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Wait, why is Shondaland being rinsed for ‘taking credit’ for Jonathan Bailey’s success?

Shondaland recently published a piece on the reception to Jonathan Bailey in Wicked

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Kieran Galpin
4th December 2024, 16:48
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Production company Shondaland, the mind behind shows such as Bridgerton, Grey’s Anatomy, and Scandal, has come under fire for seemingly suggesting it’s responsible for the magic that is Jonathan Bailey.

Even among giant presences like Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey managed to stand out with his depiction of Fiyero in Wicked, earning rave reviews online. Despite having worked in the acting industry since as early as 1997, some have accused his employers at Shondaland of “taking credit” for his success- here’s why.

Shondaland published a gushing tribute to Jonathan Bailey

This week, following the monumental success of Wicked, Shondaland published an article paying tribute to Jonathan Bailey, who has starred as Viscount Anthony Bridgerton in its show Bridgerton since 2020.

Though it has since been amended to “A Timely Ode to Jonathan Bailey” following the backlash, screenshots surfacing on Twitter show that the article was originally published under the title “A Timely Ode to (and Maybe a ‘You’re Welcome’ for?) Jonathan Bailey.”

As per a screen-recorded version of the article, the introduction was also changed, with the original reading: “We at Shondaland would like to take the unusual, unprecedented step of apologizing and also saying, ‘You’re welcome,’ at the same time.”

In contrast, the updated version reads: “When the brilliant team of producers behind Shondaland’s hit Netflix series Bridgerton selected Jonathan Bailey to play Anthony — the eldest Bridgerton son and the viscount of their noble house — perhaps we weren’t quite aware of the new era of unholy thirst that we would go on to usher in.”

Another line Twitter critics zeroed in on was in the conclusion as Shondaland said it was “happy to let you all claim as the internet’s official boyfriend.”

Shondaland has been approached for comment.

People said they screengrabbed the article knowing it would be changed

Though the article did – in both versions – note Jonathan’s solid bank of acting work, many did not take kindly to the combination of the headline and the introduction suggesting Shondaland were somehow responsible for his stardom.

One person claimed: “There is something so sinister about Shondaland trying to take credit for Jonathan Bailey’s success and popularity while they paid him dust during his actual season.”

“Need Jonathan and Simone [Ashley] to leave this show immediately I’ve had enough,” another wrote, while a third added, “This language is so oddly possessive. someone tell Shondaland they don’t own Jonathan Bailey. They don’t have to ‘let’ me do anything like what?”

Another scathed: “And actually I got one more thing to add. How dare you @shondaland say ‘you’re welcome’ when both Simone and Jonny had to pay for a wrap party on their own season? If I was Jonathan and I saw this article I would quit immediately like this isn’t serious at all.”

Featured Image credit: Universal Pictures/Shondaland