Sandra Oh Urges Dartmouth Graduates to Dance in 'Destabilizing Times' as She Talks DEI and ‘Grey's' Changes She Fought For
Canadian-born Sandra Oh talked to Dartmouth College's graduating class of 2025 on Sunday and questioned whether bringing up the controversial issues of diversity, inclusion and equity initiatives could get her sent back to her native country.
'What if I say the wrong thing? What if I were to talk about — diversity? Equity? OK, uh, what if I changed the words, like, Including Diverse Equalness — or Diverting Equitable Inclusivity? Would that still be bad? Could I get deported? See, that should be a bad joke and it is, but it's not,' Oh said during her commencement speech while receiving an honorary doctorate of the arts.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
Eric Dane Reveals His Right Arm No Longer Works Amid ALS Battle
John Oliver Slams Trump Over Response to Protests Against Immigration Raids: "He Is Such a Dick"
Shakira Says Being an Immigrant in the U.S. Amid Trump's Policies "Means Living in Constant Fear"
Oh, who won a Golden Globe Award for her work on Grey's and another for her portrayal of the title character on Killing Eve, told Dartmouth College graduates she was speaking to them during 'bewildering and destabilizing times.'
Her address, while not directly naming President Donald Trump amid his backlash against DEI policies, which includes targeting Ivy League institutions like Columbia and Harvard, revealed deep reservations about discussing politics at all.
'I realized that underneath this discomfort I was feeling — the fear, the comparison, the self-judgment — was really a call — to come and share myself with you, despite these doubts,' Oh admitted. She said that Dartmouth College alum Shonda Rhimes, creator of Grey's Anatomy and Scandal, first recommended to Oh that she do a commencement speech at her college.
Oh talked about her star turn on Grey's Anatomy before urging Dartmouth graduates to find inner strength and kindness towards themselves to overcome discomfort in their own lives.
'As some of you know, I had the great privilege of playing Dr. Cristina Yang on Grey's Anatomy for 10 seasons. This opportunity brought me financial stability, fame and privilege. It was also one of the most challenging decades of my life. I learned profound lessons during this time, because so much of it was so uncomfortable,' Oh recalled.
She recounted having to fight for script changes to ensure dialogue for Oh on the medical drama fit her character, and how the series' writers room had a dedicated 'Sandra whisperer' on staff to deal with her requests.
'That doesn't happen anymore. I am my own whisperer,' Oh insisted.
As she concluded her address, Oh then channeled Dr. Cristina Yang, the medical resident she played for 10 seasons, and called out to the graduating class: 'When the world gets hard, or when it's good—especially when it's good, like today — by yourself, with people you love, with strangers, always take the time to dance it out!'
That was followed by 15 seconds of dancing to David Guetta's 'Titanium' as graduates and family and friends in the audience rose to their feet in celebration. Among those also receiving honorary degrees along with Oh from Dartmouth was film and TV producer David Benioff, Olympians Judy Geer and Mikaela Shiffrin, and pro baseball pitcher William Greason.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series
22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History
A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
People Are Sharing The Worst Date They've Ever Had The Misfortune Of Going On, And I Think They Should Be Entitled To Financial Compensation
If you've ever been on a truly bad date – one that made you swear off love for good – you're in the right place. Recently, people from the BuzzFeed Community shared stories of the worst dates they've ever been on, and well, it might make you feel less alone. From gross to creepy to downright bizarre, here are 18 of the most shocking stories: 1."First date with a guy, he offered to cook me dinner. It seemed a little strange, but also romantic, so I accepted. We went shopping for ingredients together, then to his place." "He shared the house with two other roommates, so I felt safer knowing we wouldn't be alone. He made our meal, then brought it into the bedroom so that we could watch a movie together. I insisted he leave the door open, just in case. Everything seemed fine until he got up after our dinner and closed the door. I didn't even have time to panic before he turned around, pants down, flaccid *member* hanging there, and said, 'put your mouth on it.' I couldn't help it, with his little peen just flopping atop his balls, I burst out laughing and ran out of the room. He chased me all the way to my car, with his thing out, begging me to come back, but I was both terrified and mortified; there was no way I was going back! I took off like a bat out of hell, and he's been known as 'hot dog' to me and my friends ever since!" –cupcakekrystle 2."Diarrhea, mine. I think that's enough explanation." –hbarney 3."When I was about 24, I met up to hang out with this guy for our first date. I very quickly realized the friendly older couple sitting next to us were his PARENTS." "He had told them where he was going and either invited them, or they just decided to tag along. I never got a straight answer on that. And to make matters even worse the uncomfortable date ended when his parents pulled up in front of where we were chatting in the parking lot, and he left with them. First and only date, for the record. 