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NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – HBO played host at Tableau restaurant to the New Orleans premiere of the HBO movie Confirmation. It’s the story of the 1991 confirmation hearings on Justice Clarence Thomas‘ nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The movie stars Kerry Washington in the role of Anita Hill and New Orleans’ own Wendell Pierce as Thomas.  We asked Pierce what he thought was the biggest takeaway of the movie.

Kerry Washington as Anita Hill in HBO's "Confirmation"
Kerry Washington as Anita Hill in HBO’s “Confirmation”

Says Pierce, “How relevant it is today, just as it was 25 years ago. You realize that it’s not something that we should take for granted that we have to be vigilant about issues of gender equality, and workplace sexual harassment, and racism.”

Kerry Washington of ABC’s Scandal portrays Anita Hill, the woman at the center of the scandal surrounding Confirmation.

According to Pierce, “Kerry was great, she was a great boss because she was the executive producer on this, and I actually didn’t have any scenes with her, but I watched her testimony, and quietly off on the side of the sound stage, and it really gave fuel to the fire in me to do my testimony which was the rebuttal.”

HBO's Confirmation Screening at Tableau Restaurant
HBO’s Confirmation Screening at Tableau Restaurant

New Orleans premieres of network movies are uncommon, but Pierce says he fought hard to have this one in his hometown,  “This is something that I really want to thank HBO, because this wasn’t on the schedule and I said listen we have to present this at home this is really important, to actually have a chief justice that’s an African American woman, you see both images in this film.”

Confirmation airs Saturday at 7 p.m. on HBO.