Shonda Rhimes—creator of wildly successful dramas such as Grey’s Anatomy and How to Get Away With Murder—is often recognized as the foremost maker of television that is representative of marginalized groups. She brings issues regarding women, people of color, and LGBTQ into public conversation, and in her own words strives to “normalize” unconventional characters. In many ways, she has done just that. Her shows are usually comprised of a multiracial, “multicircumstantial” cast. One of her hit shows is based on a complex, talented, fiery black woman—the first in television in decades. Her episodes often address relevant subject matter such as gun violence and gay marriage.

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As you can see, Rhimes is usually applauded as television’s game changer. And any criticism of her is often met with massive reproach. That said, I endeavor to criticize her a bit anyway. While I certainly recognize Rhime’s talent and good intentions—I can’t help but think her efforts to normalize Muslim characters is completely off the mark. Back in January, a South Asian Muslim character on Rhime’s medical drama, Grey’s Anatomy, took off her hijab to stop a patient’s leg from bleeding out. Tons of subsequent news articles and Twitter posts lauded the scene as a turning point for the portrayal of Muslims in television.

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So much appreciation—I didn’t understand. All I saw was a previously disregarded character—whose only other storyline was her unprofessional crush on another doctor—then utilized in a highly improbable scenario to “humanize” Muslims. Others thought Rhimes was breaking stereotypes. I thought she was being cheap. She was feeding into a culture of American Muslims having to explain themselves and/or prove that their religion doesn’t hinder compassion. Sure, she didn’t portray Muslim women who wear veils in their conventional role of an oppressed, and likely uneducated individual, but she didn’t do anything more than that. Her Muslim character lacks virtually any substance (and she hasn’t had a compelling storyline in the show since)—a fact that I could’ve cared less about had Rhimes not used the hijab to make an easy, fraudulently influential, non-point about Muslims. Decide for yourself below:

This occurrence from an episode in January came back to me this week as I watched an episode from the new season—in which a previously fired South Asian character returned only to make an insanely idiotic (and highly unlikely) medical decision and get fired—again. Why when Asian doctors comprise a considerable percentage of doctors in America—are the only two South Asian (and Muslim) characters featured on this show (that I can remember) completely lame? While I am sure my argument contains some confirmation bias, and definitely excludes Rhimes’ poor representation of other groups, I still find it difficult to consider her the crusader for representation in television.

I have obsessively binge-watched Rhimes’ shows for years, and will continue to do so. After all, they are mostly fantastic. Still, I think it’s important to recognize that her attempt to represent people from many populations is, in fact, imperfect. Instead of applauding her half-assed attempts, I would rather she know I, a longtime fan, wasn’t really feeling it this time.

-MC