The stars of ABC's Scandal filled the Dolby Theatre on Sunday during its PaleyFest panel, where moderator Jimmy Kimmel quizzed the cast on their favorite episodes and dialogue, and a fan pushed the cast to find out how they handle a personal scandal involving a co-star.

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After Kimmel fielded an uncomfortable question from a fan asking directly about Short's exit from the series — he parted ways with the series following charges of domestic abuse — Kerry Washington (Olivia) stepped up and spoke for her co-stars.

"Everybody who is in this family is in this family, whether we're working on the show or not," she said. "Thank you for understanding why we're not going to answer that."

Aside from the heavy moment — which came after Kimmel mocked the audience member's fashion decisions — the panel was filled with laugher and felt like an extended segment of Kimmel's weekly time with the cast on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Here are other highlights from the panel:

• Speaking about Thursday's Ferguson-themed episode, star Washington — who had laryngitis — noted the table read and subsequent live-tweet session felt "different." She noted the Twitter reaction didn't feel like Scandal's weekly "party" but "more like reflection."

"It eclipses any one person's identity because it was about lives mattering," she added later.

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• Co-star Tony Goldwyn (Fitz) admitted he "was hoping for a little more sugar" after Fitz went to war in a bid to save Olivia from her kidnappers.

• Washington and the cast were all surprised to see season one co-star Henry Ian Cusick return to reprise his role as Stephen in a recent episode this season to save Olivia. "I had a short cry," co-star Darby Stanchfield said. Washington said filming the emotional scene really reflected what both she and Cusick were feeling off-screen. She described the scene as a "homecoming" and considered it a way of "having some closure" for Stephen.

• Expect to see Jasika Nicole — Huck's (Guillermo Diaz) estranged wife, Kim — return again. "It's definitely not a closed subject; it's not over," Diaz said.

Stay tuned to THR's The Live Feed for more Scandal scoop this week.

Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com

Twitter: @Snoodit