perfect addition to our family," the actress said.
DeGeneres then asked every to "say something about Portia."
"She's so pretty. We love her. She's super fashionable," Washington said. "She has a really good wife." Darby Stanchfield has "a crush" on the actress. "I do, too!" DeGeneres said. "I think she's fantastic."
Joshua Malina "knew" de Rossi would fit in from the beginning. "At the first table reading, I introduced myself because I'm a big fan. We sat down and I said what do you play on the show? 'I don't know.' I said, 'Here's the script. What's the characters name?' 'I don't know.' But she was so calm about it," the actor, 48, recalled. " I was like, 'You're the perfect fit. You don't know anything and that's OK with you.'"
Later in the episode, DeGeneres hosted a "Scandal Secret Showdown" trivia game. The nine actors (and a surprise guest) were divided into two teams: The White House (Foley, Goldwyn, Perry and Bellamy Young) vs. Olivia Pope and Associates (Guillermo Díaz, Katie Loews, Malina, Stanchfield and Washington). Before the show, the cast members were asked to submit little-known facts about themselves to use in the game.
To find out who won "Scandal Secret Showdown," watch now!
Scandal returns tonight at 9 p.m. on ABC.