Shonda Rhimes revealed she had to hire private security following season finales of Grey's Anatomy before stepping down as showrunner in 2015.
The prolific writer sat down for an interview with The Sunday Times ahead of Bridgerton season three, part one, dropping on Netflix next month. Over the course of the conversation, Rhimes discussed how she used to regularly engage with fans of her shows on social media but has mostly stepped back in the last few years.
"Social media changed. Fans have passionate feelings, and I was always fine with that," she told the U.K. publication. "I understand that the characters felt like their friends. They were my imaginary friends too. That's why I was writing them. And I think people just had very strong feelings about what happened with their friends. But then it became weird."
She explained that after every season finale of Grey's, she had to have a police car parked outside her house for a week because she was getting death threats from fans who were unhappy with how that season ended.
"They got mean," Rhimes continued. "And you never knew who was going to really take offense in the wrong way." It didn't stop with the police cars. She eventually had to hire private 24-hour security at her house in Los Angeles "because people are dangerous and strange."
The Scandal creator adopted her first child in 2002. Ten years later, she adopted her second daughter and had a third via surrogate in 2013. Her children were a big part of why she wanted to make sure her home was safe from anyone who was unhappy with her creative decisions.
"I wanted to just be able to walk out my front door and hang out with my kids and not be worried. I would lay awake at night with stress," she said. "I had some very helpful friends who'd had similar experiences, who were able to give me a lot of perspective, and who were adamant that if you can't live normally then you're not going to be able to live."
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