We don’t get it either.
Kerry Washington gave out some pretty private information on Aug. 30 : her phone number. Even she said she was crazy. (But if you thought there’s a catch, you’re right. Read on.)
First, the Back Story
“I know [it] sounds insane,” she said, in the minute long video posted on Twitter. “But, you know, I posted about this last week, I’ve been missing that TGIT love,” referencing a hashtag fans of the show “Scandal” would use when it aired, which, yes, was on Thursdays.
“We used to come together every Thursday night at the same time and the same place. And I would know where you were, you would know where I was, and we would talk about stuff that really mattered to us—and kind of be in a community together,” she said. “And I want to bring some of that back. Because I miss you guys, and social media is amazing but sometimes it’s hard to sift through and really connect with the people who matter to you most.”
718-400-7118 pic.twitter.com/2odQfBShLr
— kerry washington (@kerrywashington) August 29, 2019
Which, OK. We get that you miss your fan base. But posting your phone number to your 5 million+ Twitter followers? Seems a little drastic.
But, she seems serious, which is even more confusing.
You guys. This is nuts!!!! So many texts. Forgive me if I didn’t get to everybody today. But I’m soooooooo happy you texted. This is CRAZY exciting. AND YES ITS REALLY ME pic.twitter.com/l6kYuzRk4k
— kerry washington (@kerrywashington) August 29, 2019
“I really want you to text me. I want you to ask me questions, I’m going to send links like special sneak peeks,” she said “You guys are going to be the people I’m closest to in terms of trading information, so text me. Really, really text me. And, yay!”
We’re not sure why she couldn’t just send those “sneak peaks” out over Twitter.
So we called the number.
Next, the Number
It rings a couple of times and then you get a very chirpy message from Washington.
“Hi, thanks SO much for calling. However, I do not check this voice mail. So please don’t leave a message here.”
Instead, she asks that you text her. “I will read it, I will respond, and we can all feel seen and loved, hopefully,” she said.
So we obliged.
And we got an immediate reply back.
“Hey it’s Kerry! Real quick—click this link & sign up so I can add you to my contacts and respond to you directly. Can’t wait to hear from you!”
So we clicked on the link.
And what do you know—it takes you Community.com, a site that describes itself as this:
“Community enables direct, meaningful conversations at scale. It’s a new way for community leaders to talk to community members—via text.”
To sign up, you have to provide your name, your birthday and your location.
