Sick of gender inequality and sexual harassment in all industries, Hollywood acts with #TimesUp

On the heels of the devastating sexual assault and harassment allegations sweeping Hollywood, actresses spoke out in protest by wearing black to the 75th annual Golden Globes Awards, which took place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.

With the influx of sexual misconduct allegations in entertainment and other industries, since the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke in October, stars of the big and small screen agreed to wear all black to the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles last Sunday in support of those who have spoken out about sexual harassment and to protest gender inequality. Numerous actresses, producers, writers and directors have joined in the “Times Up” initiative as a means of speaking out against sexual misconduct in the industry. The initiative, launched last week, includes a $13 million legal defense fund aimed at protecting women in less privileged fields from sexual misconduct in the workplace.

Read also: Rotten Apples: a way to stop endorsing Hollywood’s pervs

Multiple actresses, including Jessica Chastain, Meryl Streep, Emma Stone, Helen Mirren, Nicole Kidman, and Reese Witherspoon, involved in the #TimesUp Legal Defense Fund wearing black to the Globes.

“What we are wearing is not a statement of fashion”, Amber Tamblyn said of the movement. “It is a statement of action. It is a direct message of resistance. Black because we are powerful when we stand together with all women across industry lines. Black because we’re starting over, resetting the standard. Black because we’re done being silenced and we’re done with the silencers. Tonight is not a mourning. Tonight is an awakening.”

“Black because we’re done being silenced and we’re done with the silencers”

The alliance almost decided to boycott the Golden Globe Awards entirely, Kerry Washington told the LA Times. But the group eventually decided against it, suggesting that it was important to support their peers who were nominated. Instead, an agreement was made to wear all black, with the hopes that this unified stand would prompt a larger discussion from the red carpet, leveraging the access to millions of viewers tuned in to watch the awards show, both on camera and online, with the hashtag #WhyWeWearBlack.

“Wearing black is an opportunity to talk about all the other things that we’re doing”, Washington explained to the Times. “We’re saying that we are three-dimensional, fully realized human beings as women. We are participants in this entertainment industry, and we have something to say”.

Finally, no-one spoke more powerfully than Oprah Winfrey, who became the first black woman to win the Cecil B DeMille award for her contribution to the world of entertainment.

Read also: Oprah Winfrey: why was her speech in the Golden Globes important?

She brought the audience to an ovation by describing the story of a black woman raped in the old South by six white men and who never received justice. “For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dared to speak their truth to the power of those men,” she said. “But their time is up. Their time is up. Their time is up”.

Latin American Post | Luisa Fernada Báez

Copy edited by Laura Rocha Rueda