😂" –KJ 4."The date actually started well. He was cute, and the conversation was going well. A flying bug landed on his arm, and he slapped it…then proceeded to literally rub the mangled bug pieces into his arm instead of flicking it off!! It was so gross, and I have never gotten the ick so fast. I made an excuse to leave early because I couldn't look at him the same after that." –angrycrocodile764 5."Where to begin? This guy had watched too many pick-up videos, and no doubt, he's currently an Andrew Tate fanboy. Silly on my part to have a date in a park during COVID lockdown, because there was no one around and he was terrifying." "He was trying to touch me and grab me almost immediately, five minutes in, and my body language was literally turning away from him. I didn't want to try to leave until other people were around, so it lasted longer than I'd have liked. He showed me a video of him doing 50 burpees. Made me watch the whole thing, and insisted I feel his guns... twice. I worked at a school, didn't tell him where, and he claimed to have a tutoring business and 'would just go around to all the schools and ask the principals until he found me.' He also said, 'It won't be too hard to figure out which school your kids go to, either.' He still thought he was flirting. When I left, he asked for a kiss, and I refused. He said, 'I love it when people play hard to get.' I told him I'm not playing, and he leaned in again. I said no, and he said, 'Joke's on you, I always get what I want, and you are top of the list.' Leaned in again, I pushed him away and he said, 'We're going to have so much fun together.' I got in the car and left. That evening, he texted me to say he felt a real connection and 'knew' I did, too, and that we would make beautiful babies. He wanted to plan the next date and get that kiss. This 40-year-old man genuinely thought the date went well, meanwhile, I spent the next 6 months keeping my eye out for his car at my kids' schools." 6."His girlfriend showed up. He told me it was just a friend going through a divorce, and he was helping her through it. He left and spoke to her for about an hour. Then the girlfriend came up to me and asked, 'Why are you with my boyfriend?' I told her I didn't know, I was sorry, and she should break up with him. Then I left. This was on my birthday." –cornymagician424 7."Um, I vomited all over my date until my guts were empty. We haven't talked since. In fact, he blocked me on everything. Poor guy." –JaneDoe 8."When I was a young nurse (23) I dated a doctor who was seven years older than me, even though I KNEW it was a bad idea. He would stop by my unit daily and chat me up; I finally gave in." "He took me to a Wendy's, talked about how wonderful HE was, and spent a lot of time trying to convince me to come over to his place to 'meet his dog'. I declined the invitation to his house, which must have upset him, because he started saying nasty things about me at work. I later found out that he was talking to multiple girls throughout the hospital. I definitely dodged a bullet. Years later, our young children were on the same sports team, and he pretended to have no idea who I was… I 'reminded' him in front of his wife, and he again acted like a spoiled child by saying nasty things about me. What a winner." –LilBbNrs 9."He had gotten my number from a friend, and we talked for a while. We decided to go on a date. Went to Olive Garden to eat. It was going really "He was very self-obsessed and mostly talked about how much he works out, how much money he makes, his looks, etc. It started getting bad after he snapped at our waitress (who looked like a teenager) for spilling a little water on the table near him while pouring his drink. We're waiting to order, and he starts talking about all the girls he's dated in the past. He mentioned dating multiple girls at once, and I mentioned that was cheating. And I shit you not. He says, 'Yeah. That's fine, I'm a man. Men can do that stuff. They aren't supposed to stay pure like women.' I got up to 'go to the bathroom' and left. Absolutely not lol" –frigginfrogs 10."I basically babysat him the entire night. From the moment we met up, I could tell he was under the influence of something. He was highly