Though women have had a major role in Hollywood since the beginning, with them playing some of the biggest, most infamous roles, they still struggle to gain equality when put against male actors. In recent months, Hollywood, along with society in general, has been more open to hearing the stories of women, especially regarding sexual harassment and assault. The biggest one that garnered a lot of attention was the multiple allegations against Harvey Weinstein. Many women came forward accusing him of sexual assault and harassment, including some big names like young model Cara Delevingne and actresses Salma Hayek and Ashley Judd.
Ever since these accusations came forward, a societal shift occurred. Before, many women weren’t believed, most notably when Kesha battled against her music producer Dr. Luke, even going to court, where she eventually lost the case. However, now, their stories are being taken more seriously, as several women have come forward with allegations against many men in Hollywood, along with the spur of the hashtag “MeToo.” Because of this, a group of celebrities, including Reese Witherspoon, Oprah and Natalie Portman, initiated the Time’s Up movement, a legal defense team that is focusing on eliminating the threat of sexual assault in all aspects of life and the workforce, making it open to protecting all groups of people.
This movement took full effect during the 2018 Golden Globes Awards when everyone decided to wear black in unison, showing their support for the movement. All women wore black dresses, while the men wore black suits accompanied by a Time’s Up pin.
Since the formation of the Time’s Up movement, many celebrities have made generous donations to the foundation, showing it’s true power and sending a message to the world that this type of behavior will no longer be tolerated. Along with sexual assault, the gender pay gap continues to be a societal issue, also being very obviously prevalent in Hollywood when comparing the salaries of actress to their male co-workers.
Recently, Mark Wahlberg came under fire for receiving 1.5 million dollars for the reshoot of All the Money in the World, a movie affected by the Kevin Spacey allegations, whereas his co-star Michelle Williams was paid less than 1 percent of that. Because of the backlash he received, Mark donated his salary to Time’s Up in Michelle’s name. Not only that, but more backlash was received toward Selena Gomez and Timothee Chalamet for working with director Woody Allen on A Rainy Day in New York, an upcoming film, causing Chalamet to donate his earnings to several charities involved with helping stop sexual assault.
While there are still many issues to fix not only in Hollywood, but society as a whole, times are looking very positive as females are finally starting to get the respect and empowerment they deserve, and having their stories heard. The occurrence of this in Hollywood is extremely important, as they are looked upon by the world, and with change beginning there, it will become widespread.