Anthony Anderson Defends “black-ish”: 'That's My Life'

ABC/Nicole Wilder(NEW YORK) — The season finale of ABC’s hit freshman comedy black-ish airs tonight.

On the series, the Johnson family is one of the few African-American families in their neighborhood, because Anderson’s character, Andre “Dre” Johnson, is a successful advertising executive, while his wife Rainbow, played by Tracee Ellis Ross, is a doctor. His only wish is that his four kids also grow up understanding his urban culture, which they seem uninterested in learning. 

Anderson, who co-created the show, says that despite some criticism, the show is actually a realistic portrayal of black family life.

“Black people like that do exist because that’s my life, that’s what I live, that’s what my children live,” he tells ABC Radio. “And if you think back 30 years ago to The Cosby Show, people said, ‘That’s not reality.’ Well, it was my reality because I had several friends whose parents were professionals, in particular they were doctors and lawyers. So there are many facets to our blackness. There are many levels to our lifestyle and how we live.”

In fact, it was Anderson’s life off-screen that inspired many of the show’s story lines. 

“I have black-ish moments all the time,” he says. “That’s how this show came about. My partner in this venture and the creator of our show Kenya Barris, you know this is the life that we lead. His wife is Rainbow, she is a doctor. He has five children. I have two. All of our children are in private school, born into a life of privilege. We both are from the inner-city of L.A. He’s from Inglewood. I’m from Compton. [We’re] first-generation successful, the only African-Americans living in our neighborhoods. You know, there are lot of black-ish moments.”

Anderson says, ultimately, “our show is aspirational and inspirational. And that’s what we’re about. We are just showing a different side of our community that rarely gets to be shown on network television.”

The season finale of black-ish, guest starring Mary J. Blige and Sean “Diddy” Combs, airs tonight at 9:30 p.m. Eastern.

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