‘General Hospital’ Star Nancy Lee Grahn Apologizes After Claiming Viola Davis ‘Has Never Been Discriminated Against’

Nancy Lee Grahn has officially issued an apology after firing off several negative tweets about Viola Davis’ 2015 Emmy Awards acceptance speech. The “General Hospital” actress told her followers Sunday she wasn’t a fan of Davis’ speech in which she tackled the racial divide black women in Hollywood face. Grahn, 57, even went so far as to claim the “How to Get Away With Murder” actress had never experienced any discrimination.

After much backlash from outraged Twitter users. Grahn issued an apology Monday. As Us Weekly reported the soap opera star used the social media site to assure her followers she “never meant to diminish” Davis’ work. She went on to claim she was simply advocating for equal rights for “ALL women, not just actors.” Grahn then apologized to anyone she may have offended and acknowledged that she should have been more wise in choosing her words.

Her apology came just hours after she tweeted that she didn’t “love” Davis’ acceptance speech, joking that it would have been better if Shonda Rhimes, who created “HTGAWM,” had written it. After the initial tweet she launched into a lengthy rant claiming there was little to no opportunity for any woman in Hollywood, not just women of color. She shared with her followers that, from a “f—king actress for 40 years,” no woman in show business receives the “respect or opportunity” they should be getting. In another tweet, sent directly to another user, Grahn said she loved Davis’ work, but said “she has never been discriminated against.” She then tweeted to another user that when she heard Davis quoting Tubman she thought, "it's the f--king emmy [SIC] for gods sake. She wasn't digging thru a tunnel."

As we previously reported, Davis won for Best Lead Actress in a Drama for her part on ABC's “HTGAWM.” Upon accepting the award she shared with the audience, both in house and viewing at home, a heartbreaking speech about the challenges of being a black female actress. She quoted Harriet Tubman, saying, "'In my mind, I see a line and over that line I see green fields and lovely flowers and beautiful, white women with their arms stretched out to me over that line, but I can't seem to get there no how.'" Davis added that even today black women are not allotted many opportunities in Hollywood before thanking “HTGAWM’s” amazing writers, as well as a few strong black leading ladies in the industry.

Davis has not yet responded to Grahn's comments.