Kerry Washington doesn't consider Viola Davis and Taraji P. Henson to be her competition.

Kerry Washington at the Allstate Foundation Purple Purse Launch event in New York City

Kerry Washington at the Allstate Foundation Purple Purse Launch event in New York City

The 'Scandal' actress was thrilled when the 'How to Get Away with Murder' star became the first African-American woman to win Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series at the Emmys last Sunday (20.09.15) and believes it was a victory for all women of colour.

The 38-year-old star told E! News: "It's such proof of that idea that it's not about competition. For Viola to win, and for Taraji and I to be sitting in the front row and for her to call out our names along with all of the other women who are doing this work right now, that is absolute proof that you don't need to believe that there are limited pieces of the pie. The more pie we make, the more we all get to eat!"

While Kerry stunned in metallic dress from Marc Jacobs' latest collection at the prestigious awards ceremony, she claims she felt "uncomfortable" after receiving high praise from fashion critics.

Speaking at the launch of her new Purple Purse, in support of the Allstate Foundation's campaign to bring awareness to domestic violence and financial abuse, at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City, she explained: "We have turned fashion into a competition where we've decided that some people are better than other people, which for me, takes some of the sense of art out of it and turns something creative into a race. So, I was really grateful that people agreed with me, but it also made me nervous because I don't want to be seduced by that ever. I want to make sure that in my life I always wear things that I feel great about because I feel great about them."