paranoid and made the whole experience very awkward." "I spent the entire night reassuring him that everything was fine. He kept saying that people were looking at us or talking about us when they were not. He became wobbly after one drink, and while I considered leaving him while he was in the restroom, my conscious wouldn't let me do that. I linked hands and walked him back to his hotel to ensure he made it there safely, and then quickly retreated to my vehicle to return home. Overall, it was the worst date I've ever been on. He messaged me a week later asking why, and I was very candid. He's a thirty-year-old adult. Our actions have consequences. Self-care is paramount." –krizten0626 11."Went on a blind date that a friend set me up with (only because we are both tall). I had to pick him up and drive. When we got to the restaurant, he wanted to sit at the bar, then complained about the service, so he didn't pay." "At that point, I just wanted it to be over, so we left, and he saw that he forgot his phone inside. Didn't hear from him for a couple of days, so I figured he got the hint. Turns out he didn't go back for his phone. I blocked him and a couple of months later I saw him at a bar so when I left I had my guy friend walk me out and that crazy asshole yelled 'Slut!' so loud I could hear him from the parking lot." –edgycadet853 12."We were supposed to go to a snazzy cocktail bar, but he changed his mind and took us to the dive bar next door on our way in. He wouldn't stop picking his nose, literally did not ask me a single question about myself all night, drank five glasses of whiskey, and then freaked out about how expensive the bill was when it arrived (commenting, 'you gotta help me with this'). "He rattled off a list of all of his favorite dinosaurs from Jurassic World, informed me that he proudly chooses not to work a full-time job, and when I told him that was a recovering fundamentalist Christian he said 'it's good that you're not anymore because I wouldn't have sex with you if you were.' No thanks." –dizzywalrus918 13."It was a blind date through a mutual friend. I was feeling warm on the way to meet him, but I brushed that off as nerves. He took me to a holiday house party in the city. I was feeling like the edges were getting soft as the night wore on, and it was getting stuffy, and I was not feeling well." "On the way home, I rolled down my window for air and realized it was like 20 degrees out. I asked him to immediately pull over off the highway. He did, and I immediately started puking. A cop car pulled up, and the officer asked if everything was alright, and my date said yes, and the cop said, 'I wasn't asking you, pal' (I'll never forget that). We had to pull over four more times on the way back to his place, where my car was. I got back into my car and went home. I had the flu and was sick for several days! The guy kept calling to check on me to make sure I was okay. I was so humiliated. Never spoke to him again." –Bafsmom 14."We took a cab together to a drag show at a bar. I could tell he had been pregaming before I got there, but I thought nothing of it. As soon as we get to the bar, he pounds three shots back to back. That plus the liquor from earlier hit him at once and 15 minutes later, he shit himself." "Full blown poop water, all down his legs and soaked through his jeans. Instead of leaving, he sat behind the DJ booth drinking the rest of the night, away from everyone else. I told the bartender what happened, and he informed me that the guy had done the exact same thing approximately five times in the previous six months. I still went on a second date. No diarrhea this time, but he got kicked out of the same drag bar for offering to 'service' the bartender." –charmingminion318 15."At the time, I lived in the south metro area of the Twin Cities, and the guy I was going on a first date with lived and worked in Minneapolis. Although I wanted to meet in between, he insisted we go to this bar in Minneapolis near where he worked, which was a 30-minute drive for me. Okay, fine. I show up and am looking around because I can't see him anywhere. He sees me and waves me over." "I had met him through a dating app, and his pictures were clearly from 10 years and 100 lbs ago. He looked NOTHING like his pictures. I should have left, but I stayed and had a beer. He had been drinking whiskey cokes and had already had two by the time I made it. Anyway, he wanted to play pool, so we played a game or two before I politely told him I had to head home. He went to pay our bill, and his card was declined, so I went ahead and paid (it was happy hour and only like $18). He then walked me to my car and asked if he could hug me because he's a 'hugger.' I declined and said goodnight. As I was starting my car, I saw him pedaling off on his bicycle. So that explains why he couldn't meet in between. A week later, I got a 'hey girl, hey' text. Nope." –BigBabyPuddingSnatcher1 