Tony Goldwyn turned 66 on May 20, and Kerry Washington marked the occasion in a way that stopped Scandal fans mid-scroll.
Washington posted five throwback photos on Instagram from their years filming together, most of them candid and unguarded. She framed the tribute around the fictional pairing of their on-screen characters, referencing the Itz half of the fan-coined ship name Olitz, and added a note about never once managing to take a normal photo with him. It was warm, specific, and entirely on brand for someone who clearly has not lost the thread of that friendship.
Goldwyn responded in the comments, matching her energy. Then Washington posted a video on Threads showing her lip-syncing behind him while he holds a straight face for most of the clip before finally breaking into a smile. That one spread just as fast.
The Olitz effect and why it has never fully faded
The fan response was immediate and entirely predictable for anyone who watched Scandal during its original run. Comments filled up on both platforms with people who have apparently been storing up Olitz feelings for years and needed very little encouragement to release them. Some were convinced the chemistry on display signals something beyond friendship. Others were simply happy to see two people who have genuinely stayed close long after a show ended.
Washington and Goldwyn have both addressed the speculation over the years, each pointing to friendship and creative history as the foundation of what they share. That explanation has never fully landed with a segment of the fan base, which has always preferred its own reading of the situation.
Scandal ran for seven seasons on ABC before ending in 2018. Washington’s portrayal of crisis manager Olivia Pope made her one of the defining dramatic leads of her television generation. The relationship between Pope and Goldwyn’s President Fitzgerald Grant was the emotional engine of the show, and the intensity of that dynamic produced a fan following for Olitz that has outlasted the series by nearly a decade. Washington’s birthday post landed differently than a standard celebrity tribute precisely because of that history. These are not two former co-workers being professionally gracious on social media. The photographs she chose, the language she used, and the ease of Goldwyn’s response all reflect something genuine. Fans are not wrong to notice the warmth. Whether it maps onto the story they have written in their heads is another matter entirely.
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Both have been married for years
Washington has been married to former NFL cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha since 2013. They have two children together and have kept their family life almost entirely private, which is notable given how public the rest of Washington’s career has been. Asomugha also has a daughter from a previous relationship.
Goldwyn has been married to production designer Jane Musky since 1987. They marked their 39th wedding anniversary in April. The couple have two daughters together, and Goldwyn has spoken warmly about Musky in interviews, describing her as someone whose qualities were apparent to him from the time he met her at 21.
Neither relationship carries any ambiguity that would give the fan speculation a factual foothold. The Olitz fervor lives entirely in the space between a beloved on-screen dynamic and an evident real-world friendship. That combination has always been enough to keep the conversation going, and Washington’s birthday post just handed fans another reason to start it up again.
