Let’s get real here. Shonda Rhimes is one of the greatest creators, geniuses, and writers of all time for TV. Known for her feisty female characters, the creator still hates to be asked about her process in creating them.

“Every time someone says, ‘How do you write such smart, strong women?’ I find it appalling because it suggests that there are stupid, weak women and that’s who is generally out there,” she said to TIME Firsts, an initiative championing female accomplishment through candid interviews with groundbreaking women. “I hear a lot that what’s great about the characters is that they’re unapologetic. I think that women are raised to believe that they’re supposed to want certain things and so you feel like you’re supposed to apologize when you don’t want those things.”

She also points out the difference between men and women is their confidence.

“Men will do anything,” she says. “I don’t necessarily know if there’s anything wrong with being more cautious and careful, but I also know that we’re not going to feel any wiser or any more ready in 10 years than we did 10 years ago, so we might as well just leap.”

Watch the trailer above.