16."Was traveling in France and this guy I met was going on and on about what a great lover he was... so I decided to take him home that night." "Much to my chagrin and sadness, the dude had jagged, SNAGGLE nails!!! Suffice it to say, we did not get past the basement foreplay stage. NO SIR. Go handle that mess. THE WORST PART: I found out because I started bleeding from his snaggle daggers... only to have him TELL ME it must be my period. Like, WHAT??? Get outta here. TMI maybe, but that was THE WORST. Still shudder just thinking of the ick." –Littlefairywanderer 17."This was my first date after COVID, and I was excited to go to the local gay bar. When I got to the date, the guy was already plastered and kept trying to grab onto me like an octopus after leading us to a secluded corner. At one point, he loudly asked me my bra size." "Now, this would always be offensive, but I am a trans man (which I made clear multiple times) and was literally flying out in the morning to have top surgery! I tried to get him to take a cab home, but he refused. I didn't feel safe taking him to my place, considering how handsy he was and how he pouted about me refusing to let him kiss me. He texted me the next day apologizing, and seriously thought he would get a second date. At least he made it home safe, and so did everyone else on the road that night!" –messytable417 finally, "We went to a stand-up comedy show. He would not shut up during the sets. An usher finally told him to please be quiet, but he wouldn't stop talking! I finally had to say something and he got pissed. Said I was not supporting him. He left the venue and subsequently left the casino we were at. I had to Uber home." –danielleu445adb2d8 Do you have a dating horror story that belongs on this list? Let me know in the comments!
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
William Byron hits inside wall hard during qualifying at Pocono
On the Sidelines S1E17: Mariners building momentum, Sounders-Botafogo recap The Mariners respond from getting swept by turning the tables and sweeping the Cleveland Guardians. Ethan and D Jack recap the week, including the emphatic return of Logan Gilbert on Monday, and debate whether a hot JP Crawford should make the all-star game. Then, Niko Moreno of Pulso Sports and Sounder at Heart joins the show to recap the Sounders' 2-1 loss to Botafogo in the Club World Cup and look ahead to a matchup with Atletico Madrid on Thursday. D Jack goes through his Top 5 Dead or Alive Sounders of all-time, and Niko gives us his list as well. Finally, Ethan and D Jack cover some trending topics from around the world of sports including Shohei Ohtani's return to the mound, the blockbuster Rafael Devers trade to the Giants, and Desmond Bane getting dealt to the Magic for a sizeable haul. 1:08:31 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Is Young and the Restless June 17 Playing ‘The Most Dangerous Game'?
In 1924, a short story called 'The Most Dangerous Game' was published. The movie version came in 1932. It was remade in 2022. Is The Young and the Restless June 17 episode about to give us the television version? In the 100-year-old tale, the story of a hunter who washes up on an island… only to become prey for a General who has gotten bored hunting big game animals and wants a bit more of a challenge. As in, a man-shaped one. Now, Jack (Peter Bergman), Diane (Susan Walters), Kyle (Michael Mealor), and Audra (Zuleyka Silver) were forced to navigate a maze (not unlike the one in 'The Shining,' but let's leave it to one movie reference per post) in order to get to the lunch where Victor (Eric Braeden), Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott), Nick (Joshua Morrow), Sharon (Sharon Case), Billy (Jason Thompson), and Sally (Courtney Hope) are already waiting. Are they being fattened up? Like lambs to the slaughter, perhaps? MORE: See a sneak peek of what's happening this week on Y&R. The mysterious Aristotle Dumas is already watching his guests through closed-circuit TV. Why shouldn't we assume this is all a big game to him? One in which he's the predator… and our favorites from Genoa City are the prey? He wants to lull them into a false sense of security before he launches the final test — one where they all run for their lives as he stealthily tracks them. READ MORE: Find out what happens next on Y&R. So why not include Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) in the fun and games? She'd probably say it's because he recognized her brilliance from afar and knows that, in a battle of wits, she'll always come out on top. He's basically intimidated by her self-proclaimed genius. But we suspect it's simpler than that. Even a man who has hunted everything the earth has to offer doesn't want to hear her shrieking in indignation. She can stay where she is and drink her champagne. Dumas has more important fish to fry. Maybe literally.
