OnlyOnAOL: 'Scandal' star Katie Lowes loves the F word

BY DONNA FREYDKIN

On "Scandal," which returns for part two of season 12 tonight, Katie Lowes is a tough, fearless hacker who adores her boss Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington).

In real life? Sure, the two are super-tight. They talk all the time. Lowes turns to Washington for advice. As for what to expect between Olivia and Quinn on the show: her lips are sealed.

"When you have the most incredible boss of all bosses saying, 'Don't tell anybody,' you listen to direction. I do whatever Shonda Rhimes says," says Lowes.

She's proud to be part of a show that deals with abortion (Olivia had one) and Planned Parenthood funding. And Lowes absolutely sees herself as a feminist. "Uh, yeah! Yeah!" she says, bringing up the outrage over the lack of diversity in Oscar nominations this year. "I forget the world I live in isn't the world. Every single person I work for her on the show is a woman. Our number one on the show is a woman. They're both women of color. We were just directed by Regina King last week. We have tons of actors on the show that are older. Everyone is represented."

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It's not a big point of discussion or debate on the show. Neither is body image. "It just is what it is," says Lowes. "I'm so fortunate that when I got the job, Shonda said to me, 'If you lose a pound, I'll fire you,' as a joke. She hired us for who we are as people. She didn't want us to shoot the show and come back and not be recognizable. She wants to put things on TV that her daughters can relate to."

Amen.